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My very first memory is of me sitting on a small, red, plastic chair in my grandmother’s living room watching a US Army Abrams Tank tare roll across the Iraqi desert on its way to liberate the people of Kuwait.

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My entire life, I have wanted nothing more than to serve my country and raise a loving family. I will forever be thankful that I had the opportunity to wear the uniform and fight for our great nation, and that I get to raise my two beautiful children alongside my incredible wife. My only regret is that my military career ended well before I ever imagined because I assumed, like most of us do, that my country and government cared to protect my Constitutional rights. Sadly, my story is not an uncommon one, and I join the ranks of others who have become victimized by a system intended to protect our Soldiers but is instead undermining the very foundation of our legal system.

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In the summer of 2010, I received orders to become the newest Assault Helicopter Platoon Leader in the historical 82nd Airborne Division. I was a West Point graduate, a freshly pinned First Lieutenant, and a “trained” Black hawk helicopter pilot, I could not have been more excited to lanch this next chapter of my life. Upon my arrival at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, I was ecstatic to learn that in just over a year I would have the awesome responsibility of leading my unit in the most kinetic region of Afghanistan. Afterall, since that September morning of my sophomore year of high school when we all watched our fellow citizens murdered, I wanted nothing more than to personally make those cowards pay…I was finally going to get my chance.

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After much training and anticipation, deployment came in September 2011 and thus began one of the most rewarding 12 months of my life. I will forever be grateful to the men and women I had the privilege to serve with during that period, morn those we lost, and ache for those back home who will never be fully whole again.

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Unfortunately, just one month after my return, I learned my now ex-wife, also a US Army Captain (spoiler alert, she’s the accuser) whom was also deployed during that period, had been engaged in a ten month long sexual affair with a Non-Commission Officer in her unit. After learning of the affair, I of course filled for divorce, continued my own career, and watched from a distance as her career was quickly coming to an end due to her lack or morals, discipline, and adherence to Army Values.  However, I would soon learn that to preserve her livelihood and career, she would accuse me of assaulting her on the evening I learned of her illegal affair.

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Over the next year, I would be investigated by multiple agencies and cleared each time. Initially, her accusations involved domestic violence, but after I was cleared of such allegations would later evolve to include sexual assault. Army personnel and the local Sheriff’s office investigated her allegations and twice failed to find evidence of any wrongdoing. However, after obtaining civilian defense counsel in her efforts to prevent being dismissed from the US Army for her sexual misconduct, her allegations against me were changed to include lude sexual allegations. Given the heated political climate surrounding sexual assault, particularly within the Department of Defense, the Army decided to reopen the investigation and ultimately ordered me to General Court Marshal. As for my accuser, she was allowed to remain in the Army, given the opportunity to attend an Engineering Master’s Degree program, provided immunity for her misconduct in return for her testimony against me, and ultimately retired from the service with full pension…in other words her plan worked perfectly.

Ultimately, I was paraded before a court-marshal where the accuser was referred to as a “special victim” before the jury, lacked the ability for my counsel to question her before testimony, and banned from disclosing to the jury her misconduct. In what I believe was a compromise verdict, I was found not guilty of about half the charges (any charge for which I could disprove with physical evidence was thrown out), and guilty of any charge that centered on a “he said, she said”. I was sentenced to two years confinement and dismissal from the Army. Ultimately, the jury decided that unless I could disprove a charge, I had to be found guilty, obviously a far cry from the Constitutional standard of innocent until proven guilty. I do not blame the jury members for their decision, because I know the incredible pressure they too must have felt from our political leaders. I strongly believe that the jury members (at least a majority) did not believe in my quilt thus issued the relatively short sentence, of which I served 17 months.

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Sexual assault is a disgusting crime, and I believe that anyone who commits such an act should be locked up and punished to the highest degree (as I stated at my courts-marshal). At the same time, every American deserves the protections within The Constitution and the presumption of innocence. The current Army SHARP program, designed to protect victims of sexual assault, while well intentioned is making it impossible for those accused to mount an adequate defense. Our political and military leaders must find a more appropriate balance to ensure that all Soldiers receive the rights they have volunteered to defend.

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I consider myself extremely fortunate in that the disgusting convictions that hang over my name have had a minimal impact on my life. Of course, I would not recommend anyone spend 17 months in a Federal prison, or deal with the embarrassment of the National Sex Offender Registry. However, when it comes to what truly matters in life these convictions will not and do not hold me back. I have been happily married to my incredible wife for nearly five years, have two incredible kids, and I am the CEO and co-founder of an awesome software company doing great things in the employment industry. Of course, I pray that these charges will one day be shown for the falsehood they are and dismissed, but what I hope for more than anything is that the Army SHARP program is amended to ensure the equal treatment of all service members.

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On behalf of my entire family, I wish to thank you for your support. Please pray for those still in confinement, pray for the real victims of sexual assault, and encourage our leaders to find an appropriate solution to end sexual assault in our military while protecting the rights of all individuals.

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Imagine if this happened to someone you love. What would you do? Every gift of $25, $50, $75, $100 - or any amount that is right for you, will make a difference in getting these innocent soldiers home to their families. Every day that passes is another day a military family cannot sit around the same dinner table and say grace together. YOU can help our warriors fight these legal battles.

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