Sordid details spill out in rare court-martial of a general on sex charges

[unhappycamper]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/sordid-details-spill-out-in-rare-court-martial-of-a-general/2013/08/14/f6c89c68-008d-11e3-a661-06a2955a5531_story.html



Poppa Panda Sexy Pants

Sordid details spill out in rare court-martial of a general on sex charges
By Craig Whitlock, Published: August 14

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — It was an illicit and volatile love affair that spanned two war zones and four countries. The married general couldn’t stay away from a captain on his staff. She fell hard for her boss and called him “Poppa Panda Sexy Pants.” The three-year entanglement ended disastrously for both, at a time that could not be worse for the Army.

All the raw and sordid details are spilling out in an austere military courthouse here, where the Army is girding — for only the third time in half a century — to court-martial one of its generals.

Brig. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sinclair, an Army Ranger and paratrooper, stands accused of forcible sodomy, adultery and other charges that could land him in prison. Prosecutors say he abused his command authority by sleeping with a subordinate officer, a taboo in the armed forces and a violation of military law.

They charge that the relationship turned violent on two occasions, when he allegedly forced her to perform oral sex.

[MADem]

1. They need to make an example of this guy.

He's not the only jerk who ever served in uniform, but he's one of the more egregious ones.

[KansDem]

2. Judges and generals...

My, how the mighty are falling!

[MADem]

4. Lots of times, they'll let them revert to the previous rank

(i.e. last rank held "honorably&quot and retire quietly.

This guy, though, he's pretty egregious. This isn't just a little dalliance outside the bonds of matrimony; this has all the hallmarks of coercion, abuse of authority, and more.

He needs to get a harsh sentence, one that includes a little time in the pokey. It's about the only way that this kind of shit will cease, if there are real consequences.

I hope he's got a 'good' jury, and not a 'good old boy' jury.

[TwilightGardener]

3. PoppaPandaSexyPants...