In late 1996 the United States Army was an embattled institution, struggling to contain an explosive scandal involving outrageous sexual misconduct involving drill instructors and trainees at the Advanced Individual Training (AIT) center at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.
The Army sought to cope with the scandal by setting up a toll-free telephone sexual harassment hotline and by forming a blue-ribbon commission to conduct an inquiry into the problem of sexual harassment and assault in the Army. Fittingly, among the dignitaries appointed to the commission was Gene McKinney, the 10th Sergeant Major of the Army (SMA), to represent the interests Army enlisted personnel in the proceedings.
The Army’s prudence in appointing SMA McKinney to the commission backfired spectacularly, however, when among the thousands of callers to the Sexual Assault Hotline was an NCO who called in to accuse McKinney himself of sexual misconduct.
If you find yourself under criminal investigation or accused of violating the UCMJ in Virginia or Maryland, call our firm for help.
What ensued next was the longest Article 32 (pre-trial) hearing in the history of the Army, followed by a trial of SMA McKinney on two counts of maltreatment of subordinates, two counts of simple assault, and eleven counts of misconduct under Article 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) – the so-called “general article” that serves as a catch-all for misconduct not otherwise addressed in the already voluminous UCMJ. Among the charges brought under Article 134 were two charges stemming from tape-recorded conversations of SMA McKinney and one of his accusers, wherein McKinney allegedly sought to manipulate witness testimony and impede the investigation against him.
After enduring a five-week trial featuring the testimony of 119 witnesses,and then struggling through three days of grueling deliberations, the Court Martial panel reached a verdictac quitting SMA McKinney on all charges – except the two specifications arising from the tape-recorded telephone conversations of McKinney allegedly trying to dissuade one of his accusers from offering damaging testimony against him.
And herein lies a cautionary tale for any Soldier accused of wrongdoing. SMA McKinney’s lawyers mounted a vigorous – nay, an aggressive defense, and an amazingly effective one. Yet SMA McKinney’s career ended in ruin, with him reduced in grade to Master Sergeant and disgraced.
If you find yourself under criminal investigation or accused of violating the UCMJ in Virginia or Maryland, call our firm for help.
SMA McKinney made a fatal, if all too human, error. Faced with accusations that could ruin his career and send him toprison, he panicked. Trying to defend himself in a way that only made things worse, SMA McKinney tried to evade the charges by committing further offenses and,in the process, handing the Government the very instrument they used to destroy him. Other people engineer their own downfall by attempting to cooperate with, rather than obstruct, the investigation, hoping to resolve things by talking to investigators or members of the chain of command, only to have their statements used against them.
The take-away from SMA McKinney’s experience is this: Don’t make any statements, to anyone, without the assistance of an attorney – not to investigators, not to your accusers, not to your chain of command, not to your best friend, not to anyone else, until you have retained a lawyer.
If you find yourself under criminal investigation or accused of violating the UCMJ in Virginia or Maryland, let the attorneys of SRIS Law Group, PC, do the talking for you. You’ve defended our Freedom,now let us fight for you.
If you find yourself under criminal investigation or accused of violating the UCMJ in Virginia or Maryland, call our firm for help. We have client meeting locations in Virginia & Maryland. B
