The Army has come a long way when it comes to race relations and equitable treatment. Just a generation ago in World War 2, African American Soldiers were not allowed to command white troops. Countless acts of inexplicable gallantry were overlooked by commands simply because of the color of the Soldier’s skin and recognition was denied. So, when a young Soldier who was forward deployed to Poland accused a First Lieutenant of harassment and racism for an instructional class on tying knots, it didn’t quite add up.
The young Lieutenant was now looking at a General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand (GOMOR) and potentially the end of his newfound military career. That’s when he retained civilian defense attorney Tim Bilecki to fight on his behalf. Once Bilecki got involved, he quickly went to work uncovering the truth and shining the light on military investigators piss poor work.
The incident involved the Lieutenant tying a rope around an African American Soldier’s hands when giving out instructions on proper knot tying ahead of special operations school training. The knot used was not the infamous hangman’s noose and the knot was properly done by the book. However, the African American Soldier interpreted the actions as harassment and took the issue up the chain of command. The command was far too quick to believe the soldier and far too quick to assume guilt on behalf of the Lieutenant.
It didn’t help that the investigator was leading witnesses and breaching confidentiality throughout the investigation. The command wanted to look tough on racism and the Lieutenant seemed to make as good an example as anyone to them, truth be damned. Bilecki was able to fight for the Lieutenant and see to it that the GOMOR was only filed locally. The truth is a GOMOR was not warranted at all in this case, but the command was intent on doing something. By filing the GOMOR locally, the Lieutenant can go on to have a long and storied career fighting for this nation’s future. Though, that’s likely the last knot tying class he’ll ever teach.
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