Major Veterans’ Organizations Support Resolution Demanding Reinstatement Of Green Beret Discharged For Shoving Afghan Rapist

Jonah Bennett on October 2, 2015

Major veterans’ groups endorsed a House resolution forwarded by Republican Reps. Vern Buchanan and Duncan Hunter to reinstate Army Sgt. Charles Martland, a Green Beret set to be discharged for standing up to boy rape practices in Afghanistan.

Three of the country’s main veterans’ organizations, Concerned Veterans for America, Veterans of Foreign Wars and AMVETS threw their support behind the resolution demanding that the Army reverse Martland’s upcoming discharge scheduled for Nov. 1. (RELATED: House Reps Introduce Resolution To Reinstate Green Beret Turfed For Roughing Up Afghan Boy Rapist)

In 2011, Martland, a two-time Bronze Star recipient, shoved an Afghan police commander to the ground after discovering that the commander had kept the boy chained to a bed and used him as a sex slave. The commander also beat the boy’s mother when he found out she had reported his behavior to the U.S. military.

Buchanan appeared on the Sean Hannity Radio show Thursday night to discuss the resolution.

“I think it’s an absolute national disgrace,” Buchanan told Hannity. “They want to terminate him for doing the right thing and the people that need to be terminated are the superiors that asked him and others to stand down on military bases.”

“My mindset is: he’s had our back over in Afghanistan fighting the bad guys. We need to have his back in Congress,” he added.

Veterans’ groups didn’t shy away from similarly strong words.

“SFC Martland did the absolute right thing to confront a threat, and for the Army to show him the door so abruptly is no way to take care of the troops who have faithfully taken care of the mission for so long,”John A. Biedrzycki Jr., national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars said in a statement.

The controversy takes place amid revelations that the Pentagon discouraged soldiers from paying attention to local Afghan cultural practices which encourage rape—even on U.S. military bases.

Up to this point, Buchanan has asked the House and Senate Armed Services Committees to launch an investigation into the policy, as military leadership continues to deny that such a policy ever existed, despite testimony from numerous troops.

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