The memo is the recommendation that a First Lieutenant be allowed to resign from the military for the good of the service because he has lost the confidence of his senior commanders. He had a lapse in judgment and the memo states "[He] will be punished by his own actions. He has humiliated himself; his chain of command, and his family He will not go home proud or with pride and honor deserved. Instead, he will go home in disgrace with neither award nor sense of accomplishment".
DEPARTMENT
HEADQUARTERS
3BRIGADECOMBATjEAM ISTARMORED DIVISIONSAGHDAD IRAQ
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. ENTION OF
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MEMORANDUM FOR'Conntianclet, 1 4'Atirioted:DiWSiori, Baghdad, Iraq
SUB JECT
R000pppoognoprop: Resignation for Qood of th.e.',Service(1LT
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GeneratCoUrt,4artiali ,:siihtnifted by 11;T: 40t the Good ofihe. 8ervic(RFOOS).in lieu of
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recommendaons ,fiK, ll-la AR, the
.bariallOtt,cominatiderandstiperviSOrS,
recent evaluation :Aft0i..,#0.fii14Onsideration, "recommend : the letter from Ins father, and his1LT 4•¦• -seivieeibo:chafacteritedA0.:900041 :that the,R.F.008 he ,approyed, and
-(Uilder Honorable Conditions)
2, First Lieutenant "'"'
.
'committed an - egregious. lapse injiidgment both in A professional
and moral 8drige...' -. , .
140--8100104I17.41*.Of 4-441)Oti00:Ohd §0i:abad:xan1Ple:.116fliis:
subordinates Clearly,-Iiejihould;he*paratedfrOkth0Arntr-:h0414190-AY:-0044denee in his
ability to lead soldiers in combat
However, }6:61faratitriStiOlibt$6tVido:shOnld,Oneonipa4 his
previousbutstanding-behayiOr-:od :i4git . ,._
.
..!poffoopo,poO,,o
believe were partially responsible • for . thd-.: well as extenuating circumstances I
-nii$Coild0:.
3 Frointhe.no4tentho 4tiikoil in
.,., -$0000,0200; 1LT
.....
.. abilities as a. Tank PlatoonLeader surpassed dia:thajotitylif his peers Be qualified Tank Table
Was A -. Ygi on his firstTun, He
"l=lerooff.ke,liattle at the National ttaining Center He suceeSSfully deployed his tinit to
the CENTCOM AOR
in support of Operation Tracif-Froedonl, He leads from the :front; he is resourcefitl„.o4goik anct:hiS potential is unequaled -As reflected in the letter from hisfather; nio:.
CommeTits;otld$::superiors, and his recent evaltiatiOn ilLY .... has proudly and
capabb,...SerVed his -coUntry,
4 1
eongclere4 the nature o 1LT : ..wiwo 'offenses various SerintS. However, they did not
involve. death or injUry.and there is no evidence , . •
• .
.he..-c4nsed any physical harm
legal kistificatibil. --defense r or ex cuse for biS While in no way a
:
..tigeotL4Of; extenuating circumstances- leading. up
to his misconduct should be considered in dototlpii1iwo.di§pOiti01:10,01is, case.
a: First, I LT imp and his fellow soldiers experienced a tremendous amount of
frustration and helplessness at the repeated and pervasive looting in their area of responsibility:
I do not believe his misconduct was predicated onsorne-Sort of demented thinking; but rather wasan overly aggressive reaction to events withoPt appropriate approval and supervision
b. Second, there was a breakdown by 11T .6•10. senior leadership As an aggressive
young officer who tooktings•persOnallyAnd passionately, his superiors should have given him
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AFZN-BB-CO
SUB JECT: Recommendation on Resignation for Good oldie Service (1LT.
much more supervision and rnentoring. His company commander gave him too free a rein. He was independently responsible for a stressful and dangerous mission, with very little oversight. He was a young officer with great raw potential, but given his known aggressive nature, he needed to be kept within clearly delineated boundaries. His leadership let 1LT
wow jown.
As a result, we will most likely lose a young officer with great potential.
5. By resigning his commission, 1LT!fasio
will be punished by his own actions. He has
humiliated himself; his chain of command, and his family He will not go home proud or with pride and honor deserVed. Instead, he will go home in disgrace with neither award nor sense of accomplishinent. This is something he will carry with him for the rest of his life. I do not see a requirement to tarnish his record for life with a federal conviction and dismissal at a General Court-Martial. Nor do I believe he should be tarnished for life with the stigma of an Other Than Honorable Conditions label: .He still has tremendous potential in society although
Army officer. not as an
6. I recommend 1LT agog be eliminated from the Army as •expeditiously as possible. He
does not deserve an honorable discharge, given the nature of his misconduct However, the totality of his service warrants a General (Under Honorable Conditions) characterization.
7.. Point of contact is the undersigned.
5 Enclosures
1. RFOOS / BN CDR Recommendation
3.
BN S.3 (Supervisor) Recommendation
4.
Letter from Father, 26 Sep 63
5.
ER, 2 Jul 03
\
COL, AR Commanding
2
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