Uniform Doesn't Guarantee Trustworthiness

I just finished re-reading Truman Capote's classic In Cold Blood, a classic which is considered the first nonfiction book to use the techniques of high quality fiction - vivid description, characterization, dialogue and so on. It is a chilling account of two ex-cons who slaughtered an entire family in Kansas in 1959. The motive was robbery, their haul was less than $50. The thug who pulled the trigger and cut the father's throat was Perry Smith. Before he became a serious criminal and convict, Smith server in the Army and was awarded the Bronze Star for service in Korea. While Smith and his partner were on death row, they were accompanied by two soldiers who went AWOL and went on a cross-country rape and murder spree before getting busted in Kansas. The point being, wearing a uniform or even being a combat vet doesn't guarantee someone is a stellar citizen. Here's a roundup of news stories that further illustrate the point: US general charged with adultery, other sex crimes FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — An Army brigadier general who served five combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan has been charged with forcible sodomy, multiple counts of adultery and having inappropriate relationships with several female subordinates, two U.S. defense officials said Wednesday. The defense officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to provide details on the case. Brig. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sinclair faces possible courts martial on charges that include forced sex, wrongful sexual conduct, violating an order, possessing pornography and alcohol while deployed, and misusing a government travel charge card and filing fraudulent claims. Texas executes ex-Army recruiter after 3 reprieves By MICHAEL GRACZYK, Associated Press HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A former Army recruiter failed to win a fourth reprieve from the U.S. Supreme Court and was executed Tuesday evening in Texas for participating in the shooting death of a woman he and a buddy met 10 years ago at a bar. Cleve Foster was pronounced dead at 6:43 p.m. CDT, 25 minutes after his lethal injection began and two hours after the high court refused to postpone his punishment. Three times last year the justices stopped his scheduled punishment, once when he was moments from being led to the death chamber. His attorneys argued he was innocent of the 2002 slaying of Nyaneur Pal, a 30-year-old immigrant from Sudan. They also said he had deficient legal help at his trial and in early stages of his appeals and argued his case deserved a closer look. Foster, 48, also was charged but never tried for the rape-slaying a few months earlier of another woman in Fort Worth, Rachel Urnosky. 5th instructor in Lackland Air Force Base sex scandal sentenced SAN ANTONIO - A fifth Air Force training instructor charged in the sex scandal at Lackland Air Force Base was sentenced late Monday afternoon. Staff Sgt. Jason Manko began his court martial Monday in a Lackland military courtroom. Manko pleaded guilty to violating Article 92. He is accused of sexual misconduct and trying to start a relationship with a recruit at the Air Force's headquarters for basic training. He was sentenced to 45 days confinement, a reduction of rank to Airman First Class, a forfeiture of $500 pay per month for three months and hard labor for 30 days without confinement (restricted to Lackland AFB). The news shocked Canada last February. Colonel Russell Williams was the commander of the country's largest Air Force base, the pilot entrusted to fly Canadian dignitaries around the globe. And he'd just been accused of being a serial murderer, rapist and panty burglar... He was caught after police identified tire tracks from his truck near a murder scene. But as the story unfolded, Canadians were treated to the unhappy truth that one of their top military men was a Grade A sadist and pervert.