FORT BRAGG, N.C. — An Army brigadier general who served five combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan has been charged with forcible sodomy, multiple counts of adultery and having inappropriate relationships with several female subordinates, two U.S. defense officials said Wednesday.
The defense officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to provide details on the case.
Brig. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sinclair faces possible courts martial on charges that include forced sex, wrongful sexual conduct, violating an order, possessing pornography and alcohol while deployed, and misusing a government travel charge card and filing fraudulent claims.
Sinclair, who served as deputy commander in charge of logistics and support for the 82nd Airborne Division in Afghanistan, was sent home in May because of the allegations, the officials said.
The charges were announced at a brief press conference Wednesday at Fort Bragg, the sprawling U.S. Army base in North Carolina that is home to the 82nd Airborne. After reading a prepared statement, base spokesman Col. Kevin Arata refused to take any questions. Reporters were told all questions would have to be made in writing and that no response was likely to come until the following day.
Sinclair was informed of the charges on Monday but has not been placed under arrest. The next step will be an Article 32 investigation, including a preliminary hearing to determine if the matter should go to trial. No date has been set for the hearing, which Arata said would be open to the public.
Sinclair had arrived in Afghanistan for his deployment in September 2011, but had been serving as the division’s deputy commander since July 2010.
Sinclair, a trained paratrooper who has been in the Army for 27 years, was serving his third deployment to Afghanistan. He had also served two tours in Iraq, as well as a tour in the first Gulf war.
It’s rare for an Army general to face court martial. There have been only two cases in recent years.
Earlier this year, Army Brig. Gen. Roger Duff pleaded guilty to charges of conduct unbecoming an officer, wearing unauthorized awards or ribbons and making a false official statement. He was sentenced to two months confinement and dismissal from the military. Under a pre-trial agreement, only the dismissal may be imposed. The case is still pending, said Army spokesman George Wright.
Prior to that, Maj. Gen. David Hale pleaded guilty to seven counts of conduct unbecoming an officer and one count of making a false statement, also in connection with adultery. He was fined $10,000 and was ordered to retire at the reduced rank of brigadier general, Wright said
But he’s a friggin’ war hero y’all. M’god the man was just tryin’
to relieve the enormous stresses of the responsibilities placed
upon him by the fatherland.
Meanwhile, a real hero, Bradley Manning, will likely end up
in prison for life because he tried to stand against the travesties
of as##oles like this guy.
5 tours? This arse did worse than sodomy and rape. He’s a war criminal and should be tried for the mass murder of innocents in our undeclared aggressions against the peoples of Iraq & Afghanistan.
See? You’re unpatriotic, because you fail to understand that everything we do for the Fatherland is RIGHT.
What’s a few broken eggs when you’re making an omelet?
Hi Tony,
Absolutely.
Manning exposed a war crime every bit as horrendous as My Lai – a helicopter gunship blasting unarmed, helpless Iraqis (including a journalist) to death – cackling with glee as they did so. But when My Lai happened, Americans tended to give a shit about such things. Today, they don’t.
It’s funny, when you think about it, that circa 1973 America was (bu modern standard) very raaaaaaaaaycisss … but people got upset at the gratuitous slaughter of Vietnamese civilians. Today, people cheer when “ragheads” are slaughtered.
May The Chimp burn in hell. This squinting psychotic unleashed the psychosis latent in the American character.
Besides making trillions in the war racket. Each conflict reduces individual rights and strengthens central authority.
WW1 post 1918 all international freedom of movement revoked. All travel requires slave papers.
WW2 post 1945. All sub groups exterminated or brought under nation state approved designations. Gypsies Jews Christians various tribes. Now you need slave papers just to exist. Parish or tribes all bypassed and powerless worldwide.
Cold War. Everyone in world has to have papers showing which side they are on.
Drug War. All farming distributing and transacting is scrutinized. Show your slave papers proving everything you have and do is permitted.
Iraq.Afghan.Middle East Wars. Secular sharia installed. Need slave papers for every human action. Nothing contra the public good and morals is allowed. Jeff Sinclair is charged with adultery. Relationship with coworkers. Possessing alcohol and pornography. If you think these are crimes kill yourself now because you are a clover.
fo sho!
Hope he doesn’t consider this leading by example.