For most Americans, a lapse in judgment is not a crime and infidelity, while frowned upon, won’t destroy your life. Unfortunately for American service members, a lapse in judgment can result in catastrophic consequences when they face off with the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
An Army Captain at Fort Jackson was facing allegations of adultery that were exacerbated when the paramour made claims of sexual assault. There was no question that the Captain was married. It was incontestable that the Captain stepped out on his wife and engaged in adultery. However, the Captain wasn’t a rapist, he wasn’t a predator, and he was a damn good officer and leader of Soldiers.
The first step for Bilecki was to eliminate the biggest threat. Through a thorough investigations, Bilecki was able to engage with the Staff Judge Advocate (SJA) office and determine that there was no evidence which would warrant sexual assault charges to be brought forward. However, the Captain unfortunately had an extramarital relationship with a woman not his wife and that still needed to be addressed.
Command proceeded with a General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand (GOMOR) for the young Captain. It wasn’t an unreasonable course of action but a hell of a lot more advantageous than a court martial for sexual assault. Bilecki went to work to highlight not only the Captain’s service record, but his reconciliation with his wife. Marriages are hard things and that doesn’t change even when you swear an oath to uphold the constitution. He messed up and they worked it out. That’s a better track record than 50% of America.
Unfortunately, it was decided to file the GOMOR for adultery into his permanent record. It wasn’t necessarily the worst decision as the man had his wife and his career with the Army. Had we not stepped in to save him from the charges of sexual assault his life would have had a radically different outcome. Look, if you’ve messed up you still don’t have to suffer the worst outcome. You can acknowledge it and with the right defense you can still save your career, retirement, and maybe even your marriage.
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