Marine Sentenced for Urinating on Dead Taliban

Do you agree with his punishment?

One of the marines filmed urinating on the body of a dead Afghan soldier has been court-martialled and sentenced. Staff Sergeant Joseph Chamblin's rank has been reduced, and he's been fined $500. He was also given 30 days in jail, but he won't serve the time because of a plea bargain.

The video "shocked the world" when it was released, according to the UK's TV station, the BBC.

The punishment suggests the army took the incident more seriously than some of our lawmakers and pundits. At the time, TX Gov. Rick Perry said "these kids made a mistake...They shouldn't have done it. It's bad. But to call it a criminal act, I think, is over the top." And conservative pundit Dana Loesch controversially proclaimed, "I'd drop trou' and do it too."

Via the BBC.

Is a reduced rank and $500 fine the right punishment for this marine?

[Neo_NtheMatrix]

I voted 'No, he shouldn't be punished'

[PoliticalSpice]

Now there's a suprize.

[kirbstomp1]

@PoliticalSpice - before I even finish reading the topic I know what Neo is going to say.

[kirbstomp1]

@PoliticalSpice - hate to say it but it's war. War isn't pretty, war isn't humane, and war doesn't care whose side your on. So our soldiers are held accountable in an inhumane environment to act humane? And if not be jailed and fined. This is why I will never serve for the US military. It's not there to protect citizens and individuals it's there to protect our government, and that's why. I don't think our soldiers should be pissing on dead Taliban, but if they were dragging your dead body through a town the day before you better.be damn right im gonna Piss on every single one of them from that day forward. Right in mouth.lol

[PoliticalSpice]

@kirbstomp1 well as i said in another thread, if i get the chance i'll pee on bushes grave, and i'd expect to get a fine, and it would be worth it. Considering the war crimes going on against the living , i think peeing on a dead body, while disrespectful is stupid, but not something that desrves more then a fine. If anything its the parents of americans killed in retaliation for this that should be...pissed off.

[Neo_NtheMatrix]

So the two that came in here with wise mouth answers are the two that agree with me. Disgusting...so sad.

[bsking]

just boys being boys it ain't like he had a necklace made of ears or fingers

[tomincali]

wasn't like they was dragging them through the towns like the enemy has done.

[Republican5001]

@tomincali or using 4 airliners as weapons against military personnel and civilians.

[Denizen_Kate]

So, it's okay if our soldiers behave as crude and uncivilized as our enemies? Shouldn't we be better than that? I'm glad his sentence was light, but I disagree that he shouldn't have been charged with conduct unbecoming.

[bsking]

@Denizen_Kate well we are just going to disagree on this 1 . we don't know the particulars behind that story. those Taliban may have been responsible for killing that man's best friend... I think he should have been charged for stupidity for letting that picture be taken though... that's something the Navy man might do..

[Denizen_Kate]

@bsking - See Sharpshooter's lengthy comment below. He makes the statement so much better than I ever could.

[MarkJM]

Urinating on dead Taliban, that's nothing compared to what those terrorist scumbags do to US Troops. Those Leathernecks shouldn't have been punished the way they were. Heck, they're more humane than I am, I wouldn't urinate on them if they were on fire.

[woodtick57]

fortunately we don't form our troop's code of conduct from what others do...

[MarkJM]

@woodtick57 And in my opinion the only reason they were even charged to begin with was because it was all caught on tape.

[jamie91]

@MarkJM which is why the punishment should have been much harsher.

[woodtick57]

@MarkJM So they were punished because they got caught? That is usually how it works.

or they got caught cuz they were incredibly stupid? That too is usually how it works.

[MarkJM]

@woodtick57 That's a fair response. My old CO (Commanding Officer) always told me there are two types of people in this world: Those who get caught and those who don't.

[stepped_in_it]

well, the act was "somewhat" bad, but, the stupidity of filming it and letting it hit the net is the real crime. Does everybody understand that filming your "act" and putting it on the net is very, very stupid? From what I keep seeing, I's say nope.

[Coolvoter]

Peeing on a dead body is a disgrace.
Remember, we are there under false presences, some of those people aren't fighting just to kill Americans, it's to keep the invading power (us) from taking over their home.
This would be similar to England peeing on our dead soldiers way back he

[Neo_NtheMatrix]

Who voted 'No, it's not harsh enough'? I demand an explanation for that right now.

[jamie91]

See my answer below

[Cheenoguy]

He desecrated a dead body. It's not honorable behavior and our soldiers should be honorable. We are supposed to be better then that in America.
Also it shows poor decision making skills and we don't need people with poor decision making skills endangering our soldiers that are mature and honorable.
I know you want us to act like the Taliban, but some of us are grown ups.

[woodtick57]

Demand? pffft....

[Avaholic90]

do you guys even know what our boys over seas go through and have to deal with everyday when their over there? should they have done it no, should they have been punished hell no.

[mtkopf]

@Avaholic90 yes I do know what our soldiers go through overseas bc I was there. I still voted no not harsh enough bc what these yahoos did puts other soldiers and other Americans at risk.
What if it was one of our soldiers? What if they stripped the body down and dragged it through the streets? The country would be outraged, kinda like when it happened in Somalia.

[AceLuby]

We should expect more from our soldiers than we see from our enemy. If we're just going to do what they do, why are we there at all?

[kirbstomp1]

@AceLuby - well we don't dismember them while alive, or scalp them, or drag their bodies through our Towns, or show them off to all our buddies. Take your happy ass over there and go fight a modern war. Im sure once you see how those savages act you might piss on 1, 2, or 3 of them. They are literally animals and when they kill one of us it's like they've killed a God, we just Piss on them and move on to the next one. The only reason they are savages is because their religion makes them that way.

[AceLuby]

@kirbstomp1 Like I said, we should not be sinking to their level and if we are, why are we there?

[AceLuby]

@kirbstomp1 Also, how is peeing on your enemy not acting like a savage? Savages invading another country to save other savages from being savages. The irony is almost too much.

[kirbstomp1]

@AceLuby - not quite to their level, but I look at it like this. If you got killed over there and they were dragging your body through a town be behind a horse and buggy screaming insanities and you were in my platoon, or squad, I would Piss on all of them. People get caught up in the moment and when you lose a soldier your close to it's like losing family. You don't think rationally, you think revenge. Idk why were there. Get our boys out of their.

[PuroChorizo361]

Slap on the wrist then you wonder why ppl act like animals....Then you add insult to injury by not doing time in the slammer how Pathetic!

[Your_Name_Here]

You can kill or maim people as you desire but please don't pee on them. What this Marine is guilty of is not showing any class, simple as that. We used to collect ears in the old days but I guess wouldn't be acceptable now, would it? Next we'll be writing letters of apology to their family members and setting up makeshift memorials with teddy bears and all right there on the front lines. The one thing to remember is the people who condemn this act wouldn't get caught anywhere near a combat zone and have absolutely no idea what mental state these guys are in.

[mtkopf]

And innocent women and children were killed in Nam also. Is that OK today? What about the women and girls that were raped? Is that OK today?
You collecting trophies from your kills show that you were a dick individual then and if you still think that behavior is acceptable then you still are a sick individual.

[Your_Name_Here]

@mtkopf I was in the Marines '69 to '75 and didn't kill anyone myself, but some of the people I was stationed with did and brought back what you refer to as trophies. My job was working on planes to bring them back stateside. I have three cousins who watched their parents killed in front of them by the Khmer Rouge so I do know what you are talking about. My philosophy on war is to stay out or nuke the other country off the planet and nothing in between. There have been way too many people killed fighting for "our freedom" when our freedom has never been at stake. If you feel strongly enough to kill people then they are no better than the trash you throw out on garbage day and have no rights and deserve no respect and this peeing on their carcasses should have not been an issue. Then again... if people you elect to office make this decision to kill people for no legitimate reason, what does that make them? And you?

[mtkopf]

@Your_Name_Here well seeing as I did not vote for Bush either time and he got us into not one but two needless wars it doesn't
makee anything.

[Your_Name_Here]

@mtkopf Sorry, it was "our government" that got us into the wars. As long as "our government" has us blaming each other nobody will blame them.

[Belin]

I think his punishment was fair. He may have been young, but he knew better than to do something that disgusting. Especially stupid to do it being filmed. They had already killed that man, the ultimate punishment!

[justapirate]

Eh, it's something that I would be capable of even if I knew I was gonna catch a little hell over it. Some things just make ya feel better.

[NormalFlora]

He disgraced the Corps and gave our enemy more ammo for jihad. Service members are held to a MUCH higher standard than your typical guns-n-bible redneck. He knew when he joined the Corps that this type of revolting behavior would not be tolerated. He gambled and lost. Screw him.

[Cheenoguy]

I wish I could vote this up more then once.

[Dan_Tien]

Since he was put on record doing the act and the record went public, the Marine Corps had to punish him or else be seen as tacitly approving of his actions.

[JohnnyDee]

A man has to mark conquered territory.

[Gtiallday]

Haha good one!

[gammler]

I voted he shouldn't be punished. What do people expect? War isn't a game.

[woodtick57]

We expect our men and women in the military to act like humans, like the representatives of our nation that they are.

[gammler]

@woodtick57 You have obviously never been in combat and seen your friends killed. To quote General Sherman, "War is hell".

[woodtick57]

@gammler My friends and family have and they did not turn into assholes...

[shawnyc36]

War is war, not a gentlemans game. If you're willing to strap a bomb on your chest and blow up to kill as many Americans as possible, hide among civilians and sucker punch u.s. soldiers when they turnaround, blowing i.e.d's off from miles away like a coward, your dead body should get pissed on automatically, your body should be placed in the bottom of an outhouse, so everybody gets a turn.

[FFX_VA]

He showed poor judgement, violated the UCMJ, and was appropriately punished for it. Now he moves on with his career.

These aren't kids on a weekend hunting trip, they are professional solders representing the greatest military force & country on earth, their actions show the world who we are as a country. His bad behavior caused an international incident, the punishment was appropriate for what he did.

[DerivePI]

Excellent response

[dodge]

The Marine should not have been punished for this, since it was only a DEAD ENEMY...had the person been alive, then punishment would be in order.

[woodtick57]

So your cool with them dragging the bodies of our dead soldiers through their streets...good to know...

[Buckfan4life2]

Not saying that after the guy has probable been dodgeing bullets from him all day I would feel more like pooping on him instead of nice refreshing golden shower. But it does tarnish our image abit.

[rader6]

This young Marine made a bad decision. The punishment for urininating on a dead scumbag was too harsh. The punishment for having a video camera and filming the incident was not harsh enough. I would be interested in seeing what punishment was handed down to the platoon leader for allowing video cameras out on a mission.

[Buckfan4life2]

After studying the photo alittle closer I think he and his buddy were just saying alittle prayer for him.

[Sharpshooter]

@PolitixMary Mary.... the man is a Marine.... with a capital "M" as it is a title that is EARNED.

He is not in the army, he serves in the Marine Corps, that's not a mistake any Marine would take lightly.

His actions were reprehensible as I will explain in another post, but once earned... he holds the title "Marine."

[rkinsawjoe]

Here,Here! My posts don't seem to be showing for some reason but I had a reply very much like your own. The Marines are an all volunteer force because they are held to much higher standards of personal behavior and professionalism than the other services. Not one Marine in the history of the Corps would question whether this act was wrong or punishable. The affront to the Corps alone is worthy of a dishonorable discharge. Semper Fi!