Undisclosed Location, CENTCOM AOR–Near the beginning of his deployment, a fuels-troop NCO volunteered to give a First Sergeant a tour of the workings of the unit.
Throughout the evening, they rode together as she learned what it meant to be in that unit in that location. There were even pictures taken of them smiling throughout the tour. But afterwards, the First Sergeant alleged our client had subjected her to sexual harrasment throughout the night.
Mr. Tolin’s client was devastated, and recognizing what it could mean, he opted to turn down the offer of NJP, setting up the potential for a court-martial either at the undisclosed location or somewhere else in the CENTCOM AOR. The unit and JAG didn’t hold back, preferring charges for the turned down allegations.
Ultimately, Mr. Tolin secured a meeting with the Wing Commander (of course, with his Staff Judge Advocate* Wingman also on the call), and advocated for a different resolution. Ultimately, Mr. Tolin’s client took a risk and provided his side to the Wing Commander, and with that information, Mr. Tolin convinced the commander to dismiss the pending special court-martial and issue a Letter of Reprimand without inclusion in the Unfavorable Informaton File (UIF)–similar to a permanently filed GOMOR. Instead, it became a “desk-drawer” LOR, existing only until the end of his deployment (which ended up being a matter of days, since he had to defend himself throughout nearly his whole deployment).
*Mr. Tolin’s next active-duty assignment was working directly for that particular Staff Judge Advocate, who it turns out is a stellar trial lawyer (prosecutor and defense attorney) in his own right.