![]() Smith and his defense lawyers were shocked. The criminal charge they levied against him, use of a controlled substance, carried the possibility of jail time, a punitive discharge and a civilian felony record. Smith’s commanders in the rear detachment of the 2-8 Infantry Regiment, who hadn’t served with him in Iraq, took steps to court-martial him. At Fort Carson, military lawyers had devised a different plan to quickly get rid of wounded soldiers who got in trouble. The usual course of action in the Army is to punish soldiers who test positive for drugs locally and to begin a process that can - but doesn’t always - lead to an administrative discharge from the military. Then, just three months after the Soldier’s Medal ceremony, Smith came up positive for cocaine use in a random drug test. Fort Carson doctors checked him into a mental health facility for several days in January. He was in a disastrous marriage, drinking too much, trying to hide the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. He was headed for a medical discharge he didn’t really want, due to knee and back injuries. ![]() ![]() It was the young soldier’s second valor medal in three years in the military, after an Army Commendation Medal with valor device that he’d been awarded for his combat service.įor all his heroics, however, Smith’s life was falling apart. Doty, pinned the Soldier’s Medal, the Army’s highest award for noncombat heroism, to Smith’s chest. Sixteen months later, in November 2010, the acting commander at Fort Carson, Brig. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |