• Soldiers under misconduct and certain law enforcement investigations will be able to be promoted, attend schools and move bases with a waiver that gets rid of ‘flags’ on their records.

The Army rolled out the details of a policy that will allow soldiers under investigation for misconduct to be promoted, receive awards, and move to a new assignments, rather than see their careers frozen in place.

I'm sure we can all guess what "misconduct" actually means

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth made the new approach to investigations a central tenet of a speech he delivered to senior officers Tuesday in Virginia, stating that impending directives would mean “no more side-tracking careers.”

No more punishing soldiers for crimes.

“We’re making changes to the retention of adverse information on personnel records that will allow leaders with forgivable, earnest or minor infractions to not be encumbered by those infractions in perpetuity,” Hegseth told an auditorium of generals and admirals at Marine Base Quantico. “People make honest mistakes, and our mistakes should not define an entire career.”

The U.S army. Known for people that make honest mistakes.

The policy changes a long-standing practice of freezing a soldier’s career while they face investigations. Soldiers under investigation for misconduct or criminal matters have traditionally seen their personnel records flagged, preventing certain career moves, including assuming command, being promoted, moving bases, receiving award recommendations, or collecting reenlistment bonuses.

Oh boo hoo

Now, soldiers under command-driven 15-6 or law enforcement investigations will be able to receive a waiver that will lift those restrictions as the investigation proceeds, according to an Army message sent out Thursday to the force. With a waiver, soldiers can still receive “favorable actions” which include attendance at civilian or military schools, frocking, lateral appointments, extensions, reenlistment, application and use of tuition assistance, and advance or excess leave.

Don't let your criminal acts stop you from enjoying your life

The change will not apply to soldiers facing serious criminal investigations, including domestic violence and sexual misconduct.

Bullshit

‘Can I get my career back?’

Go fuck yourself.

Rachel VanLandingham, a former Air Force lawyer and president of the National Institute of Military Justice said the update allows for nuance and discretion of commanders to make judgment calls on cases where the impact of a records flag for a low-level crime or misconduct could prevent a soldier from attending training, which could impact their whole unit, for instance.

Muh "unit readiness" muh "It's for National Defense" for every instance a soldier should be shot for criminal acts their officers that cover up their actions should be drawn by their libs with winches until quartered by libs ultimate tensile strength.

“There needed to be change. When you have black and white rules, they overgeneralize and they impact people and harm the mission,” VanLandingham said. “I prefer more discretion as long as there is accountability within the discretion.”

What? Nuance in court justice is a good thing? What's that? Only for state-sanctioned murdererous bandits? Damn that sucks.

Allegations of adultery and financial crimes like larceny or wrongful appropriations that lead to investigations could be eligible for a waiver, Army officials told Task & Purpose. However, the “limited” waiver authority that commanders can use, does not apply to soldiers who are investigated for “covered offenses” like sexual misconduct, murder, or domestic violence, stalking, crimes related to child sexual explicit material, according to the message.

Yeah. Okay. Sure.

The Army message gives the example of a soldier with orders for an assignment outside the U.S. who was flagged for a preliminary inquiry under a 15-6 investigation into allegations of counterproductive leadership, or what some may consider as a toxic leader. In that case, leaders “may grant a limited waiver to the flag and allow for command sponsorship of family members and PCS of the soldier.”

Aw boo hoo, boot shouldn't have been a piece of shit.

Robert Capovilla, a former Army judge advocate general who represents troops in legal cases, said he consistently represents clients who miss out on Ranger School or a promotion board for several months to a year while an investigation plays out.

God forbid you don't get your "I'm a cool guy" tab or a pay raise while your kangaroo court military jagoffs play bureaucratic volleyball with your DUI paperwork for the one time you finally get caught on your weekly benders to Chili's to get shitfaced while harassing the waitresses

“They come to me and they say, ‘well, what can I do to get my career back?’ And I say, ‘hey, be grateful that you won your case, because there’s no way to go back and give you the time,’” he said.

Be grateful we swept it under the rug, boot.

#Stalled careers

Capovilla said the change gives soldiers more of a fair shot in a discipline system that almost automatically handcuffs career progress before they are found guilty.

God forbid you give your rabid beasts a check on their careers.

“What folks that don’t practice military justice, or they don’t work within the system on a daily basis, don’t understand is that there are thousands of service members who have been accused of an allegation that turned out not to be accurate or true, and yet they remained flagged unnecessarily for so long that their innocence made no difference,” Capovilla said. “Their careers were over as a result of the flag because they were no longer competitive for promotion.”

Oh? The military court system is overworked and filled with a backlog of cases that goes for years?

At least they get to experience civilian life before they get released back into society.

The waiver program is part of June updates to the Army’s 15-6 regulation, which governs the process for investigating military-related misconduct like sexual harassment, toxic leadership, adultery, fraternization, cruelty and maltreatment of subordinates, violation of orders and regulations, misuse of government resources, and hazing. In some cases, 15-6 inquiries can lead to administrative punishments or Uniformed Code of Military Justice proceedings that could result in discharges or demotions.

Folks you gotta know the reason why 15-6 exists is because all that shit was and still is running so wildly rampant in the u.s military that it's also degrading the military's ability to perform in a cohesive manner. I'm talking companies that have degraded to being glorified bandit gangs that requires its enlisted leadership to be liquidated and new personnel to be rotated in to begin bringing the unit back to combat readiness.

‘Credibility assessment’

Something the Army is known for

The updated regulation introduced a “credibility assessment,” which happens before other fact-finding processes and comes straight from language used in Hegseth’s April 23 memo that he called the “No More Walking On Eggshells Policy.”

Translation: its a "can we sweep this under the rug" policy

The Army regulation defines “credible” evidence or information as “attributable or corroborated information,” and considers “the original source, the nature of the information, and the totality of the circumstances” to determine if it is “sufficient” for investigators to pursue an inquiry.

On top of empowering unit commanders to grant their soldiers special immunity, the fascist in charge of the military is empowering Army investigators to handwave accusations of criminal acts as "un-credible and insufficient".

During a credibility assessment, and now with a waiver, soldiers will not be flagged. According to the policy, waivers are doled out by commanders with courts-martial convening authority, which includes brigade and garrison commanders and some general officers in command. General officers are able to “delegate” waiver authority to colonels in their command. Capovilla sees the changes as affording soldiers more privacy.

Trickle-down cover-ups

“The entire company, battalion and brigade shouldn’t necessarily know that a soldier is under investigation,” Capovilla said.

Motherfuckers love gossiping, they're gonna know.

VanLandingham said new policies like this — which she sees as part of a greater interactive cultural shift in the military justice system — would be best served by keeping track of the cases these waivers are being used for and getting transparent reasons for a waiver from each commander.

“Commanders need to be able to say why they’re doing this,” she said. “If they can’t give a good reason for why they’re removing the flag, they shouldn’t be removing a flag and therefore they should have no problem about tracking their waivers in a database for periodic review.”

Cover up cover up cover up