Fouled Anchor Forums

[rabutcher (Robert)]

By Andrew Scutro - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Feb 28, 2009 9:58:34 EST

A master chief hospital corpsman faces an Article 32 hearing March 10 in Norfolk on charges of disobeying orders or regulations and wrongful sexual contact with at least one female sailor.

The master chief, a reservist, has not been identified by the convening authority, Navy Medicine East, based in Portsmouth, Va. because of the “investigative and pre-decisional nature” of an Article 32 hearing, according to spokeswoman Jacky Fisher. Other Navy commands do release the names of accused sailors in charge sheets prepared for such an investigative hearing.

According to the redacted charge sheet, the master chief was on active duty at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany in late 2007 at the time of the alleged incidents.

A charge of violation of Article 92 under the Uniform Code of Military Justice — failure to obey an order or regulation — alleges the master chief went to a party with a female subordinate and then “ordered her back to the party after she went to bed.” He is accused on a separate occasion of going into “downtown Kaiserlautern with two junior enlisted female service members,” which would be a violation of the Navy Department’s fraternization policy.

Under a second specification, the master chief is accused of groping one or more unidentified females and then threatening “retaliation,” in violation of the Navy’s sexual harassment policy.

The branch of service of the female service members involved in those alleged incidents is not specified in the charge sheet. Landstuhl is a major hospital complex under Army command.

There are also three specifications under a charge of violating Article 120 of the UCMJ, which covers sexual offenses. In three alleged incidents in November and December 2007, in Kaiserlautern, Germany, the master chief is accused of groping a female Navy reservist. Again, it’s not clear if that is one individual or more than one, or whether the member was an officer or enlisted sailor.

Article 32 hearings are conducted by a military lawyer acting as an investigating officer who hears evidence and offers a recommendation to the convening authority on further action to take. That recommendation — such as proceeding to a court-martial or dropping charges all together — can be accepted, changed or ignored.

[krnl]

Ugh. Control yourself master chief!!

I can say that in this day and age, I'm glad that he was groping members of the opposite sex, at least!