The Strange Case of Captain Hill

Roger T. Hill was a U.S. Army Captain with three overseas tours of duty under his belt. He was awarded the Bronze Star for his service in Operation Iraqi Freedom, as well as three Army Commendation medals. He was also Airborne, Air Assault and Ranger qualified.


Capt. Hill was a company commander with the 1st battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment in Afghanistan. His company was the smallest in its brigade, which was charged with securing Wardak province, an area about the size of Connecticut, and one where the Taliban had begun reasserting control over the local population. From the moment of its deployment Capt. Hill's company had taken heavy casualties, losing about a third of its strength.


In late 2008 Dog company rounded up a dozen local men who they believed had information on the whereabouts of the Taliban insurgents that were attacking them. Capt. Hill and another soldier were charged by a military court with abusing these detainees and with dereliction of duty for failing to report the incident. Capt. Hill's offense was discharging his weapon in front of these detainees. By Capt. Hill's account he was more than 20 years from the detainees when he pointed his weapon to the ground, away from the prisoners, and squeezed off a couple of rounds to get their attention.


Capt. Hills actions, and those of 1st Sgt. Tommy Scott, resulted in actionable intelligence that helped secure his area and protect his company. Nevertheless, he was subject to an an Article 32 hearing, the equivalent of a grand jury. The hearing officer found no evidence that Capt. Hill, Sgt. Scott, or their men acted in a cruel or sadistic manner, or were motivated by anything other than a desire to save their company more losses. Physical exams of the detainees, a statement of the base Executive Officer who examined the detainees, and a signed statement from one of the detainees all corroborated Capt. Hill and Sgt. Scott's assertion that no one was injured.


Nevertheless, an Army still sensitive to the blowback from Abu Ghraib wasn't satisfied. In a plea bargain Capt. Hill resigned his commission in exchange for an Honorable Discharge. However, when the discharge was granted it was a general discharge, a Discharge without Honor. Having upheld his part of the bargain, Capt. Hill has been working furiously to have the discharge upgraded. However, whether he is successful in this or not is in the hands of Army Secretary Pete Geren.


To stop this travesty of justice you can contact Sen. John McCain, the ranking (minority) member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and ask him to tell Sec. Geren to give Capt. Hill the Honorable Discharge he deserves. Or, you can contact any of the other committee members, especially if one of them is your senator, and tell them you want to see this decorated combat veteran treated with the respect he deserves:


James M. Inhofe (Oklahoma)
Jeff Sessions (Alabama)
Saxby Chambliss (Georgia)
Lindsey Graham (South Carolina)
John Thune (South Dakota)
Mel Martinez (Florida)
Roger F. Wicker (Mississippi)
Richard Burr (North Carolina)
David Vitter (Louisiana)
Susan M. Collins (Maine)


It's time that cases like those of Capt. Hill and Sgt. Scott's were handled according to the facts and not for how they'll play on the New York Times or the Huffington Post. It's difficult to understand why young men and women would want to choose a career in the Army if this is the way the Army treats is best and its brightest.


Just thought you might like to know.