Marine Corps officials at Camp Lejeune, N.C. ordered a court-martial for Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller, a 17-year veteran who released several videos and social media posts sharply criticizing senior U.S. government and military leaders over operations in Afghanistan.
He has been charged with six violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice: contempt toward officials; disrespect toward superior commissioned officers; willfully disobeying a superior commissioned officer; dereliction in the performance of duties; failure to obey an order or regulation and conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman.
The charges were referred to a court-martial on Wednesday by Maj. Gen. Julian Alford, who heads Marine Training Command. Lt. Col. Scheller had been held in the Camp Lejeune brig for a week without charges. He was released a day before the court-martial was ordered after complaints from Congress over his treatment.
While Lt. Col. Scheller was held in a single cell at the brig, Marine Corps officials denied that it could be compared to solitary confinement. He was allowed two hours of daily recreation time and could converse with staff and other prisoners – although socially distanced in accordance with COVID-19 protocols.
Although he criticized both Republican and Democratic political leaders for the Afghan debacle, GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill have embraced Lt. Col. Scheller’s public stance and assailed Marine Corps officials for keeping him locked up even before any charges were filed.
An infantry officer who served both in Iraq and Afghanistan, Lt. Col. Scheller was fired from his job commanding one of Camp Lejeune’s training battalions on Aug. 27, soon after he posted videos on social media outlets like Facebook and LinkedIn that were critical of top military and civilian leaders. In particular, he accused USMC Gen. Frank McKenzie, commander of Central Command, of dereliction of duty. Three years short of qualifying for veteran’s benefits, he has reportedly offered to quit the Marines in exchange for dropping the charges.
“In the military, there are proper forums to raise concerns,” USMC Capt. Sam Stephenson, a training command spokesman, said in a statement. “Posting to social media criticizing the chain of command is not the proper manner.”