Will Col. Roger T. McDuffie be forced to retire?
Stars & Stripes reports that Marine harrier pilot Colonel Roger T. McDuffie faced a board of inquiry into an incident that occurred in Colombia. McDuffie was, apparently, drugged and led around by someone in a “sort of zombie-like state.” While he was drugged, McDuffie consorted with purported prostitutes and partied in off-limits facilities.
Col. Roger T. McDuffie, a Harrier pilot, was the most senior Marine in a South Florida unit on a Jan. 21-Feb. 4, 2017, field trip to the Colombian capital to map out U.S. Marine operations there. An initial, internal investigation conducted by the U.S. Southern Command Marine affiliate found some Marines broke curfew, ventured into a forbidden zone, consorted with prostitutes and brought some back to their hotel — only to be robbed of government property and hospitalized.
His lawyer, Aaron Meyer, tells a different story;
“There was zero intent to violate any governing orders, binge drink, or carouse with women,” the attorney said by email. “Colonel McDuffie, as the senior Marine present, failed in his broader duty to set the conditions that might have prevented such a drugging,” Meyer said.
Anyway, the board recommended that McDuffie be forced to retire at his current grade. The Navy Secretary will make the final decision.
Category: Marine Corps
I hate when that happens.
What, you’ve never broke the rules in Colombia and got roofied for your trouble?
/sarc
To be fair, I’ve come dang close, but I was only an E-2 when that happened and it was in Salinas, CA. Lol.
Been to Salinas. God, what a shithole.
Indeed! Had a gun stuck in my face there by a local gang banger.
Sometimes a single stupid mistake is all that is required to end a career.
At least they are considering allowing him to retire at his current grade rather than dropping back a grade.
But if he had been an NCO…
I have a soft spot for Marine aviators but you are on the money right here.
The BC and JAG conversation if this were a Lance would be summarized as follows:
Broke curfew – UA – Burn’em.
Off limits – Burn’em
ETOH related hospitalization – Burn’em
Prostitutes – Burn’em
Loss / Theft of Gov’t property – Burn’em
Hot piss test – Burn’em
Your average Lance Criminal would be lucky to avoid the brig with a list like this.
Oh it was a Colonel? Maybe he should retire.
The different spanks culture needs to end.
I probably should have put the /sarc tag in….
“The different spanks culture needs to end.”
Concur. It injustice of it really gives me a serious case of the hips.
“Intent”.
Using the Hitlary defense is a losing proposition.
He’s done.
And with the recent spate of O-5/O-6 misconduct in the Marine Corps, he’s also extremely lucky that they’re recommending to let him retire in grade.
We’ll see what SECNAV has to say about that.
“I was drugged”
Kay.
You’d think he could stay occupied flying a Harrier Oh, wait…
Well, the defense version is that he was in an approved club when he was slipped a mickey and everything went downhill from there. Is it likely that Harrier pilot would knowingly take non-prescribed drugs? In any event, he put himself in a situation where bad things could (and did) happen. That’s why his ass in a sling.
Just google “Colombian Devil’s Breath” and see what you get, according to many an account that stuff saps one’s free will and it can be delivered via a drink, by touch or aerosol.
Scopolamine. Wicked stuff.
Never heard of it before. But 18 years ago, I met a Russian gal who said that subsequent to talking to an old gypsy woman, she gave her all her money and went up to her apartment and got all her jewelry and gave it to her as well. Three characteristics of this drug seem to explain a lot.
This is worth checking out: there is a video documentary on youtube about a drug in Columbia that if it touches your lips or if it is blown in your face it turns you into to a walking zombie basically. Then you are robbed of everything (actually you willingly give it away. It is worth checking out. Scopolamine is the drug.
Colombian Devil’s Breath
Some jackasses get trick-rolled by whores using basically the most common motion sickness drug in the entire world and suddenly it’s got a cool nickname and it’s scary or some shit.
Next thing you know people will start calling ambien / zolpidem “Satan’s Shithammer” to try and neutralize the consequences of taking it with booze.
I don’t mean this as direct criticism API or JB, just the whole popular culture nickname bit drives me nuts. Reminds me of those Ice-T memes about “The kids are calling it ‘Toilet Brittle'”.
Street names were more honest back in the day.
Reds (Seconal)They were red.
Brown and clears (Dexadrine and phenobarb)brown and white
Christmas trees (dexadrine and amobarb)green and white
Yellow jackets (Nembutal)yellow and white.
At least you knew what it was and could look it up in a PDR.
I still remember the first time I got high on No-Doze. /s
Blame hollywood. They’ll give something innocuous a scary name or use something innocuous with a complicated name in a scary way. One of the Wolverine xmen films had Hugh Jackman get knocked unconscious via a dose of Hydrochlorothyiazide. So if taken on face value he peed himself unconscious. Helluva superhero there hollywood.
I must be a helluva man, I take it daily and have yet to pass out from it.
Superhuman buddy. Superhuman pee.
Here’s one video about it:
Other scary click baits to follow from the boys at Vice will include: The Harridan’s Heart Attack Handshake – Foxglove, and Grandma’s House of Insanity and Institutionalization – Morning Glories. Later they may get to a series about hallucinating at home on the cheap – Acetylsalicylic acid.
This video reminds me of Oprah’s scarebait from the 90’s. Funny how the days of wrecking your mind smoking backyard poison got replaced with tide pods. Or more on the nose “Devil’s Detergent”.
I’m running out of snarky material on common drugs and poisons, IDC SARC or another doc may carry the flag a little further. I’ll see if I can think one up for glycerine suppositories that is sufficiently frightening. I don’t understand emoticons; so know I mean this in good fun.
I worked special victims investigations for a several years. I did detailed investigations of several drug rape claims. None were found to be true, or even plausible. But, Columbia and Colonel are different animals. A Colonel having a drink in a Columbia bar is just as much a target for drug related crimes as a hot chick in a singles bar in the states.
I’d want to see the evidence on this one. If he is retiring in grade, vice any sort of more serious punishment, it sounds like the military is flushing the toilet on a guy that just might be innocent, but is embarrassing nonetheless.
Scopolamine has been around a very long time. I remember giving it pre/post op. Frankly, I’ve been out of the medication business now for years so I don’t know if it is still in use. I know nothing of its derivation. For all I know, it’s the baddest street drug known.
Twilight sleep?
I believe it used to be used during childbirth years ago.
there’s an entire episode of Archer dedicated to this…Krieger spritzed the staff with it and made them do….”things”…..
I thought date rape drugs were only for porking unwilling women. I can see I was wrong. I am so out of the loop on this stuff.
Hey, I’ve got some monoacetate of salicylic acid, if anyone’s interested. I’ve also got a big supply of piperine and chavicine, if you’re short, plus some (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide that will make you sit up and take notice.
That made my head hurt…I’ll take some of the aspirin.
“Zombie like state, consorted with prostitutes and partied in off limits facilities” Huh. When I was in the Navy we called that being a sailor on liberty. But then I wasn’t an “O” brancher. 🙂
Zeros actually listened to the port briefings and stayed out of the gut….and didn’t use it as a guide.
Poor bastards.
The Army version of this adventure happened over and over again in a place called Itaewon circa 1980s in the Korea Republic of.
Soju Kettles. Or so I hear…
Itaewon and Tongduchon (TDC) ’82-93 as well, I heard rumors here and there that I currently cannot confirm or deny.
Scopolamine is a very useful drug and is in common clinical use.
We use it in Anesthesia as a premedication to help produce amnesia, especially in cardiac surgery
It is also used as a patch to prevent motion sickness
It is also used in the emergency room to treat poisoning with organophosphate insecticides
It has a lot of side effects and is falling out of favor
I have not seen a bottle of “scope” or it’s antidote, physostigmine in the Anesthesia cart for the last 5 or 10 years
I would recommend rohypnol as a much superior drug if you want to drug someone for nefarious purposes
Burn his ass…
Bust him down to Lance, and then burn his ass.
Only fitting.
It would be a shame, actually.
US embassy and military personnel have definitely been known to be drugged outside the wire. I have no doubt that’s what happened, honestly.
He should take the offer and consider himself lucky. If what happened did happen it shows a distinct lack of leadership if nothing else