Three of the country’s top veterans groups have lent their support to a congressional measure that calls for the immediate reinstatement of a decorated U.S. soldier who was booted from the military for blowing the whistle on an allied Afghan commander who has kept "a boy chained to his bed as a sex slave," according to the lawmaker spearheading the resolution.
Sgt. Charles Martland, a two-time Bronze Star recipient, was kicked out of the military for reporting the rape of children by Afghan forces allied with the United States. Those who have witnessed similar abuse have claimed that the Obama administration had a policy of ignoring this type of behavior by the Afghans.
Martland’s dismissal led Reps. Vern Buchanen (R., Fla.) and Duncan Hunter (R., Calif.) to author a House resolution calling for the soldier’s immediate reinstatement.
Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Concerned Veterans for America (CVA), and AMVETS backed the measure on Friday.
"SFC Martland did the absolute right thing to confront a threat, and for the Army to show him the door so abruptly is no way to take care of the troops who have faithfully taken care of the mission for so long," John A. Biedrzycki Jr., VFW’s national commander, said in a statement released by Buchanen’s office.
Dan Caldwell, CVA’s legislative director, referred to the dismissal as "absolutely abhorrent" and "another example of the Army trying to wrongly force out a decorated warfighter from its ranks."
AMVETS also blasted Martland’s dismissal and praised him for "not turning a blind eye to a horrific injustice."
The Pentagon admitted to the Washington Free Beacon earlier this month that it is aware of U.S.-allied Afghanis sexually abusing young children.
"This is an abhorrent practice, and we are deeply concerned about it," the official told the Free Beacon. "This form of sexual exploitation of children is a violation of Afghanistan’s laws and international obligations.
However, the Pentagon denied that there is a policy in place to ignore such abuse.
"There is no policy in place that directs any U.S. military or government personnel overseas to ignore human rights abuses," the official said. "On the contrary, we monitor such atrocities closely and have continually stood up for those who have suffered exploitation and denial of basic human freedoms."
The rape of children Afghan soldiers has emerged as a leading issue in the war torn country.
Multiple U.S. soldiers have reportedly witnessed or heard such abuses occurring.
One soldier who spoke to the New York Times for a recent report on the issue said that "at night we can hear them screaming but we’re not allowed to do anything about it."