FRC's Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin Commends U.S. Army for Retaining Sgt. Martland

WASHINGTON, April 29, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Last night, the U.S. Army decided to retain Green Beret Sgt. 1st Class Charles Martland, who was facing discharge by the Army because Martland had confronted an Afghan leader who had repeatedly raped a young Afghan boy.

Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Jerry Boykin, former U.S. Army Delta Force commander and current Family Research Council executive vice president, made the following comments:

"I am grateful that the Army finally made the right decision in choosing to retain Sgt. Martland. Sgt. Martland absolutely did the right thing in stepping in to save the boy. No person, military or civilian, should ever have to be punished for doing the right thing, defending the defenseless.

"The Army's egregious initial plans to discharge Sgt. Martland over this incident were wholly misguided. It is an appalling wrong to tell our soldiers that they must ignore the sexual abuse of children and forever live with the memory of the screams of these children. I am grateful Army leadership came to its senses and is allowing Sgt. Martland to remain in the Army.

"We are grateful to Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), both chairmen of the Armed Services Committees, for their efforts to resolve this injustice," concluded Boykin.

Last year, FRC and the American Family Association delivered more than 130,000 petition signatures to the Senate Armed Services Committee in support of Sgt. Martland.

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SOURCE Family Research Council

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