Sailor who criticized military leaders on exit from Afghanistan accused of six crimes

Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller, the outspoken Navy who went viral for criticizing military leadership during the US exit from Afghanistan, is charged with six felonies following his release from the brig.

Scheller will face a special misdemeanor-level court martial for his viral videos that blasted civilian and military leaders.

MARINE WHO WAS PRISONED FOR SPEAKING ABOUT AFGHANISTAN WILL BE RELEASED FROM BRIG TUESDAY

The charges were referred to court martial on Wednesday by Major General Julian D. Alford, a day after Scheller was released from remand for violating an agreement to stay away from social media.

Scheller was dismissed from his command in one of Camp Lejeune’s infantry training battalions after posting the videos on Facebook and LinkedIn after the bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport claimed his life to 13 US servicemen.

Scheller is accused of showing contempt for public officials, disrespecting superior officers, willful disobedience to a superior officer, dereliction of duty and disobeying an order or regulation, and to have shown conduct unworthy of an officer and a gentleman.

The Marine Corps maintains that members should use their chain of command to voice concerns, not to publicly criticize the leadership on social media.

But many have defended Scheller as his case goes to military courts, which has helped the outspoken officer raise funds through the Pipe Hitter Foundation.

The Pipe Hitter Foundation, run by former Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher after facing court martial in 2019 for war crimes allegations, has contributed funds to Scheller’s legal defense.

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Scheller was also defended by his parents, who say he only held military leaders to account.

“All our son did was ask the questions everyone was asking, but they were too scared to speak out loud,” said Scheller’s father, Stu Scheller Sr., told Task & Purpose last week. “He was calling for accountability. In fact, I think he even asked for an apology for making mistakes, but they couldn’t, which is mind-blowing.”