Time is Running Out for Sergeant Martland

The ACLJ continues our multi-faceted campaign for Sergeant First Class (SFC) Charles Martland – the Green Beret war hero facing expulsion from the Army for saving a young Afghan boy from sexual abuse.

Fox News even picked the story up late last week:

A decorated Army sergeant who protected an Afghan boy from a child molester could find out any day whether his actions will end his career in the military.

Sgt. First Class Charles Martland, a Green Beret with an 11-year Special Forces career, was stationed in Afghanistan in 2011 when the boy's mother came to him and said she'd been beaten and her son raped by a local police commander. Martland and another soldier summoned the police official and, when the man laughed at them, threw him off the base. Martland and Daniel Quinn were both disciplined for their actions.

Last year, amid military cuts, the Army Human Resources Command recommended Martland be discharged in part based on his disciplinary record, but an official decision by U.S. Army brass is expected by March 1.

We have been fighting for SFC Martland for months. We have heard from more than 300,000 Americans who are demanding that the U.S. military act to stop sexual child abuse on our bases and exonerate SFC Martland. We've also sent legal letters to President Obama and top military officials on SFC Martland's behalf.

We are also working to elevate this important story – sending letters to nearly 20 veterans groups alerting them to this problem and rallying them to SFC Martland's cause to ensure justice is served and the U.S. Military does the right thing.

At the same time, we continue to work with Members of Congress on this issue. We're delighted to see that a bipartisan, bicameral group of 93 Members of Congress has now demanded an investigation into the reports that the U.S. Military told our troops to ignore Afghan soldier’s sexual enslavement of young children.

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) – a Pentagon watchdog – recently announced the formal inquiry.

Fox News featured our petition and our fight in its coverage:

One year ago, the Army conducted a "Qualitative Management Program" review board and called for Martland - among thousands of other soldiers with prior disciplinary issues - to be "involuntary discharged” by Nov. 1, 2015.

Martland appealed the decision and a final ruling on his discharge has been delayed until now. With the deadline rapidly approaching, other legal advocates have come to his aid, and even garnered over 300,000 signatures in a petition calling for the decision to be overturned.

As I told Fox News, "After acting to protect a child from sexual assault from an Afghan commander, SFC Martland was punished and could be kicked out of the military at any time. … What's equally disturbing are reports that the military has allowed Afghanistan forces to sexually abuse young children on U.S. bases.”

That’s why we are aggressively advocating on Capitol Hill and demanding the Obama Administration address these atrocities.  We are also submitting critical legal documents and testimony at the United Nations to end the abuse of young boys.

What is happening to SFC Martland is a true travesty. We've made it clear that SFC Martland acted properly when he took decisive and forceful action to stop the repeated rape of a young Afghan boy at the hands of a corrupt Afghan leader. In the words of SFC Martland: 'We felt a moral obligation to act.'

Here's the bottom line: SFC Martland acted in compliance with U.S. and international law and should not face punishment – and ultimately expulsion – from the military. He should be commended – not castigated – for his brave actions.

The fate of a U.S. war hero is at stake.