What exactly was the *reprimand* that the offending soldiers got?

[liveoaktx]

I can't tell from reading articles exactly what happened, aside from mentioning a letter. Surely this was not just a slap on the wrist.

[kalian]

1. They got their cameras taken away....

[Eric J in MN]

2. the low ranking people are being prosecuted, the ones who

The low ranking people are being prosecuted; the ones who gave the orders just get negative notes placed in their file.

[porkrind]

3. BAD torturer!! BAD! BAD!

:eyes:

[Direckshun]

4. It is the most severe (legal) form of military punishment for troops.

They are not only discharged from the military and never allowed to return, they also have criminal suits filed on them.

[markomalley]

5. Depends...and, according to the Privacy Act, we will never know...

an LOR (letter of reprimand) is the most severe form of administrative discipline used in the military. By itself, once it is in the personnel folder of the individual receiving it, it almost guarantees that the person will not be promoted. But, there are other measures that can accompany it:
- they can be administratively demoted (lose rank and pay)
- they can be put on a form of probation (one more slip up, even sleeping in, and they're booted)
- they can be administratively discharged (fired)

There are three forms of administrative discharge that could follow from a letter of reprimand:
- Honorable (what is normally given after an enlistment)
- General (what is given when a person doesn't meet standards or has a problem with misconduct)
- Under Other than Honorable (what is given usually when a person is allowed to separate in lieu of a court martial)

Note: if a person gets a UOTH discharge, they get almost NO veterans benefits. All benefits are given normally only with an honorable discharge.

WE WILL NEVER HEAR OF THE OTHER ACTIONS, unless the guards themselves release the information, because if the gov't releases the administrative actions they took, it violates the guards' rights under the Privacy Act (imagine that).

Here's the kicker: I think one of the guards was a MSG -- that's an E-8 -- it means that the person likely has over 20 years in the service and would have been eligible to retire from the service. But, if he is administratively discharged, he will lose ALL of his retirement (with the military, there is no such thing as vesting part of a retirement like there is with civilian retirements)

Oh, and one other thing...just because an administrative action (like an LOR) is taken doesn't mean they are out of the woods for a court martial...they can still be brought up on charges.

Now, what do I think will happen? I think that shrub, rummie, and the rest of the hierarchy will be looking to find as many low level scapegoats as they can and will nail each and every one as hard as possible, whether guilty (in which case, good) or not. They will want to deflect as much criticism as possible off of their own dirty hands as possible and will try to undo the well deserved outrage of the world. Unfortunately, I think that a bunch of poor slobs will end up getting the shaft, while the real culprits go free to carry on as before (albeit without cameras next time).