November 30, 2007

Sometimes, the Wheels of Justice Are Millstones

Our first night of liberty, one of the Marines with my squadron went out on libo with a buddy from the infantry. They were having such a grand time out in Sihanoukville, that they decided to stay out overnight. Sure, the order said that liberty expires on the pier at 2000, but they planned to come back on the next day's libo boats, and surely no one would notice their absence.

They were mistaken. Their absence was noted with urgent concern. They hadn't even whispered this little plan to any friends. So while they were out in a beachside bungalow with some local ladies of negotiable virtue, the boat was turned upside down looking for them. When command was convinced that they were not aboard, they were declared Unauthorized Absent and the hunt was on. The Shore Patrol was given their photos, the NCIS agents went looking, we even notified the local police. With two Marines missing, the hope was that they had just holed up overnight somewhere; but the fear was that they had either deserted or had been mugged or worse.

The next day the two wandered back to the pier with the intent of quietly getting back on the libo boat to return to Essex. They were apparently quite surprised when NCIS cuffed them, although they did get to skip the uncomfortable liberty LCU and rode back instead on the captain's gig.

So right now, our guy is waiting around while the higher-ups argue over who gets to serve as the Wheel Of Justice and grind him into flour. He's facing Non-Judicial Punishment, but the strenght of the punishment offered depends on the rank of the officer presiding at NJP. In the squadron, all NJPs are typically done by our Commanding Officer, who as a Lieutnant Colonel can issue up to 60/60/60- that is, 60 days of half pay, 60 days of restriction to quarters, and 60 days of Extra Punative Duty. Word is (from someone that would know) that the ship's captain wants him to get 90/112/112. Now, I'm not certain how the UCMJ works in this case, because the ship's captain is not actually in our chain of command. But on the other hand, a ship's captain traditionally has legal authority over all persons aboard his vessal. But anyway, the captain is a Navy Captain, equal in rank to a Marine Colonel, and the 31st MEU is commanded by a Colonel that is indisputably in our chain of command.

That being said, I think 112 is beyond the limit of a Colonel- I think he can only go 90/90/90. That suggests that the ship's captain wants these guys NJP'd by the Rear Admiral in charge of PHIBRON 11, the amphibious squadron of which we're a part. Getting NJP'd by an admiral would be a rare priviledge; I've never met anyone with that signal honor.

You may note that this is being taken very seriously. Partly that is because going missing in a foreign country is looked at much more seriously than, say, getting in a bar brawl. But also, this is the first visit by a US capital ship in many years, and the command element is under a great deal of pressure to make sure this is a diplomatic triumph.

Posted by: Boviate at 11:32 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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