First Cadet Court-martial At a Military Academy. Webster smith Was Black. An American Tragedy.

 

The U.S. Coast Guard’s leadership has failed to conduct prompt, thorough and impartial investigations of harassment and bullying allegations, according to a congressional investigation released Wednesday December 11, 2019. 

The U.S. Coast Guard’s leadership has failed to conduct prompt, thorough and impartial investigations of harassment and bullying allegations, according to a congressional investigation released Wednesday December 11, 2019.
Conspicuously absent from the Report was any mention of the Cadet Webster Smith Case where a Senior Black Cadet was expelled in 2006 after being punished by a General Court-martial. Nine months after his girlfriend had aborted their child, he was charged with having raped her, among other things.
The Rape Charge was dismissed at the trial, but Cadet Smith was convicted of other charges. He was sentenced to 6 months in jail, and a Bad Conduct Discharge, among other things.
The severe undeserved punishment directed at Cadet Smith makes harassment and bullying seem like child’s play. He took it like a man. He moved on. He appealed his conviction all the way to the Supreme Court, to no avail.
This was the first court-martial of a Cadet. It was an American Tragedy. The story of the case was fully documented in a book, CONDUCT UNBECOMING AN OFFICER AND A LADY, UCGC, Vol 02, Nr 01A, by Judge London Steverson (Amazon.com).
The report, called “Righting the Ship,” also found Coast Guard leaders didn’t hold officials accountable for deficient and incomplete investigations and didn’t take corrective action to address retaliation against people who report harassment and bullying. It concludes that the service needs to make “significant improvements” in its policies and procedures.
The U.S. House Oversight and Homeland Security Committees launched the 18-month investigation after questions were raised about how complaints were handled at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. Subcommittees for the two committees discussed the findings Wednesday during a joint hearing.
Coast Guard Vice Adm. Michael McAllister said at the hearing the service’s senior leaders are taking “every step to foster and develop a climate that’s free from harassment, bullying and retaliation” and take all complaints seriously. The congressional investigation was launched by the late U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, a Maryland Democrat who worked on Coast Guard diversity issues throughout his career, and Thompson, in consultation with U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney. Courtney, a Connecticut Democrat whose district includes the academy, said the report isn’t an attack on the Coast Guard, but if there’s a problem it needs to be fixed.
Adm. Karl Schultz, the Commandant of the Coast Guard, was asked to testify Wednesday December 11, 2019. Committee leaders said Schultz declining to appear reinforces their concerns that the Coast Guard leadership does not takes the issues seriously enough. They criticized the Coast Guard for delaying the delivery of requested documents and heavily redacting them during the investigation.
In their report, the lawmakers said other Coast Guard officers, including retired Capt. Kevin Lopes, former head of the Coast Guard Academy’s Management Department, and retired Rear Adm. James Rendon, the former Superintendent of the Coast Guard Academy, also declined requests to speak to the congressional investigators.
But McAllister said he spoke for the service because he is in charge of human resources, training and personnel policy. He said it was their intent to be responsive and transparent, and pursuing a diverse and inclusive service is a top priority.
#ucgc #justice
#ucgc #justice

Conspicuously absent from the Report was any mention of the Cadet Webster Smith Case where a Senior Black Cadet was expelled in 2006 after being punished by a General Court-martial. Nine months after his girlfriend had aborted their child, he was charged with having raped her, among other things. This was the first Court-martial of a Cadet. The story of the case was fully documented in a book, CONDUCT UNBECOMING AN OFFICER AND A LADY, UCGC, Vol 02, Nr 01A, by Judge London Steverson (Amazon.com).