The Old Colonel’s reaction to the Marine Lieutenant Colonel who resigned because he didn’t like the Commander-in-Chief’s Afghanistan Withdrawal Decision

 

Marine says he’ll resign after being relieved of command for calling out leaders on Afghanistan

Stuart Scheller posted a Facebook video saying senior leaders failed in Afghanistan. Within a day, he was relieved of command. - The Washington Post

Seems Marine Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller, who was relieved of command after a video of him criticizing senior U.S. officials for what he perceived to be “failures” in Afghanistan went viral, said on Sunday/29 August that he will be quitting the Marine Corps after 17 years.

“I am not saying we can take back what has been done; all I asked for was accountability,” he said, adding that he could have remained silent for three more years to reach the 20 years of service required for full pension, but that he opted to speak out instead.

Schaller went on to say: “I don’t want a single dollar. I don’t want any money from the VA … That the money should go to senior officers who will need it more than I do…. When I am done with what I am about to do, you all are going to need the jobs and the security … I want to say this very strongly… I have been fighting for 17 years. I am willing to throw it all away to say to my senior leaders: I demand accountability.”

 

Of course he followed this comment: “I am forfeiting my retirement, all entitlements. I don’t want a single dollar” by advertising his wife’s Pay Pal account for donations which calls into question his sincerity about “forfeiting all entitlements.” (as of 3 October, the account has collected over $2 Million)

 

Regardless, here was my well received comment in the Washington Post comments section for this article:

Military leaders give their best Military advice to the Commander-in-Chief/The President but it’s the CinC where the buck stops and he alone makes the final decision. If every Military leader resigned every time their recommendations were not followed, Pentagon E-Ring office doors would need to be replaced with revolving doors. Can you imagine the chaos that would create. Military leaders are sworn to obey the lawful orders of those appointed over them. 

When any Military member, regardless of rank, repeatedly disobeys a lawful direct order from a superior, the only remaining option is for the superior to sign a confinement order. That is what happened here and rightly so.  Lt Col Scheller had his own "Get Out of Jail Card" and he elected to exercise it after he had gotten the press he wanted by agreeing to refrain from any additional unlawful conduct.  Now that charges have been preferred and a Special Court Martial ordered, it appears the Marine Corps has offered him the option to "Resign for the Good of the Service in Lieu of Court Martial" but this almost always comes with a Discharge Under Other then Honorable Conditions which results in the loss of most Veterans' Benefits. Although Scheller publicly stated he didn't want any retirement or VA benefits, it now seems he is willing to resign but demands an Honorable Discharge, something the Marines are not willing to give someone resigning in lieu of court martial. It sets a bad precedent.

As for the the reason for Lt Col Scheller's insubordination, it is well known inside the “Building” that both The SecDef/GEN Austin and SecDef Esper as well as CJCS GEN Milley all strongly advised against the 2500 troop ceiling and giving up Bagram (Army) Airfield but both Trump and Biden rejected that advice and issued the lawful order to draw down to 2500 boots on the ground.

Remember, it was President Trump as the CinC that made the initial decision to draw down the troop strength to 2500. Anyone that has been on Bagram (Army) Airfield or BAF knows how big the perimeter is and even if we were to shrink it to just the inner perimeter (leave out the new area where the prison is) it would still take an Army Division to secure it and its two 10,000+ foot active runways with aprons.  It used to take me over an hour to run around just the inner perimeter. By making that drawdown decision, Trump in effect made the decision to abandon BAF.

Given the restraints of a 2500 troop strength the alternatives were try to provide an inadequate defense at BAF or withdraw to Kabul and protect the Military side of the Kabul Airport and the Military area around the US Embassy. The Military leaders correctly elected to withdraw to Kabul. This is a dilemma obviously beyond the grasp of a mere Marine Lieutenant Colonel training battalion commander who obviously has no respect for the chain of command. The Marine Corps and the entire Military is better off without this Officer.