When a decorated soldier was told to turn a blind eye in the case of a child who was being repeatedly raped and beaten, he knew it was an order he had to refuse. Now, doing the right thing will cost him his career.
Sgt. 1st Class Charles Martland, a Green Beret, learned from a 12 year-old Afghan boy's mother that an Afghan police commander had chained her son to his bed in order to repeatedly abuse him...all occurring on a United States military base. The commander was being trained under Sgt. Martland's mentorship.
On a U.S. military base in Afghanistan, Sgt. Martland confronted the Afghan rapist, who admitted to his sexually abusive actions but simply laughed off the concerns. Like any red-blooded American would (and should) do, Sgt. Martland would not stand by and allow the child to be hurt any longer.
A physical altercation broke out between Sgt. Martland and the Afghan commander. Sgt. 1st Class Charles Martland admits he confronted the Afghan police commander and physically threw him off the base because he was fed up with the commander's brutal sexual abuse of a village boy.
For protecting a child against an admitted rapist, Sgt. Martland was ordered to be involuntarily discharged from the military.
Did you catch that? Instead of standing with a soldier who was protecting a child against an admitted rapist, the military kicked him out! I can't imagine anyone who wouldn’t have done the same thing in Sgt. Martland's boots.
It is inconceivable that Sgt. Marland is being punished for stepping forward to protect a defenseless child from a sexual predator!
No matter where our soldiers serve, no matter what local customs may dictate, every person serving in our military has a moral obligation to protect children anywhere and anytime abuse occurs.
Sign our petition before the April 27 deadline, urging the Pentagon to clear Sgt. Martland's record, reinstate his active Green Beret status, and restore his good name.
