AWOL soldier sentenced to 30 days.Byline: Susan Palmer The Register-Guard Military police specialist Suzanne Swift Suzanne Swift (July 15 1984 - ) is a Specialist in the United States Army. She is most noted for going AWOL from the Army when she received new orders to deploy to Iraq, after her charges of sexual assault from her first deployment had continued to go unanswered. on Wednesday was formally sentenced to 30 days in jail and reduced in rank back to private for staying AWOL in Oregon last winter while her unit was sent to Iraq. Swift, 22, a former Eugene resident, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to being absent without leave and missing movement in a summary court martial COURT MARTIAL. A court authorized by the articles of war, for the trial of all offenders in the army or navy, for military offences. Article 64, directs that general courts martial may consist of any number of commissioned officers, from five to thirteen, inclusively; but they shall not at Fort Lewis, Wash., where she is serving in Headquarters Company with the 42nd Military Police Brigade. Swift already had served a year in Iraq and told Army investigators that she went AWOL to avoid sexual harassment sexual harassment, in law, verbal or physical behavior of a sexual nature, aimed at a particular person or group of people, especially in the workplace or in academic or other institutional settings, that is actionable, as in tort or under equal-opportunity statutes. she had experienced during her first overseas tour. A military inquiry into her allegations confirmed that she had been verbally harassed by one sergeant. While her allegations against two other noncommissioned officers were not proved, they weren't disproved either, Fort Lewis spokesman Joe Piek said. Her allegations played a role in the base commander's decision to seek a less punitive punishment for Swift, Piek said. She originally had been scheduled for a more serious disciplinary measure, a special court-martial special court-martial n. In the U.S. armed forces, a court-martial consisting of at least three officers for trying intermediate offenses. Noun 1. , which could have resulted in a yearlong jail sentence jail sentence jail n → peine f de prison and a bad-conduct discharge. With the summary court-martial summary court-martial n. In the U.S. armed forces, a court-martial consisting of one officer, convened and held to try relatively minor offenses. , she avoids a federal conviction and will be eligible for an honorable discharge once her five-year term of service ends. When she finishes her jail sentence, she will transfer to another base, Piek said. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion