Two court-martialed at Eglin

  • Published
  • Air Armament Center Legal Office
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  The base legal office completed two courts martial in April and May. These are the results of those cases.

In May, an Airman from the 96th Medical Support Squadron, faced a Summary Court-Martial on charges in violation of Uniform Code of Military Justice Article 86--Absence Without Leave, Article 90--Willfully Disobeying a Superior Commissioned Officer, and Article 92--Dereliction of Duty. The Airman was found guilty of all charges. He was sentenced to 25 days confinement and a reduction in rank to Amn.

The facts of the Airman's case began when his supervisor denied his leave. Then, the Airman refused to report to work. His squadron commander went to his residence and ordered him to report to duty. The Airman refused. The Airman remained at his residence until he was detained by the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Department and turned over to AFOSI at Eglin.

An emergency pre-trial confinement hearing took place on April 18. Specifically, the Pretrial Confinement Review Officer found pretrial confinement appropriate as it was more likely than not the Airman would "not appear at trial, pretrial hearings, or investigations, and less severe forms of restraint were inadequate."

The squadron commander testified as to the effects the Airman's offenses had on the mission, discipline, and efficiency of her command. One consequence she testified to was those within the Airman's flight were required to work extra hours to cover his duties during his absence.

Prior to the court-martial, the Airman received an Article 15 for drinking alcohol while deployed and then driving a motor vehicle. He had also received three LORs for disobeying orders.

In April, an Airman from the 96th Security Forces Squadron was sentenced to 13 months confinement and a Bad Conduct Discharge. The Airman pled and was found guilty to possessing child pornography.

An investigator from the Pennsylvania State Police Department notified AFOSI the Airman's IP address was sharing images of child pornography online. He was later convicted of the crime.