Military Minute 6 Jan 24

In this episode of Your Military Minute we’ve got US Marines getting f(*ked at Camp Lejeune, the DoD has created a prosecutor's office independent of commands, and projection of force by the UK Navy.

A tow company, run by a guy who I’m willing to be has support the troops bumper stickers on everything, was towing and selling vehicles of Marines. Many of whom were deployed. He claims they couldn’t tell the vehicles belonged to Marines despite finding things like uniform components and other accoutrement only active duty folks would have in the vehicles.

Turns out that his business practices, aside from being morally bankrupt, were also highly illegal.

The courts fined him $60k and he has to pay back the Marines he bent over a barrel.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2023/12/28/marines-whose-cars-were-sold-towing-company-will-be-repaid-under-court-settlement.html

https://www.stripes.com/branches/marine_corps/2023-12-27/gavel-marines-towing-12478549.html#:~:text=A%20North%20Carolina%20tow%2Dtruck,overseas%2C%20according%20to%20federal%20prosecutors.

The DoD’s failures when it comes to prosecuting the most violent and disgusting crimes, like child sexual assault, have trended toward the abysmal failure side of the equation. That’s why NCIS gets nicknames like No Crime Is Solved. In some cases unit commanders, who had convening authority for court martials, possessed moral compasses that deflected significantly from true north. The result?

There’s now an independent prosecutor’s office that does not answer to unit commanders. This completely removes their ability to influence investigations.

To those unit commanders that feel some kind of way about this I say, remember when you gave bad paper to the squad leader and platoon commander because LCPL Schmuckateli decided to get a DUI and beat his wife?

This is that. Suck it up. Your predecessor's lack of moral integrity is the root cause of this.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2023/12/28/independent-military-prosecutors-now-charge-of-sexual-assault-cases.html

Finally we have the UK Navy sending the HMS Trent down to Guyana for some training exercises due to the increased tensions with Venezuela. The 2 governments can’t agree on where the borders lay.

Wait, military intervention in the form of force projection in South America? If you listen to talking heads and academics only the US does that in the modern day.

You aren’t seeing this in the news because it doesn’t paint the US and her military in a bad light.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2023/12/30/british-warship-arrives-guyana-tensions-heat-border-dispute-venezuela.html

Last word ladies and gents, if you’re going to drink, don’t drive. If you’re going to drive, don’t drink.