Wednesday, August 07, 2013

Amos tries to complete his coverup.

via Press Release.
Sergeant Robert Richards Reaches Deal with the Marine Corps
Guy L. Womack & Associates, P.C. is pleased to announce that their client, Sgt. Robert Richards, has been able to reach a deal with the Marine Corps that will protect his retirement benefits.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRLog (Press Release) - Jul. 31, 2013 - HOUSTON -- Guy L. Womack & Associates is pleased to announce that their client, Sgt. Robert Richards, has reached a deal with the Marine Corps that will allow him to medically retire from the service with full benefits. Richards, along with seven other Marines, faced disciplinary action after being implicated in a controversial video that depicted a group of soldiers urinating on the corpses of dead Taliban. The incident sparked international controversy after the video was uploaded to the Internet in January of 2012. The media frenzy surrounding this case has yet to subside, but the scout sniper’s attorney, retired Lt. Col. Guy Womack, is satisfied that the Marine Corps was willing to negotiate a deal. Richards will face the least form of court-martial—which is most commonly used to resolve minor military offenses.
This means that he could be demoted one rank and asked to forfeit two-thirds of his pay for one month. Aside from this, however, he will still be allowed to medically retire with full benefits. The Marine Corps’willingness to negotiate an agreement may have something to do with the fact that Gen. Jim Amos is now facing allegations that he exerted unlawful command influence. According to an inspector general complaint, Amos attempted to manipulate the legal proceedings and ensure that the eight Marines were served stricter punishment than what was due. He even went as far as to remove the prosecutor, Lt. Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, from the case after he refused to have them tossed out of the Marine Corps. In his Amos’ words, he wanted each of the video’s participants “crushed.”
When asked why Sgt. Robert Richards chose to accept the summary court-martial, rather than take the chance to clear his name, his wife explained that they just want to “close this chapter and move on with [their] lives.” She feels as though the incident has already put the Marine Corps in a negative light and she, along with her husband, would like to avoid dragging it out any longer. Not only does this arrangement guarantee his medical benefits, but it allows Richards to finally put an end to the case. For this reason, all parties involved—including his Houston military defense attorney, Guy Womack—are pleased with the manner in which this case has been resolved. Richards will go before a summary court-martial on August 7, 2013 at Camp Lejeune, N.C., where his punishment will be decided.
I understand why Sgt Richards accepted the deal.

I still wish he hadn't though.  Amos is on the rocks right now.  Light is being shined into an area of the Marine Corps that needs serious disinfection.  If Amos is able to claim that all of the cases have been settled to the benefit of both the Marines and the accused then the issue is one step closer to going away.

Amos is a disease and should resign for the good of the Corps.

He's court martialed people for much less than he's being accused of and his continued service is a blemish on the face of the Corps, confusing for young Marines who are spoon fed honor-courage-commitment, and detrimental to the morale of the institution.