A new kind of Hero



Lt. Cmdr. Charles Swift is my new hero. Like John Adams, in a way, this JAG officer defended the driver of Osama Bin Laden all the way to the supreme court. Detainees now have a right to at least the minimum protections guaranteed in the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).

"The Supreme Court ruled that the military commissions or tribunals were unauthorized by federal and international law. It upheld the idea that Geneva Conventions apply to all detainees. This ruling succeeds in making the United States appear to be more like a Republic, instead of a military empire led by tinpot trollops of the Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld variety."
(This story was written by a Lt. Col in the Airforce for MilitaryWeek.com. I kept the last line ONLY to show that some in the military are not too happy either even though it is her opinion.)

Anyway...I digress. The point is that this military court apointed lawyer did his job and took his government to court to serve his client. It may not have been the most popular thing to do. By taking the client, the JAG lawyer knew that he would be passed up for promotion to CDR. This was not because he was fighting the government but because he would not be able to accept an assignment that would be of more benefit to his career.

I compare him to John Adams in that he took an unpopular case that many up the chain of command may not have liked, and he did his job to the best of his ability. John Adams defended the British soldiers that fired their weapons during the Boston Masacare. He was able to show that under the circumstances that the soldiers did the best they could. The crowd was shown to be somthing like overly rowdy and viscious. (jeez...my spelling is horrible.) I just like people that can do the right thing in the face of popular critisisim. Can you say Joseph Smith!!