How I Almost Lost My Rank...or...How LT Bullard Lost His Integrity

The bastard actually told me, “You’re biting the hand that feeds you.”, and “You’ve made a big mistake.”

That was LT Dwight Bullard, right after the spineless son of a bitch had caved in to pressure from 1SG Riley and SFC Dochterman, and right before he decided to recommend me for UCMJ action. With a blank counseling statement nonetheless. He ACTUALLY handed me a blank counseling statement saying he was recommending me for UMCJ and told me to sign it.

Which I naturally refused. Maybe in the old Army that was okay, but sure as hell not in MY Army. There’s a reason it’s called a “counseling” statement.

It wasn’t the first time I’d been threatened with regards to my complaints against Menwith Hill. 1SG riley had already launched an investigation into “my conduct as an NCO”, and referred me to mental health. He, SFC Dochterman, and McClain, had already destroyed my career through a series of horrific NCOER evaluations. UCMJ would have been the last logical step in the military’s political game of “being blacklisted”.

Still, I was able to avoid the Article 15, after reporting it to the IG and gaining protection under the whistleblowers protection act. I was even able to get them to stop the command’s investigation of me. What I was not able to avoid was being blacklisted. From that point forward, I was the 404^th’s bastard stepchild, and no amount of good deeds would change that.

Not for lack of trying. I did enough during my tour at Menwith Hill to get recommended for a DMSM. In fact, my immediate supervisors thought I was the greatest thing on God’s green Earth, and yet, whenever they tried to explain this to the higher Army command, they were shut out like nobody was even talking. My DMSM got kicked back, and I settled for another JCOM, which six months later, would get lost in “the paperwork” somewhere. I left the military, and my tour at Menwith, without receiving my end of tour award.

Which again, was not even worth fighting for. A JCOM doesn’t mean shit in the real world.

But, even this affected other soldiers who worked alongside me. For example, we had over 60 soldiers working with us on a base holiday event, one of the best events our tiny base had seen in years. When I recommended our volunteers receive some sort of recognition, not once, not twice, but on six separate occasions, I was told by MSG Finley “Did you submit the paperwork?”, which I had, and then, “okay, SSG, well, I’m working on it.”

The civilians gave everyone recognition, the Air Force listened to me and recognized their volunteers, as did the Navy and Marines.

What did the Army do?

They recognized one soldier, a golden boy by the name of Nathan Lange, and no one else, with a volunteer medal. He had half as many hours as some people, he had no other volunteer efforts, and yet he was the one our good ole boy command decided to recognize.

The rest of soldiers, some of whom worked 8-10 hours a day for three weeks straight, received nothing, and I’ll be damned if it wasn’t because sour grapes between me and the 404^th MI Company. And the soldiers weren’t stupid. They ALL knew what was going on, and what is still going on. God bless them.

As for LT Bullard, well, he initially confronted me with the blank counseling statement during a shouting match in front of the junior soldiers, the work section, the entire watchfloor, and pretty much everyone including God and the Queen. In the Army that’s a big no-no, and I expected at least an officer to know that.

After that I went to IG about the blank counseling statement he had given to me, and they spoke with him. He came back to counsel me later that afternoon, in private. I can’t remember most of the counseling session, but I know it had to do with not fighting the command, disrespecting him as an officer and ended with “I’m very disappointed in you, SSG.”

To which I responded, that the soldiers needed someone to fight for them, he disrespected himself and also me as an NCO, and ended with “Sir, I’m very disappointed with you.”

Which I was. LT Bullard was once a powerful ally. He had seen all the injustices I went through in our section and the reasons that 1SG Riley and SFC Dochterman had chosen to attack me. He was respected amongst us.

There was a time when he would have stood up like a man and defended us.

But those days were gone, and so was the Dwight Bullard that all of our Soldiers knew and followed. The day that he threw a hissyfit at us, with me taking the brunt, in front of everyone was the day he lost respect with a small group of soldiers, which in a place like Menwith Hill, translates to losing respect with a large group of soldiers.

Maybe someday, when he faces his own soul and has to account for his footprints in the back of so many soldiers, Dwight Bullard will return to being the leader he once was.

But I wouldn’t hold my breath.