Tipsheet

The Marine Who Called for Afghanistan Accountability Has Been Thrown in Prison

Katie Pavlich
Katie Pavlich  |  September 28, 2021 9:05 AM

Back in August, Marine Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller called for accountability for military leadership on the disastrous and catastrophic exit from Afghanistan. He did so knowing he was risking his career and would likely face punishment for doing so. 

"The reason people are so upset on social media right now is not because the Marine on the battlefield let someone down," Scheller said. "People are upset because their senior leaders let them down and none of them are raising their hands and accepting accountability or saying, 'We messed this up.'" 

"I'm not saying we've got to be in Afghanistan forever, but I am saying: Did any of you throw your rank on the table and say, 'Hey, it’s a bad idea to evacuate Bagram Airfield, a strategic airbase, before we evacuate everyone.' Did anyone do that? And when you didn't think to do that, did anyone raise their hand and say, 'We completely messed this up.'"

Now, according to Task and Purpose, Scheller has been taken to the brig. 

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“All our son did is ask the questions that everybody was asking themselves, but they were too scared to speak out loud,” said Stu Scheller Sr. “He was asking for accountability. In fact, I think he even asked for an apology that we made mistakes, but they couldn’t do that, which is mind-blowing.”

He said that his son is expected to appear before a military hearing on Thursday.

“They had a gag order on him and asked him not to speak,” the senior Scheller said. “He did, and they incarcerated him. They don’t know what to do with him.”

After this story was first published, the Marine Corps issued a statement confirming that Scheller has been sent to the brig.

“Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller Jr. is currently in pre-trial confinement in the Regional Brig for Marine Corps Installations East aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune pending an Article 32 preliminary hearing,” said Capt. Sam Stephenson, a spokesman for Training and Education Command. “The time, date, and location of the proceedings have not been determined.  Lt. Col. Scheller will be afforded all due process.”

Meanwhile, hundreds of Americans and thousands of green card holders are still stranded in Afghanistan.