Outrage over the Johnson verdict? No way!
If you haven’t heard, Col. James H. Johnson III, the former commander of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, who we’ve discussed twice in the last few days was sentenced in his trial for forgery, fraud, lying and bigamy yesterday. He got a wrist slap of a $300,000 fine for his plea of guilty to 13 charges and conviction on two others. Johnson keeps his rank, his current pay and his retirement.
Well, Stars & Stripes discovered that some folks are outraged over the little pat on Johnson’s rump the court calls punishment;
“Once again, it appears there are two different standards for officers and enlisted in the Army,” [Greg Rinckey, a former Army judge advocate general] said. “If this had been an enlisted soldier, you have to believe there would have been a reduction in rank and jail time. And that perception of different rules does become a problem.”
But Fidell said the verdict appeared mainly to be an attempt to protect the family that Johnson left behind.
“Obviously they wanted to preserve his pension so that his wife — one of his wives, anyway, the legal wife — could get the benefit,” [Eugene Fidell, military law expert who teaches at Yale University] said.
In some cases, the court-martial panel feels the need to send a loud and clear message, but this likely wasn’t one of them, Fidell said.
“It’s a freakish case,” he said. “I don’t think they’re going to have to worry about an upsurge in bigamy as a result of this.”
Yeah, I’m sure they were thinking of Johnson’s first wife, but how much would they take into consideration a wife of a sergeant guilty of that much malfeasance? I think it’s the greatest miscarriage of justice in the history of military justice. The thing is that Johnson wasn’t thinking about the welfare of his first wife, so why should Big Army consider it? Because it’s not their money they’re giving her – it’s the taxpayers’ money.
Category: Big Army, Military issues
Not sure I’d say it’s the biggest miscarriage of justice in Army history, Jonn. But IMO it’s up there.
The ass deserved dismissal and hard time measured in years. And he skated without getting either.
“How much would they take into consideration a wife of a sergeant guilty of that much malfeasance”? Case in point, SSG Robert Bales, I wonder how much Big Army will be concerned about her. Will they be worried about whether she gets any “benefit” when they get done with him?
All good points. As a the former wife of a fk up, I would appreciate the Army being gentle… but it isn’t right. Justice should be just. 🙁
Some forfeiture of rank is right. If only symbolic and the wife could still sue for half of his retirement.
Big Army blew it.
BooRadley: the courts-martial panel’s hands were somewhat tied regarding any reduction in rank. For commissioned and warrant officers, the choices are dismissal (lose everything) or keep current rank. Unlike enlisted personnel, reductions in rank are verboten. That’s counterbalanced by the fact that a dismissal (or DD for appointed warrant officers) can be adjudged for literally any officer who gets any courts-martial conviction by a GCM.
Have no idea why, but that’s what the Manual for Courts-Martial says.
I’m a firm believer in the principle that officers should be held to a higher standard. In the case of MAJ (DR) Hassan, my belief is that he should have had a close and personal experience with an M9 and one round, Ball, 9mm. In the case of COL Johnson, sorry about the wife (the legitimate one), but that only factored in after Army Times did an article on her opinions. Truthfully, COL Johnson needed to be reduced in rank to PVT, time in the DB and the long walk with a Dishonorable in hand. Something about the faith of your troops and the taxpayers’ trust inspires me. Just sayin’.
The only positive out of this is that his wife will be able to take him for 50% of his retirement, but the fact that we are still paying him and that I have to call him “sir” turns my stomach.
Clarification. The “close and personal experience” I believe MAJ Hasan should have had, was by his own hand. Sorry if I offended any sensibilites.
[…] John Lilyea sums up my feelings exactly. I saw two guys in my career get busted and busted hard for doing stupid crap, and they never acted as inappropriately as with Johnson did. He ought to have been busted to the lowest enlisted grade and made to clean field latrines at Fort Polk for a few summers. […]
Eodman: I have to disagree with you about Hassan. I personally think it would have been better all around if the round which severed his spine had severed his aorta instead. If that makes me a “bad person” – so be it. IMO him not being taken alive would have been proper justice. I’m not sure he’ll get the same at trial.
And I agree with you about Johnson, with a minor quibble: commissioned officers get dismissed vice a DD. Same effect post-service, but technically different. Beats hell out of me why there’s a difference or what the precise difference is other than the name.
Different spanks for different ranks.
The thing about the pension: the former first Mrs. Johnson gets half. The former second Mrs. Johnson gets some too. The Retired Colonel Johnson (you’ll see him at the PX, commissary, and at the Hospital, too) gets what’s left.
And social security.
And a book deal, and maybe a Lifetime movie if not an episode on Army Wives that will pay off whatever he has to pay.
Well, there are some openings on Washington DC’s governing council. “Colonel Double-duty Big” Johnson will fit right in.
Mean while Marine Sergeants are being given OTH Discharges for voicing their opinion on Facebook about the CinC.
Folks, if I may. You must remember, it’s not a ‘Justice’ system, it’s a “LEGAL” system. Just like out in civie land. As a Battalion Prisoner Escort, “chaser”, I saw plenty of enlisted Marines get totally screwed over for way less than this. Lance Corporal ‘Jones’ (true story) got a reduction in rank, loss of pay and brig time for being UA (AWOL) for a day. His girlfriend had been in an accident and he went to see her. Because they weren’t married it didn’t qualify as a “family” emergency. Legal not justice.
Tim: “Play stupid games, get stupid prizes.” Especially when those stupid games involve public disrespect for the current POTUS by someone in uniform. I believe there’s a UCMJ article that covers that.
He needs to be in Leavenworth worried about having to pick up the soap in the shower.
Starship Trooper mode: public lashing.
As a former officer….I am shocked, speechless.
I can only apologize to the NCOs out there. I was once proud to have been an officer, but this sullies that experience.
Not only what Johnston did but the entire chain that handed down the decision. What this ARmy needs most of all is a revamp of how an officer is grown. I think the academy model is long outdated.
If I’ve got the details correct, Johnson has 30 years time in service (he was USMA class of ’86, so he entered in ’82) so his O-6 pension would be a little more than $90K per year. The ex gets half, but that still leaves him just about the same as the household median income nationwide (as near as I can tell from stats online).
I’m not terribly surprised. I’ve long seen CSMs [or SMAs] and senior officers get to essentially walk for offenses that JOs and NCOs would do time for.
68W58: the 4 years at West Point are not creditable military service. All his entry there does is establish his DIEMS. Otherwise, for military purposes it’s as if they don’t exist. He has 26 years service for retirement and pay purposes.
Ironically, in Johnson’s plea to the court for leniency, he said he needed to take care of wife two and her daughter.
@17 – I don’t believe that Academy time counts toward time-in-service for retirement.
Interesting thought: IVAW recruiting Johnson.
Not saying it’ll happen, but at least Johnson had 20+ years of service before he lost his fucking mind. That’s 20 more years than a combined 98% of IVAW and all their spin offs.
Actually there are times in the past where Senior Officers were reduced in rank.
LTG Philip Kensinger, Former Commander of ARSOC was reduced in rank due to the Pat Tillman death.
MG David Hale, reduced to Colonel due to sexual assault (around the same time that former SMA McKinney went to trial and was reduced to MSG).
So, they “could” reduce them, but I don’t know the specifics of how that would work. Regardless, because there is more than one judge, more than one jury for military trials, sometimes trials will have different results. In the case of Soldiers, commanders have a lot of leeway towards what they can and can’t do. Sometimes commanders will be lenient, sometimes they will slam. Just how it goes.
And yes, there are plenty of times where one guy will get blasted for something that another guy got a counseling statement for, which sucks, but it does happen.
If judges thought about families everytime they punished someone, only single servicemembers would ever get in trouble, so I think that’s a bunch of bollocks. But then, the Army often cares more for family members than Soldiers.
Hondo and kp-you may be right, I was going off of what I was told by a friend whose son is an Air Force academy grad and she told me that the academy time was creditable for retirement after you reached 20 years of regular service. I have no idea what the regulation is.
Eric-the way I understand it is that General officers serve at the discretion of the President and he can have them reduced to Colonel. That’s based on what I seem to remember happened to the MP Brigade commander after Abu Ghirab, who was reduced from O-7 to O-6.
Johnson is a dirtbag. All he cares about is his mistress and her daughter. He’s never apologized to the 173rd Soldiers. He put those Soldiers through hell and then some with his LACK of leadership during OEF X because he was so centered on his mistress and her father. EFF HIM!
I hope his dick falls off or worse.
Reduction in rank is not verbotem. Court martials are allowed to use the member’s conduct across a time continuum to determine when the misconduct begain. I’ve seen Navy Captain’s reduced to CDR and LCDR’s, and CDR’s reduced to LT(jg).
I’m not sure what the appropriate punishment here is, I just know this ain’t it.
Boy I am glad he gets to retire. I wonder about all the soldiers with tattoos as the SMA put it “they joined the army the army didn’t join them.” I also like how Capt. Owen Honors lost his career over a couple stupid videos and this asshole gets to retire over shit that would have sent just about anyone else to the DB.
Officers cannot be demoted. You are either dismissed or retire at last satisfactory grade served. For instance a MG can wear his 2 stars at his retirement ceremony, but on his official date of retirement he is retired as a Colonel (As last satisfactory grade served). On a side note the USAF has never court martialed a General Officer in its 65 year history – ever. Generals who behave especially badly are retired quietly at a lesser rank (but spared indignity of a CM or even a article 32 hearing). Generals/Admirals are treated as royalty not subject to same pesky rules that govern mere mortals.
A open question. Why could not Johnson be tried by Federal Courts for Fraud and theft of funds seeing this is taxplayer money ?Use legalegse so it is not the same charges. I still not understand how he pleaded to what 10 other before the court marshall and get such a light sentence?
I agree with #15: public flogging and good old fashioned cashiering. To further quote that good book: punishment should be cruel and unusual. Cruel because it is punishment after all and unusual because we don’t have to carry it out that often. I.e. people know better and practice a modicum of self restraint.
-Ish
Academy time NEVER counts toward a military retirement. However, the federal government allows it to count towards a civilian retirement. For example, a Lt Col, Academy grad with 20 years active duty goes to work as a GS -14. He can then buy back his four years at USAFA for around $500. That is because every cadet is a federal employe, paid at the E-5 rate. What do they get for $500? Four years toward retirement and four percentage points of their final 36 monthly pay average as an annuity. That means in the DC area, 4000 to 5500 extra per year in the retirement check. Not a bad return for $500…
As for officers getting busted down in rank, it happens. Usually, they bust you down to the rank last honorably served. So, if this scumbag did all this crap as a Col, then he should have been busted to Lt Col. As for the wife, I feel sorry for her, but I think she knew about it a lot earlier than she claimed. The jury should not have considered her situation…
I really thought he would (should) PCS to Leavenworth for a couple of years at the Disciplinary Barracks, and not as an instructor at the school. I am in shock. This is bad.
I had to laugh, reading the article. No one from 173rd would say anything–except the SPC mafia. Every named interviewee (there was a single unnamed source) was an E4.
Plain and simple: this was a travesty.
Travesty indeed. I would hope that somehow, Capt Honors and other Navy officers who were dismissed for much lighter things, find a way to appeal their own sentences based upon this one.
Here’s hoping that whatever reviewing officer up the food chain refuses to endorse, or overturns, or otherwise kicks this back down for a more harsh penalty.
Regarding academy time, Arby nails that. His explanation is exactly correct. Other than to establish DIEMS, academy time doesn’t count squat for military purposes. It can be “bought back” through payment of required deposit as nondeduction federal service if one later goes to work for the federal government. Same is true for active duty time – but if you’re a regular component retiree drawing retired pay, you have to waive retired pay when you start drawing the civilian pension to count the active duty time for civilian retirement purposes. Doing that is generally never worth it for regular retirees. There’s a bit of confusion above about officers getting “busted” by courts-martial. That cannot happen. Period. Manual for Courts-Martial does not allow that. The choices for commissioned officers convicted by GCM are dismissal (complete termination of military status ) or retention in grade. For appointed warrants, the choices are DD or retention in grade. However, as Devtun observed, officers retire at the highest grade at which they’ve served satisfactorily. This is an administrative reduction, not the result of sentence by courts-martial. Hence, an officer who gets in trouble and who retires can be reduced in retired grade. A courts-martial conviction generally is taken as evidence of non-satisfactory service. And if the pattern of misconduct spans multiple ranks, they can lose multiple ranks. But again: that’s an administrative action taken at separation, not the sentence of a courts-martial. The case of former Army MG John Maher is instructive here. Maher was the Deputy Chief of Operations for the Joint Staff in the late 1990s. If I recall correctly (and I’m working from old memory here), Maher was also a serial philanderer who got caught. (I don’t recall that fraud was involved, but might have been – but if so, it was to a much lesser degree than Johnson’s. I think Maher may have made false statements to investigators, though.) Maher was offered NJP(!), accepted it, and retired. However, Maher retired as a COL vice a MG. The pattern of misconduct in his case was deemed to have extended back several years –… Read more »
Any way you look at it, this is bullshit. We shitcan I don’t know how many officers and enlisted every year for adultery–think back to the mid-90’s and the AF “swingers” up at Minot, etc.
My first CNRC in recruiting was (along with several others) videotaped getting a hummer from an enlisted man’s wife. He too was allowed to retire, but as an O-6 versus the O-7 rank he held when busted. Guy still goes around calling himself a retired admiral.
But the “fine”, while substantial, ain’t shit in the big picture when you consider that if the guy is just under 50 years old, lives another 30 years, the taxpayer is on the hook for at least $4-5 million in retirement pay when you factor in 30 years of COLA payments, to say nothing of medical benefits, etc.
NHSparky: I think your math is somewhat off, but it’s in the ballpark. And you’re right in general: Uncle Sam will more than pay the fine in future retirement bennies. That’s one reason I thought the ass richly deserved a dismissal.
The other is the fact that this ass was in a position of special trust and responsibility, and chose to abuse that position. I have no tolerance for that. More should legitimately be expected of those who are serving in such positions. And if they’re caught gaming the system for personal gain, they should be burned. To the ground. That didn’t happen here.
At least the Army is getting rid of this one. From all accounts, he was much like CAPT Holly Graff – e.g., abusive and corrosive towards his subordinates. Best that he didn’t make GO. Would have been better if he’d made USDB instead, though.
I based that on a starting retirement of $90K/year and a 3 percent COLA each year for 30 years. Comes out to $4.2 million, give or take. But the point is made–penny wise, pound foolish.
And funny you should mention Captain Graf. Why she wasn’t immediately “retired” still baffles me. Hell, how she ever made Captain baffles me–oh wait, no it doesn’t. “Diversity” is the key word here. People knew she was abusive and an all-around shitbag when she was a LT but kept promoting her when similar actions and behavior by a male officer would have gotten them such shitty fitreps they would never have screened for DH (Department Head) and been forced out after their initial obligation.
NHSparky: like Johnson, Graf also had family wearing stars – her elder sister. I’m guessing that might have played a role as well.
Not that far back. Reading a few links, she was an assclown as far back as her days at the Academy.
Again, were this a male officer pulling some of the shit she pulled…
Oh, and just in case anyone says that enlisted get off lightly as well:
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2012/03/navy-sailor-prison-sham-marriage-scheme-030312w/
Her dad was also a retired USN Captain, NHSparky. My guess is he knew a number of serving/retired FOs and may have called in a few favors to help out his “little girls”. But that’s speculation on my part.
No, all enlisted don’t get off light. But some do, particularly if they’re very senior. That’s just as bad.
Do the crime, do the time. Rank and connections shouldn’t matter, but reality is they certainly seem to.
And that’s disgusting.
Back in the day when Hack was a lot younger and a lot thinner, he was a L/Cpl at 3rd Amtracks. If a Marine screwed up and was single, he got nailed. If he was married, they would suspend the fine because he had a family to support. They made a decision to get married, they got the comrats and housing allowance, and then they get a pass when they screwed up.That always frosted my flakes.
My “buddy” (West Point Class of 53) answered the service time while at the academy this way- “You get four years of a free education, and that in itself negates the time in service for retirement.” His words.
“The higher up you go, the higher the standards.” In the army…that was professed to me, by so many, for so many years.
Many, many, years ago, after leaving a combat deployment… the guys were blowing it out hard. A captain who was drunk, sucker punched an E-7 who was walking away and trying to avoid the drunk Captain (who was trying to pick a fight with someone/anyone). I was there and later and called as a witness. Many guys jumped the Captain and immediately took him away. The SFC went through the chain of command and was ordered by the company commander to write it up that night. The Captain was too drunk to see straight, and could not write! The next day the Captain had his hat in his hand and apologized profusely to the SFC and truthfully didn’t remember a thing. The SFC shook his hand and told the Captain that he understood, and that he would have the battalion commander shitcan the whole incident.It had already gone that far in 8 hours! I witnessed the BN Cdr’s meeting with the SFC- (rhetorical question) “Is Special Forces a one way street? Where would you be right now, if you, as an enlisted man had struck the Captain? (SFC’s answer- “The stockade”). Am I suppose to entrust this officer to lead men in combat after he does this?” The captain was kicked out of the Army and I learned a lot from that incident. Too bad the Army didn’t have the likes of my old BN Cdr on the Johnson court martial board. The punishment would definitely fit Johnson’s crimes.
No reduction in rank available, my ass. They busted General Karpinski to COL. They busted Sanchez from LTG to MG. Both deservedly so.
They need to put senior NCOs from line units on the sentencing board. That’ll cure this ring-knocker bullshit.
He should have went to jail and get issued powdered soap for the showers!
Does anyone know what the demographics of Leavenworth’s DB are? Last I heard, the largest demographic was field grade officers who’d stolen the money entrusted to them. That’s got to be one pissed off bunch of guys.
#44 Beretverde, good story and I do wish we had more leaders like that battalion commander.
Back during Reimer’s reign, the results of a questionnaire on the state of the Army was blocked from release. GEN Reimer issued a statement to the effect that the Army does not have an ethic problem.
The Army has a severe ethics problem. There are two structural problems that support this. One is the Ethics Regulation is thousands of pages in length.
Before, the Ethics regulation was 50 pages long. Page 1 had the 10 Commandments, and 40+ pages of scenarios. However, being as the 10 Commandments is something associated with Christianity, it had to be changed. Now each post/base JAG has to assign at least one attorney as a research clerk to provide a legal opinion on the ethics of anything.
The other structural problem is the teaching that every problem should be viewed in shades of grey. My biggest problem in the Army was that I refused to accept that: everything is black or white. Grey is a blending of right and wrong, which taints the right and makes it wrong.
The decision on Johnson was tainted by compassion for his family. In doing so, his first wife will get some of his money. Considering the lengths to which Johnson went to commit his crimes, and his pre-criminal reputation – his wife may want to enter a witness protection program.
Johnson has no issues doing what he did – and since he hasn’t been punished ($300K is about the mortgage on a moderate [3br/2ba] house in the burbs of DC) – the lesson he learns is ‘don’t get caught.’
SGT Ted: both of those were administrative reductions on retirement. Courts-Martial cannot reduce officers (commissioned or warrant) as part of a sentence imposed for conviction. For officers, the only allowable choices are dismissal (or DD for appointed warrants) or retention in grade. See Rule 1003, pp. II-126 through II-130 , Manual for Courts-Martial (2012). It’s available on-line at
http://www.marines.mil/news/publications/Documents/MCM2012.pdf
The specific paragraph that applies is part (b)(4) of the rule, found on page II-127. It clearly states that only enlisted personnel may be reduced in grade as part of a courts-martial sentence.
I do not know why that is the case. But that’s how the system is set up.
Hondo.,officers wrote the USMCJ from the when they felt far more educated and morally superior to he EMs. Ever read the old Rocks and Shoals ? Silent Comtempt?
A sad and ridiculous verdict. This scumbag should be on his way to prison and have had all his pay & benefits taken from him.