Command sergeant major pleads guilty after sexual contact with subordinate

Command sergeant major pleads guilty after sexual contact with subordinate
By Jon Rabiroff, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Friday, December 18, 2009

CAMP CASEY, South Korea — A brief moment of sexual contact between a senior noncommissioned officer and a subordinate sent both soldiers down different roads of guilt and despair.

Command Sgt. Maj. Antonio Holder found himself ostracized by his peers, and his impressive 29-year military career tarnished as he faced a court-martial. His former driver, a specialist, said the May incident left him unable to eat or sleep normally and with scars on his arms that he attributed to self-inflicted wounds resulting from depression. He said he has repeatedly attempted suicide.

Ultimately, Holder pleaded guilty to fraternizing with a subordinate enlisted man and was sentenced to a reduction in rank to E-8 and a formal reprimand, but not before a daylong sentencing hearing Tuesday at Camp Casey that featured dramatic testimony from the two men about how their lives spiraled downward after an incident that began with a graphic sexual discussion.

“It’s hard to respect … my leaders because I don’t know who I can trust,” the former driver testified. “I used to love the Army. Now I do it because I have to.”

Holder said, “I am truly sorry for the hurt, the shame and the embarrassment that I have brought to all. I am here today pleading guilty to take responsibility and be held accountable for my actions.”


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=66716

that needs to go the way of the doo-doo bird. Maybe immediate subordinates should be a no-no, but why is fraternization between officers and enlisted such an issue in the military?

It rarely has good consequences.

influence over, why should anyone care?

I hate to see people being demoted or kicked out because of personal relationships after having invested so much time. I think sometimes people worry about the wrong things.

Fraternization between Officer and Enlisted has always been on the "no no" list.