Inside the Scheller Court-Martial: A Generation of Generals on Trial
Mil & Intel
By Noelle Wiehe & Carl Prine | October 14, 2021
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — Marine Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller pleaded guilty Thursday at a special court-martial trial here to blasting his chain of command in a string of social media posts that exposed a generational gap between the Americans who fought counterinsurgency wars over the past two decades, and the brass who oversaw them.
“Since this endeavor began, not a single general officer has accepted accountability,” said Scheller, a 17-year Marine infantry veteran who was decorated for battlefield valor in Afghanistan. “Not a single general officer has contacted me directly in any forum to deescalate the situation. Since this endeavor began, I have acknowledged that I should be held accountable for my actions. I am standing here today pleading guilty. This is me accepting accountability. But it deeply pains me that my senior leaders are incapable of being as courageous.
“Without accountability from our senior leaders, the system cannot evolve, and the military will ultimately keep repeating the same mistakes in the future,” he continued. “It doesn’t matter if a staff sergeant squad leader is highly efficient in distributed operations if the general officers have relegated themselves to ‘yes sir’ responses. We need senior leaders who possess the moral courage to push back when something doesn’t make sense.”
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