Congressmen Andy Biggs and David Schweikert along with several other colleagues have sent a letter demanding that the commandant of the Marine Corps release from the brig Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller. Scheller is currently being confined at Camp Lejeune for speaking out against his military leaders for the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan.
According to Task and Purpose, Scheller is accused of violating four offenses under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ): Article 88: Contempt toward officials, Article 90: Willfully disobeying a superior commissioned officer, Article 92: Failure to obey an order, and Article 133: Conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman.
“I think what you believe in can only be defined by what you’re willing to risk. So if I’m willing to risk my current battalion commander’s seat my, my retirement, my family’s stability to say some of the things that I want to say, I think it gives me some moral high ground to demand the same honesty, integrity, and accountability from my senior leaders. People are upset because their senior leaders let them down, and none of them are raising their hands and accepting accountability or saying, ‘We messed this up,’” Scheller said in a video he posted to Facebook and LinkedIn on Aug. 26, after 13 U.S. servicemembers were killed by a suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan.
Biggs-Schweikert letter:
Dear Commandant Berger,
Lieutenant Colonel Stewart Scheller Jr. should be immediately released from the brig and allowed to voluntarily resign from this post. American servicemembers should not be punished for demanding our military leader stand up and take ownership of their decisions. Especially when those decisions lead to the tragic deaths of 13 service members.
Lt. Col. Scheller was relieved of his command for demanding accountability from military leaders over the dismal withdrawal from Afghanistan. He offered to resign from his position instead of remaining in the Marines because of the lack of accountability within the top military brass. His resignation was denied, he was arrested, and is currently being held in pretrial confinement at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
During the video post demanding accountability, Lt. Col. Scheller said, “I have been fighting for 17 years. I am willing to throw it all away to say to my senior leaders: I demand accountability.” After posting this video, Lt. Col. Scheller was relieved of his command because “of a loss of trust and confidence in his ability to command.” Lt. Col. Scheller was willing to give up his well-deserved benefits in order to ensure that there was accountability for the failures in our withdrawal from Afghanistan. That is the kind of leadership that the American people want, deserve, and demand from their military leaders. Lt. Col. Scheller should have your complete trust and confidence for his willingness to stand up for what is right and to demand our military leaders hold themselves to the highest standards.