US Army reversed a decision to discharge Green Beret who attacked an Afghan police commander accused of raping a boy. Sgt. 1st Class Charles Martland can stay in the Army, said in a statement.
Fox News reports that Martland confirmed the decision of US Army to retain him. The Army reversed the decision in August to kick out Martland over the incident in northern Afghanistan in 2011.
As reported by Army Times, the Army Board for Correction of Military Records reviewed the case and decided to remove the soldier from Army's Qualitative Management, an involuntary separation measure for soldiers with black marks on their records.
The board's action "will allow him to remain in the Army," Army spokesman Lt. Col. Jerry Pionk said in an emailed statement.
"I am real thankful for being able to continue to serve," said Martland to Fox News in a telephone interview. "I appreciate everything Congressman Duncan Hunter and his Chief of Staff, Joe Kasper did for me."
As previously reported, Martland was deployed to Konduz province, Afghanistan in 2011. He and Quinn were told by a young Afghan boy and his mother, through an interpreter, that the boy had been tied at the home of Local Police commander Abdul Rahman and sexually tortured for two weeks. When his mother told the incident to authorities, Rahman's brother beat her. Martland admitted that he lost his cool hearing those. He and his captain "body slam" the rapist Afghan police official.
"After the child rapist laughed it off and referenced that it was only a boy, Captain Quinn picked him up and threw him," Martland wrote. Martland then "body slam him multiple times," kick him in the rib cage, and put his foot on his neck. "I continued to body slam him and throw him for fifty meters until he was outside the camp," Martland wrote. "He was never knocked out, and he ran away from our camp." The incident lasted less than five minutes, according to Martland.
Martland and Quinn were later removed from the base and eventually sent home from Afghanistan. According to WPTZ, there were no specifics of Martland's separation from the service because of the Privacy Act.
"The Army did the right thing and we won--the American people, won," said Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif. in a phone interview with Fox News. "Martland is who we want out there."
Martland's case has been supported by lawmakers, as well as some Hollywood personalities. They believe that the Green Beret did the right thing of defending a child from rape. And his victory is not only a triumph for SFC Martland, but for American people as well, said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ.
