Once more we see the biased leadership out of DOD…
The Defense Department will deny a plea from Navy Lt. Ridge Alkonis to extend his pay and allowances while he serves a three-year prison sentence in Japan, according to U.S. Sen. Mike Lee of Utah on Thursday.
Full article, HERE from Stars and Stripes and HERE.
Not only did DOD NOT go to bat for him during the trial, they pretty much rolled over and didn’t contest the Japanese court dismissing the evidence of acute mountain sickness.
They ‘strictly’ adhered to the SOFA agreement (HERE), and now will kick Alkonis’ family to the curb IN JAPAN right before Christmas with no income and no way to get back to the states…
Compare and contrast to…this…
At least two Army officers are under investigation for posting photos of themselves in dog-shaped BDSM gear while in uniform.
The photos surfaced last week after one of the officers posted a picture of himself wearing the dog masks, announcing his retirement from the Army. Another Twitter account posted a long thread revealing that two of the members were commissioned officers and reportedly in a sexual relationship. The Army announced Tuesday it was investigating the posts.
Full article, HERE from the Daily Wire.
This was an ongoing thing, apparently noted multiple times on Instagram and other media sites but apparently ‘ignored’ by the powers that be…
I’m honestly glad I’m NOT in the military anymore, and I frankly would not point any young person at the military as a career under the current administration and DOD leadership.
Grrr…
I am in full agreement with you. I am ashamed of the current trends in the U.S. Military. I actively discourage young people from going into the military. The perversions of its leadership are in an effort to create a military that is not loyal to this Country but one that is loyal to the Democrat Party to be able to go to war against the citizens of this Nation. The near 50% decrease in recruitment shows what is going on.
+1
+2
Right now you could make an argument that DOD is entering the Terminal Convergence phase from Vox Day’s “Corporate Cancer.” I.E. so devoted to SJW narratives that they are incapable of performing their original primary function.
Granted, I haven’t studied the details of this case and only looked at the article you linked, but I’d have to say that the Japs have a point.
I suffer from altitude sickness…which I discovered on a motorcycle trip to the Rocky Mountain National Park. The symptoms don’t happen all the sudden, they start slow and increase as your altitude increases.
They were on their way HOME from mount Fuji, so if he was suffering from altitude sickness, he was well aware of that fact when he got behind the wheel.
The Japanese court’s finding that he was driving even though he knew he was drowsy is legitimate. He would have been feeling dizzy, weak, drowsy and nauseous the whole time they were on the mountain, it’s not something that would have hit him suddenly, without warning on the way down.
Whether the decision to drive in that condition rises to the level of negligence is a judgement call. In the judgement of the Japanese court, apparently it does, and the fact that his decision lead to the deaths of two people tends to lend credence to that determination in my opinion.
So, after determining that he wasn’t railroaded and jailed for no reason, the next question becomes, is his family being treated unfairly under the conditions?
In my opinion, driving impaired under these conditions is little different than driving under the influence of alcohol. In both cases the impairment is obvious when the accused got behind the wheel. I can’t imagine that the military would continue paying the salary of a service member jailed for for a DUI resulting in the deaths of two people in a foreign country. Maybe I’m wrong and they would, but I doubt it. In that case, why should this instance be treated differently? Because it’s near Christmas? That’s a plea to emotion and is completely irrelevant.
I have sympathy for both the service member in this case and his family. I have no doubt he had no intention of harming anyone when he got behind the wheel of that car; and unlike a DUI, he didn’t intentionally cause himself to be impaired before driving, but impaired he was and the decision to drive in that condition was his to make.
We are responsible for the consequences of our actions regardless of our intent. Two innocent people died as a result of his actions. I’d say he got off light with a 3 year sentence. If it had been my son, or daughter, or grandchild killed by his actions, I certainly would have wanted a harsher consequence.
In part he was being convicted of being an American in Japan. Saw the same thing when I was station in West Germany 40+ years ago.
Bill….
The responsibility is on you to show that that materially affected the case.
Isaiah chapter 59.
Crisis averted. https://www.navytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2022/12/22/sailor-jailed-for-fatal-japanese-crash-will-get-pay-benefits-restored/
Apparently the Senate disagrees with me.
One more point…or, rather, question: What does this have to do with the “Woke” policies of the military? I think they’re ridiculous and destructive, don’t get me wrong, but I have to wonder: how many people did the puppy mask guy kill?
Maybe I’m too wrapped around the axle over the fact that two innocent people died as a direct result of this guy’s decision to drive that day, but you know, that just seems like kind of a big deal to me.
The puppymask guy will be responsible for everyone who was under his command that dies in the next war. Because He’s a fucking loon.
He’s a loon not because he’s into puppy play or that he’s gay, or that he’s into BDSM.
He’s a loon because he couldn’t separate that from his professional life, from his command. That it was a PART of his command and he engaged in illegal activities (like fucking a direct subordinate) and probably promoted folks undeserving because they were into what he was into.
I’m sure there are also people who either resigned out of disgust or who were punished for questioning his lack of professional ethics and abilities. I can guarantee you that his command is a complete mess, all the way down to the lowest of the low because of the rot at the head. It goes far beyond just being a morale killer. It’s the example he set for all of his troops that they ALL knew he was into puppy play and that he was screwing a direct subordinate. He didn’t hide it. More like boasted about it.
I know people like that jackass and those that separate it from their professional lives are folks I’ve got no problems with (I actually do have friends in this community so I know all about it). Those who cannot and will not separate it from their professional lives – those folks have issues with reality and get worse and worse as time goes on. This joker wasn’t hiding anything – everyone in his command knew what he was doing. That -his- CO approved of such unprofessional behavior speaks volumes.
I agree with pretty much everything you said.
Still doesn’t explain how that has any bearing on a guy continuing to get paid while in a Japanese jail for killing two people while driving impaired.
It’s apparently how we treat perverts better than we treat a family man who, despite your analysis, suffered a medical issue and was left hanging in the wind.
The DOD and the entire military from the Pentagon generals and admirals are a woke cult with sick individuals running the show. I am also glad I am not in the military any longer. My concern is with my one grandson who enlisted in the Army and is stationed in Germany as a dog handler. Too much is going on over there.
On Christmas night I read that the DoD is extending his benefits, I assume, until he is released. Also, his wife (under guidance from an attorney I assume) chose NOT to take a prisoner swap to get him back in the US. Also, the Jap prosecution attested that the timing was all wrong for altitude sickness to have affected him, tha he fell asleep. Too many stories coming out of the MSM rags to know exactly what is going on.
” is stationed in Germany as a dog handler. ”
Given the second story above you might want to keep this quiet.
🤣
And it shall gross worse and worse !
All- Valid points. Curt- We left a guy in prison in 74 in Okinawa for drug dealing. He was reduced to E-1, but continued to get pay, as the ‘family’ is responsible for feeding prisoners in Japanese prisons (or were), also as a driver, he is now responsible for the families of the people he killed. He will be paying for the rest of his life. My problem is that DOD, IMHO, didn’t properly support him with JAG/expert witness testimony, nor did they try to get him transferred to a US prison.
“We left a guy in prison in 74 in Okinawa for drug dealing. He was reduced to E-1, but continued to get pay, as the ‘family’ is responsible for feeding prisoners in Japanese prisons (or were)”
As I said, it’s possible that my assumptions are wrong and the military usually does keep paying service members who are in foreign jails. If that’s the case, then I agree that they shouldn’t be treating this case differently…this guy isn’t a criminal, just negligent.
“also as a driver, he is now responsible for the families of the people he killed. He will be paying for the rest of his life.”
Not a bad idea. Could be a pretty good incentive for people to take their responsibilities more seriously while operating two to three ton lethal weapons.
“My problem is that DOD, IMHO, didn’t properly support him with JAG/expert witness testimony nor did they try to get him transferred to a US prison.”
I can’t speak to that. I don’t know what the customary level of support is, nor what level of support they gave him.
My only point is that I can’t generate a whole lot of outrage for a person being held accountable for killing two people after exercising extremely poor judgement in choosing to drive while impaired, whether it’s by a Japanese court or one right here at home…and I don’t see how it has any relationship to the puppy mask guy.
Sailorcurt: It exposes a common theme. “We won’t support our servicemen when they need us, and they really need us when they get into trouble, but we will support those in the command structure doing things that are inappropriate and demoralizing to the troops.”
This drives away hard men of good character from continuing to serve, or to sign up. Why, it’s almost as if weakening the military were a long term goal by someone that might be pulling Biden’s strings.
OK, I can buy that.
Well said.
Completely OT, but I’m curious as to the reason why the second personage mentioned has so much fruit salad on his brisket.
I have my Grandfather’s medal ribbons. He was on active service through both world wars – the Western Front from early on, the Middle East and the Pacific – and retired as a Major-General ….. and he wore just two rows.
Different military cultures, I suppose?
Curt- The guy in the puppy mask was covered for, allowed to retire, etc, because he’s a ‘protected’ class in the military now… THAT is the difference from the troops on the deckplates.
AG- Point.
Peter- Definitely different now days.