A Marine who was fired for speaking out against the failures of military leadership has issued a warning to his aging superiors.
Fired For Honesty
In a viral video, Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller spoke out about military leadership not taking responsibility for their actions related to the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan and the resulting deaths of American soldiers.
“People are upset because senior leaders let them down, and none of them are raising their hands and accepting accountability or saying ‘we messed this up,’” Scheller said.
“Did any of you throw your rank on the table and say ‘hey, it’s a bad idea to evacuate Bagram Airfield, a strategic airbase, before we evacuate everyone.’ Did anyone do that? And when you didn’t think to do that did anyone raise their hand and say ‘we completely messed this up?’ Potentially all those people did die in vain if we don’t have senior leaders that own up and raise their hand and say ‘we did not do this well in the end,’” he continued.
Lt. Col. Scheller knew that there might be consequences to his statements, but he felt that this was something that needed to be said.
“I wanna say this very strongly. I have been fighting for 17 years. I am willing to throw it all away to say to my senior leaders: I demand accountability,” he concluded.
WATCH:
Marine officer Stuart Scheller has been relieved from duty for this video.
— Cernovich (@Cernovich) August 27, 2021
Soon after the video went viral, Lt. Col. Scheller revealed that he had been relieved of duty. In his statement about his firing, he said that he understood and respected the decision.
“To all my friends across the social networks. I have been relieved for cause based on a lack of trust and confidence as of 14:30 today,” Scheller wrote in a post on Facebook.
“My chain of command is doing exactly what I would do … if I were in their shoes,” he added. “I appreciate the opportunities AITB command provided. To all the news agencies asking for interviews … I will not be making any statements other than what’s on my social platforms until I exit the Marine Corps.”
Warning
Speaking with the New York Post about his firing, Lt. Col Scheller issued a warning for his superiors.
“The baby boomer’s turn is over,” Scheller said. “I demand accountability, at all levels. If we don’t get it, I’m bringing it.”
The lieutenant colonel also quoted Thomas Jefferson, stating “every generation needs a revolution.”
According to Scheller’s family and former troops, it is no surprise that he sacrificed his career to tell the truth.
Speaking with the New York Post, Juan Chavez, 33, who served under Scheller from 2011 to 2014, said: “It takes real courage to do what he did and that was Stu all the way. He was a magnificent leader, a breath of fresh air, who was always going to do what’s right, even if it goes against the grain.”
Scheller’s father also spoke with the Post, saying that his son was “the real deal, a Marine’s Marine. People will follow him to the ends of the earth. He has put his life on the line for fellow Marines so putting his career on the line like this does not surprise us.”
