NationStates Jolt Archive

COMMENTARY: Serious time for serious offenses. In this, as in many other respects, the US military reflects the changing emphases of the society from which it springs. Your thoughts?


Reserve colonel gets three years
for sexual harassment


By Michelle Tan
Times staff writer

An Army Reserve colonel was sentenced Tuesday to three years in prison and dismissal from the Army for sexually harassing eight women junior in rank to him.

Col. Nikki McCarty, 59, also will be reprimanded and forfeit all pay and allowances.

McCarty, a corrections officer in civilian life, was commander of Task Force Medical Falcon at Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo, in 2005. Before deploying, he was commander of the 4206th U.S. Army Hospital in Chattanooga, Tenn.

McCarty was convicted of all 25 specifications against him by a seven-member panel of generals and colonels, according to information provided by Maj. Allen Hing, an Army public affairs officer in Kaiserslautern, Germany. McCarty had pleaded not guilty to the charges, which included charges of cruelty and maltreatment, indecent assault, assault and conduct unbecoming an officer.

McCarty’s victims ranged in rank from sergeant to lieutenant colonel.

The maximum punishment McCarty could have received was 51½ years confinement.

Because McCarty was convicted of sexual crimes, he also will have to register as a sex offender in accordance with United States code.

Unfortunately, this just shows how much the background noise in society has changed. And not even our military can stay impervious to it. It's just sad because there are still a lot of people who view the military as a role model. This incident really is just a vision into how much society is changing. Whatever happened to the good 'ole days???

(damn Hollywood freaks)

Good on them. All the better they apparently were ready to convict an older dude of rank who'd presumably been serving for some time.

Unfortunately, this just shows how much the background noise in society has changed. And not even our military can stay impervious to it. It's just sad because there are still a lot of people who view the military as a role model. This incident really is just a vision into how much society is changing. Whatever happened to the good 'ole days???

(damn Hollywood freaks)
So you are wishing for the days when this sort of thing was covered up routinly?

So you are wishing for the days when this sort of thing was covered up routinly?

No, I'm wishing for the days when people had more common sense and self-respect and wouldn't do this sort of crap because they knew it was wrong and they'd get busted.

There's no such thing as the good ol' days. Bad things have happened to people since time began, it's just that before we had television or radio, not many people knew about it. Even newspapers didn't make much of a difference centuries ago because so many people couldn't read.

It's just like people who want to go back to the 50's or something because they feel that this world is falling into decay due to homosexuality and sex out of wedlock. Gay people existed 50 years ago, people had sex out of wedlock 50 years ago, they were just less likely to admit it because there was so much more stigma.

I think we tend to idealize the past, make it out to be better than it was.

That was a bit of a tangent, sorry.

No, I'm wishing for the days when people had more common sense and self-respect and wouldn't do this sort of crap because they knew it was wrong and they'd get busted.
Not in the military, I don't think. The difference is just that today there are a lot more women around than there might have been in the Fifties, Sixties or even Seventies.

And I suppose some of the old boys have trouble adjusting to that. Which is why it is so good that they get their due punishment (at least in this case).

An Army Reserve colonel was sentenced Tuesday to three years in prison and dismissal from the Army for sexually harassing eight women junior in rank to him.
Well obviously not every military-man looks as good in their uniform as you did Eut....;)

No, I'm wishing for the days when people had more common sense and self-respect and wouldn't do this sort of crap because they knew it was wrong and they'd get busted.
Really? I'm not aware of any such time really.

Are you sure that nostalgia is not just warping your perception of the past.

Maybe I've just been around my parents too much.

No, I'm wishing for the days when people had more common sense and self-respect and wouldn't do this sort of crap because they knew it was wrong and they'd get busted.
You're pining for a time which doesn't exist, I think.

No, I'm wishing for the days when people had more common sense and self-respect and wouldn't do this sort of crap because they knew it was wrong and they'd get busted.
Oh yes. Cause of course sexual harrassment and indecent assault didn't exist until all those damn feminists invented it back on the 70s.
Likewise homosexuals. World didn't have them until the San Francisco mayor made them in the 60s as a marketing gimmick for his city.

Serious time for serious offenses.

Oh? 25 counts of cruelty and maltreatment, indecent assault, assault and conduct unbecoming an officer, including sexually harassing eight women, crimes that could have resulted in a maximum of 51½ years confinement - and he gets three years and dismissal from the Army. I'm not sure I would classify this as "serious time".

I'm just glad to see that nobody (so far) is calling for the execution of this guy. I mean, he might become a repeat offender.

What do you expect, Nikki is a girls name.

Well obviously not every military-man looks as good in their uniform as you did Eut....;)
Awwww! [ blushes furiously ] Thank you! :fluffle: :fluffle:

Army pervs ... not the sort of people you want training your troops.

I'm quite happy this guy got what he deserved. The way I see it, people like this don't just bring dishonor to themselves, they bring dishonor to the entire Army, which is something every soldier and veteran should take very personally.

Although I would have preferred seeing him reduced in grade to E-1, but I'm really not sure if such a thing is possible under the UCMJ.

What do you expect, Nikki is a girls name.

No kidding. I had to read the story three times before the words "him" and "he" registered in my brain. Up until that point I was very disappointed that there were no details about how exactly had she harassed her female subordinates.

I'm quite happy this guy got what he deserved. The way I see it, people like this don't just bring dishonor to themselves, they bring dishonor to the entire Army, which is something every soldier and veteran should take very personally.

Although I would have preferred seeing him reduced in grade to E-1, but I'm really not sure if such a thing is possible under the UCMJ.

Officers cannot be demoted to enlisted ranks, however, he could've been demoted to O-1 which is generally viewed with about the same amount of disgust as an E-1. Only difference is pay and the fact that at least the E-1's been through basic training...

No kidding. I had to read the story three times before the words "him" and "he" registered in my brain. Up until that point I was very disappointed that there were no details about how exactly had she harassed her female subordinates.
Especially with a Scotch/Irish last name.

Officers cannot be demoted to enlisted ranks, however, he could've been demoted to O-1 which is generally viewed with about the same amount of disgust as an E-1. Only difference is pay and the fact that at least the E-1's been through basic training...

"What's the difference between a PV2 and a 2LT?"

"The PV2 did something right, he got promoted once"

Something like that?

As a 2LT he's still an officer, and still has some general military authority as such. I don't know much about how things work on the O side of the house (having been a Corporal when I got out), but I'd be much happier if guys like this could get busted down to E-1 instead of O-1.

It's about high noon they do something about this rampant issue!
Three years though is still *way* too few for that creep! :mad:

By the way, is there something wrong with me? I'm asking, because in that brief period of time I thought the perpetrator here was a lesbian (I mean "Nikki", for chrissakes!), my mental image of the acts mentioned went along the lines of...

"Sergeant! I will not tolerate insubordination! I'm afraid I will have to personally discipline you. Now get undressed while I get the handcuffs, the crop and the whipped cream."