Anyone who has spent any time in the barracks of Camp Pendleton California has likely considered BAH fraud at one point just to get the hell off base. Most don’t pull the trigger, but when you live in beautiful Southern California and are forced to call Camp Horno home, it crosses your mind. However, correlation does not imply causation and that was just a bridge too far for one Marine First Sergeant to consider.
In this particular case two male Marines at Camp Pendleton were accused of BAH fraud after they entered into a legally binding marriage. The days of “don’t ask, don’t tell” have long gone by the wayside and two young Marines getting married, gay or straight, is just par for the course. Unfortunately, their First Sergeant didn’t believe it to be genuine and saw it as an attempt to move off base and obtain housing benefits.
The First Sergeant then crossed the line when he demanded “proof” of their homosexuality. Confronted with this unreasonable and insulting request, one of the Marines retained attorney Tim Bilecki for legal assistance. Our team was able to prepare clear evidence which affirmed the genuineness of the Marine’s relationship for the First Sergeant. Perhaps because it was riddled with the sexual acts we suppose he was hoping to witness, he refused to even examine our work.
Undeterred, Bilecki engaged directly with the Staff Judge Advocate (SJA) office and simply went around the obstructionist First Sergeant and his improper demands. The result was obvious and in favor of our clients. Meanwhile, a formal complaint was lodged and subsequently substantiated against the First Sergeant. No charges were preferred against our client and the First Sergeant was the one left looking like a fool in the end.
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