10-26-2017

The New York Times interviews Kastenberg on the history of the military charge: misbehavior before the enemy

Joshua E. Kastenberg University of New Mexico - School of Law

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Recommended Citation Joshua E. Kastenberg, interviews Kastenberg on the history of the military charge: misbehavior before the enemy, The New York Times A13 (2017). Available at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/law_facultyscholarship/617

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ANDREW CRAFT/THE FAYE"TTEVILLE OBSERVER, VIA Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl arrives forhis sentencing hearing Wednesday. He faceslife in prison on a rarely used charge that he endangered others when he deserted his post. Sentencing Hearing Begins With Wounded NavySEAL By RICHARD A. OPPELJr. Sergeant Bergdahl, who was Greece and Rome, and has al­ Mr. Kastenberg said. One He received a bad-conduct , N.C. - The captured by the and held ways been about maintaining sergeant was dishonorably dis­ discharge - one notch above a sentencing hearing for Sgt. Bowe captive for five years, has ranks when it counts the most - charged and sentenced to a year dishonorable discharge - and Bergdahl, who walked away from pleaded guilty and faces up to in the presence of the enemy.. in prison for telling troops that was demoted to private. his postin in 2009, life in prison. Colonel Nance will "It goes back to the idea that President Woodrow Wilson was In another case, a Marine began on Wednesday with an determine his sentence after a you have the lives of your own worse than the Kaiser. refused to leave on a mission off hearing that is expected to last comrades in your hands when base, saying he feared death. He ex-Navy SEAL'sassertion that Why is it so rarely used today? he knew the military operation to into next week. you are fighting together in the was sentenced to one year in jail. find the missing soldier would be Mr. Batch's testimony was field of combat, and that's why After World War II came the A third service member, this one dangerous. intended to support a charge it's so serious ii you let them introduction of the Uniform Code in the Air Force, used hashish, "Somebody's going to get Sergeant Bergdahl's actions had down," said Bruce Houlder, the of , which offered violated a no-contact order and killed or hurt trying to get that endang(;!red othertroops. The top prosecutor in the British a road map to charging soldiers engaged in sexual activity while kid," Jupmy Hatch recalled charge, formally known as "mis­ armed forces from 2008 to 2013. with offenses that were easier to on post. He served five months in behavior before the enemy," is prove, like those related to unau­ jail. Both received bad-conduct telling another member of his How has it been used task force before setting off on a rarely used today but has a col­ thorized absences. discharges. orful history. in the United States? The misbehavior charge can mission to find Sergeant What does that mean Bergdahl. Mr. Hatch was shot in The first notable use of the carry a death sentence, but What is misbehavior charge in the United States fol­ Sergeant Bergdahl faces a maxi­ for Sergeant Bergdahl? the leg during the rescue effort before the enemy? and had surgery 18 times. lowed the War of 1812, when the mum punishment of life in pris­ The first of the three cases, the The defense declined to cross­ The charge is so broadly written commander of Fort Detroit was on. If recent misbehavior cases Army case, was cited in some examine Mr. Hatch. it could seemingly cover most prosecuted for surrendering are any guide, that would be back-and-forth over whether In other developments, the war-zone misconduct, including without a fight, said Joshua uncharacteristically severe. Sergeant Bergdahl was unfairly jl,ldge, Col. Jeffery R Nance, said cowardice, failing to do the ut­ Kastenberg, a former Air Force There are only a handful, but hit with two charges, he was not yet ready to rule on most to destroy the enemy, and judge. in one of the most serious, in and misbehavior, for one act, the defense's argument that failing to do everything possible The commander received a 2014, an Army staff sergeant left leaving his post. recent comments by President to assist and relieve allied troops. death sentence, later commuted his squad as it was defending In the earlier Army case, the Trumphad made a fair hearing In Sergeant Bergdahl's case, it by President James Madison. during a Taliban attack. staff sergeant was also given two impossible. The defense has means that he endangered his The case helped launch the poli­ He grabbed a calendar with charges: leaving his appointed argued that the president comrades by leaving and that he tical career of the prosecutor, sexually suggestive pictures, place of duty and misbehavior. seemed to endorse previous "wrongfully caused search and Martin Van Buren, who became kicked two junior soldiers out of But the defense has argued assertions, made when he was a recovery operations." No troops president. a tent, went inside, and emerged that unlike Sergeant Bergdahl, candidate, that Sergeant were killed searching for During the Civil War, the 15 minutes later, bragging that he the staff sergeant actually com­ Bergdahl was a traitor and de­ Sergeant Bergdahl, the investi­ charge was often lodged against had gotten his "combat Jack," mitted two separate offenses: served execution. As commander gating officer concluded, but the officers who got drunk and put meaning that he had mastur­ abandoning his post during a in chief, he is the superior officer judge later found that some were their troops at risk. bated, court documents say. firefight, and going inside the of all the military officials re­ wounded, clearing the way for There were also hundreds of The attack lasted hours and tent to engage "in an act that did sponsible for disciplining Mr. Hatch to testify. cases during World War I, some left one soldier wounded, but the not conform to the standard of Sergeant Bergdahl. Experts say the misbehavior for nothing more than saying staff sergeant was not sentenced behavior required by a soldier charge dates back to ancient things considered pro-German, to serve any time. engaging the enemy in combat."

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