Objecting Soldier to Face Larceny Charges

[IChing]

By RUSS BYNUM
Associated Press Writer

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) -- A soldier who refused to go to Iraq will be court-martialed for accepting unearned combat pay, despite an Army investigator's conclusion that an accounting error was to blame.

Larceny charges were added against Sgt. Kevin Benderman, 40, who was already awaiting trial on charges that included desertion. The larceny charges raise the possible penalty from seven years to 17. A trial date has not been set.

"It's an outrage," Benderman's attorney William Cassara said Tuesday. "They said up to 100 soldiers at Fort Stewart received that money improperly, and he's the only one facing any disciplinary action."

Benderman, an Army mechanic, refused to go to Iraq with his 3rd Infantry Division unit for a second tour of duty Jan. 8, days after he told commanders he was seeking a discharge as a conscientious objector.>>>.snip


http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OBJECTING_SOLDIER?SITE=MNMAN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2005-06-14-15-54-02

[tk2kewl]

1. seems like giving it back would resolve the issue

no? :shrug:

[IChing]

2. Not necessarily

But should have watched his p&qs, this sounds like an administrative blunder,


from the article:





"An officer assigned to investigate Benderman's case recommended dismissing the larceny charges. Soldiers not in combat zones commonly receive extra pay because of accounting glitches, a Fort Stewart finance officer said at a hearing."

Benderman's attorneys have said he should not be charged with a crime more serious than being absent without leave, a lesser charge than desertion, because he reported for duty the Monday after his unit was sent to Iraq

[meganmonkey]

3. Link to his site and ways to support his defense fund:

http://www.bendermandefense.org/

Here's to a true courageous patriot

:patriot:

[MADem]

4. Talk about desperate and egregious

The way you recoup pay is to recoup pay. It is a simple thing to do, it is done at the payroll end of things. It will be a hardship on the kid if he has been spending the dough, but he will get a minimum amount to live on while they get their cash back.

I knew a very VERY senior officer who was placed in a combat zone (which was the right thing to do at the time) but WAS NEVER TAKEN OUT when he exited said zone. We're talking thousands that he owed the government by the time he figured it out (actually, he didn't--a disbursing clerk caught the error, and it was not a pleasant experience for the soul who had to tell the pissed off, LES neglecting bigshot!). And he should have known better.

DFAS recouped the pay, which is what they should do with this kid. No crime, no harm, no foul...even though it is incumbent upon the servicemember to review one's Leave and Earnings statement for accuracy. That said, if the servicemember is physically separated from his servicing pay/disbursing office, it is rather difficult to review the document, since it sits at the member's primary command, not a TAD location.

This won't stand. There are too many people, from junior enlisted to flag and general officer, who know how the system really works, and this signals to them, more than anything else, that if you "fuck up" by taking any stand unpopular with the suits who control the military, they will use every and any excuse, from the obscure to the absolutely childish, to go after you. They will use the regs as a hammer, and do it without any consideration for the individual. This kind of horseshit is a morale ballbreaker, and they'd better just back away from the idea while they still can. The unintended consequences could be astounding....

[roguevalley]

5. this from the system that deducted accidentally most of some

soldiers pay in Iraq. The system is filled with glitches.

[Richard Steele]

9. "This kind of horseshit is a morale ballbreaker, and they'd better...

...just back away from the idea while they still can."

That was very well-stated, MADem!

All of it! :yourock:

[Occulus]

6. Social Security does this to people as well

It's not like Monopoly, where there's a "bank error in your favor". If you get money from the government you're not supposed to get, and they find out about it, even if it was their fault in the first place, if you spend it, you have to pay it back. Usually.

Never cash an unexpected, unexplained check drawn from the US treasury. Find out if you're supposed to get it first.

edited to add: since there's proof here that there was an accounting error affecting a lot more people than just him, I'm sure there'll be a judgement in his favor. He shouldn't be facing any criminal penalty in the first place; this was an accident, admittedly one which benefited him, but one which also did so for many more who are not facing any sort of criminal charge.

[jmowreader]

7. This guy's gonna get reamed. You know he is.

The Army is a political entity--not a regular employer.

Already they've got him up on charges for a bunch of stuff--desertion, missing movement, all that--and now they have a Larceny charge. "Shoulda read yer LES, son. That's why we issue them to you." The Larceny charge is just icing on the cake, something to give him a longer sentence.

The moral of this story, of course, is Don't Fuck With The Government.

[MADem]

10. I disagree--this is just childish threatening

The VERY WORST, most incompetent JAG they could assign to this kid will do one thing--do a FOIA on all combat pay discrepancies, subpeona a bunch of senior officers who got in the same fix, with the exact same length of discrepancy...and then ask THEM what happened to them when the error was revealed.

This is pure, threatening, horseshit. In a less visible environment, they might have gotten away with it.

Not this time. They need to just step slowly back, and give it up.

If they don't, they will be HORRIFIED...and if not, I will be very surprised...let's call SCHWARTZKOFF to the stand, for starters....oh, and POWELL, Gen. POWELL...

[Fire Walk With Me]

8. Makes you wonder what they'd do to someone who LOST 8.8 billion

or I suppose that it's just unaccounted for (but counted).