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SecDef Austin unaware that Lt. Col Scheller was jailed
Today, Secretary of Defense Lloyd James Austin III testified in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee. During the lengthy testimony, Austin was asked about Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller being jailed after criticizing the debacle in Afghanistan.
Today, Secretary of Defense Lloyd James Austin III testified in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Secretary of Defense Austin stated he was unaware that Scheller was in the brig. Furthermore, he could not speak to the reasons behind the confinement. He then stated he would need to be briefed by the Marine Corps about the situation. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark A. Milley was present, but did not offer any explanation.
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Scheller infamously called for accountability after the HKIA bombing. He was almost immediately relieved of his command.
“They had a gag order on him and asked him not to speak,” Scheller’s father told Task and Purpose. “He did, and they incarcerated him. They don’t know what to do with him.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">LtCol Scheller is accused of violating Articles 88, 90, 92 and 133 of the UCMJ.<br>By <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidSRoza?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DavidSRoza</a> <a href="https://t.co/MqVcklO4Vs">https://t.co/MqVcklO4Vs</a></p>— Task & Purpose (@TaskandPurpose) <a href="https://twitter.com/TaskandPurpose/status/1442886180211773445?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 28, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Marine Corps issued the following statement,
“Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller Jr. is currently in pre-trial confinement in the Regional Brig for Marine Corps Installations East aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune pending an Article 32 preliminary hearing.”
It extremely rare to see an officer sent to the brig. Even more confounding, is how a Lieutenant Colonel was not only sent to the brig, but the Secretary of Defense was not briefed.
During today’s hearing, Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) called for the resignation of both Secretary of Defense Lloyd James Austin III, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark A. Milley. Both officials have stated, they have not prepared a letter of resignation.
