No wonder the Afghans want us to leave.
"Oregon soldier on probation can go to Afghanistan" by STEVEN DUBOIS |
Associated Press, September 15, 2012
PORTLAND, Ore. — An Army Reserve corporal can deploy to Afghanistan
without the fear he will be arrested when returning home, the Oregon
Supreme Court ruled Friday.
Derrick James McDonald, 22, had asked the court to resolve a conflict
between his Army orders to deploy and his local probation requirements.
In response to the emergency request, the court directed Washington
County Judge Gayle Nachtigal to modify the terms of the soldier’s
probation, putting them on hold until he returns from what is expected
to be a nine-month deployment.
‘‘He’s beyond eager. He’s passionately desiring to go,’’ his lawyer,
Laura Graser, said Friday. ‘‘He wants to make a career out of the
military.’’
Well, he should fit right in.
McDonald was sentenced in January to five years of probation and sex
offender treatment after pleading guilty to two misdemeanor sex
offenses. The charges stemmed from a relationship he had with a
15-year-old girl when he was 19.
Before Friday’s ruling, McDonald faced a difficult choice. If he
failed to join his unit by next week, he could be prosecuted and
dishonorably discharged. But if he did go, he would have violated the
terms of his Washington County probation and faced arrest.
McDonald asked Nachtigal last month to let him finish the required six months of treatment when he returns from Afghanistan.
Several commanding officers testified on his behalf at a hearing.
‘‘He’s one of the most competent soldiers I’ve had assigned to me,’’
said Sergeant First Class Patricia Bradford. ‘‘He’s reliable and
accomplishes pretty much every task he’s been assigned.’’
The district attorney’s office opposed the request, saying McDonald
is an untreated sex offender and ‘‘the children of Afghanistan are just
as important as the children in the United States.’’
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