Command sergeant major pleads guilty after sexual contact with subordinate

[unhappycamper]

Command sergeant major pleads guilty after sexual contact with subordinate
By Jon Rabiroff, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Friday, December 18, 2009

CAMP CASEY, South Korea — A brief moment of sexual contact between a senior noncommissioned officer and a subordinate sent both soldiers down different roads of guilt and despair.

Command Sgt. Maj. Antonio Holder found himself ostracized by his peers, and his impressive 29-year military career tarnished as he faced a court-martial. His former driver, a specialist, said the May incident left him unable to eat or sleep normally and with scars on his arms that he attributed to self-inflicted wounds resulting from depression. He said he has repeatedly attempted suicide.

Ultimately, Holder pleaded guilty to fraternizing with a subordinate enlisted man and was sentenced to a reduction in rank to E-8 and a formal reprimand, but not before a daylong sentencing hearing Tuesday at Camp Casey that featured dramatic testimony from the two men about how their lives spiraled downward after an incident that began with a graphic sexual discussion.

“It’s hard to respect … my leaders because I don’t know who I can trust,” the former driver testified. “I used to love the Army. Now I do it because I have to.”

Holder said, “I am truly sorry for the hurt, the shame and the embarrassment that I have brought to all. I am here today pleading guilty to take responsibility and be held accountable for my actions.”


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=66716

[babylonsister]

1. Hey, uhc, what do you think about this rule? I think it's one

that needs to go the way of the doo-doo bird. Maybe immediate subordinates should be a no-no, but why is fraternization between officers and enlisted such an issue in the military?

[unhappycamper]

2. The civilian analogy would be your bosses screwing the help.

It rarely has good consequences.

[babylonsister]

3. But if the help works in a different department the boss had no

influence over, why should anyone care?

I hate to see people being demoted or kicked out because of personal relationships after having invested so much time. I think sometimes people worry about the wrong things.

[unhappycamper]

4. In this particular case the Command Sergeant Major goes anywhere he wants.

Fraternization between Officer and Enlisted has always been on the "no no" list.