Luke 17:2
“It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he would cause one of these little ones to stumble.”
In the news today locally I read that a local judge sentenced a 39-year-old man to life in prison for 3 years of sexually molesting a child from the age of 4-7. In a national news story also reported today, “In a stunning reversal, the U.S. Army decided late Thursday to retain a decorated Green Beret it had planned to kick out after he physically confronted a local Afghan commander accused of raping a boy over the course of many days” and beating the child’s mother in 2011. When confronted the Afghan commander had laughed. U.S. Army commanders initially took the position that it was not the mission of the U.S. military to involve itself in judging local moral standards or conduct. What???? I recall how bizarre the Army’s “cultural sensitivity” sounded to me at the time.
What a shame it would have been for a decorated green beret to have been discharged for defending a child who was sexually abused repeatedly. Sgt. Martland’s congressman, Duncan Hunter, went to bat to defend him as well as the ACLJ, a national writing campaign, and several celebrities.
In a “memorandum of reprimand” from October 2011 Sgt. First Class Charles Martland was criticized by the brass for his intervention after the alleged rape. In the surprise turnaround an Army spokesman said Thursday, April 27 that Martland’s status has been changed, allowing him to stay in the Army.
Attorney Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ said, “Justice has been served. The U.S. military has a moral obligation to stop child sexual abuse and exonerate SFC Martland for defending a child from rape. The Army finally took the corrective action needed and this is not only a victory for SFC Martland, but for the American people as well.” “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.”
Sgt. Martland grew up south of Boston, in Milton, Mass. After the all-state football player graduated from high school in 2001, he attended Florida State University. After the death of Pat Tillman, he dropped out of college and graduated in 2006 from the Special Forces Qualification Course. He became a jumpmaster, combat diver, and sniper.
Thank goodness for justice in the name of protecting innocents.