A sailor was released from service on Friday afternoon following a video he posted on Facebook criticizing senior military officials and demanding accountability after a bombing in Kabul (Afghanistan) that killed 13 members of the northern service -American and dozens of Afghans.
Marine Corps spokesman Jim Stenger told The Hill in a statement that Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller had been relieved “due to a loss of confidence and confidence in his command ability.”
In the video, released Thursday evening after the terrorist attack near Kabul International Airport, Scheller said he wanted to “ask some questions to some of my senior leaders.”
“[I’m] I don’t make this video because it’s potentially an emotional moment, I do it because I have a growing dissatisfaction and contempt for my perception of ineptitude at the level of foreign policy and I want to ask some questions specifically to some of my top leaders. ” Scheller said in the video.
“… the reason people are so upset on social media right now is not because the battlefield marines were defrauding someone; that member of the service has always lived up to it and done extraordinary things. People are upset because their high leaders are disappointing them, and none of them raise their hands and accept accountability or say, “We’ve wrapped this up,” he added later, noting that “many Marines posted on social media. ”
Efforts to withdraw U.S. troops in Afghanistan have been affected by the Taliban’s capture of the country. The Taliban consolidated power earlier this month after taking the capital Kabul, prompting U.S. citizens on the ground and Afghan partners and Afghan citizens to rush to the airport.
Shortly after the fall of the Afghan government, the United States began evacuation efforts that have been plunged into chaos. On Thursday, a suicide bomber believed to be affiliated with the ISIS-K insurgent group detonated an explosive that killed several Marines on land in Kabul.
Scheller criticized the way the United States conducted its evacuation operation.
“I do not say we should be in Afghanistan forever. But I’m saying: did any of you throw your rank on the table and say, ‘Hey, is it a bad idea to evacuate Bagram Airfield, a strategic air base, before we evacuate everyone? Did anyone do it? And when you didn’t think about doing it, someone raised their hand and said, “Did we mess this up completely?” Scheller said.
In his statement to The Hill, Stenger acknowledged that it was an emotionally difficult time for the Marines, but said social media was not the place to issue disagreements.
“Obviously, this is an emotional time for many Marines and we encourage anyone who may be struggling right now to seek advice or talk to a fellow Marine. There is a forum where marine leaders can address their disagreements with the Marine chain. command, but it’s not social media, ”Stenger said.
Scheller said Friday in a Facebook post that “my chain of command is doing exactly what it would do … if it were in their skin.”
“I appreciate the opportunities provided by the AITB order,” he added.
Updated at 8:36 p.m.