Conduct Unbecoming: A Military True Crime Podcast

There's a camaraderie that comes with being able to turn to a colleague with wide eyes that ask, "Did that really just happen?" The trauma bonds forged in the intense heat of a dumpster fire are fierce. Despite any dysfunction, I've not taken to actively working on dismantling my employer. I tried to improve things until the very end before admitting defeat and moving on.  But what happens when th...

If you asked me to guess which of the services would have to solicit testimony about whether or not drinking in the style of a fraternity is a part of the culture of the branch, I wouldn't guess it was the Air Force. I would guess that it was the branch that was literally founded in a tavern while hopped up on frustration with tea tariffs. Instead of General Washington leading troops to win Americ...

In honor of Father's Day coming up, this seems like the appropriate time to delve into the case of a young man that returned just in time for Father's Day to visit the man that raised him as his own. But instead of grilling out and sharing presents, former Marine Alex Scott walked into his grandfather's home and discovered him slain. As it turned out, however, Scott was the only one with something...

Today's case had all the potential in the world to fall prey to the bystander effect. A barracks dorm is, afterall, a building full of potential witnesses who might assume someone else is taking care of the problem. But perhaps there is a difference between sailors in a volunteer force and residents in an apartment building, and perhaps one group is more motivated to act, more motivated to interve...

While living in Tennessee, I set up a horseback riding lesson and just as we returned from our ride, a single gunshot rang out. It was startling for riders and horses alike, and the ranch owner took off on horseback toward the gunshot, yelling about hunters on the way. I don't know what direction the gunman was shooting in, I don't know if they were aiming at movement for an animal or fellow rider...

I think I've mentioned before that on base housing is a bit of a trip. It's not an environment in which I thrive. As someone who is perhaps overly critical of the details, I can find a lot of things to complain about. So, to balance my hot take on on-base living, I would like to offer some observations of what people do really well: when the plague hit, we had no grocery delivery services. We took...

I don't have a relevant life story that can transition us into the introduction of the facts of this case. The bald truth is that I'm sharing this case because I fear that history may repeat itself. While the Army learned valuable lesson--like the need for operational lawyers to advise commands--from the My Lai massacre, it did so reluctantly, slowly, and without public support.    I referenced an...

There are lots of lawyers in the DOD that operate beyond the courtroom and litigation. Relevant to today's episode are lawyers providing operational support. They work on issues involving treaty compliance, the law of war, detainee operations, rules of engagement, the law of the sea, and non-lethal force and weapons. They have other tasks, but those are probably the ones that mean the most to what...

This podcast usually focuses on successful prosecutions and the resulting appeals. But what about the cases that start strong and then lose steam? We don't really spend time there because I hadn't sussed out the through line, the thing that would make them relevant to a broader discussion. But, for this episode I've plucked two cases that I don't think we would generally describe as successful pro...

With the explosion of recording glasses, this seems like the right time to tackle the issue at the heart of today's episode.  Covert filming (whether that's filming in public places or filming in private spaces) got a lot easier when cameras got smaller. What was once the stuff of spy thrillers is now being sold at retailers for a few hundred dollars. I recognize that there are blinking lights to...

Is it a universally millennial experience, learning to set boundaries? I still have a lot to learn about the details of boundary setting, but I think people exposed to the law might have a bit of a leg up. We've seen the power of a clear, bright line rule such as, "people born in the United States are citizens by right of their birth." We've also seen the dangers of an unclear rule, like, "jurisdi...

When I lived in the southern United States after college, people told me my dating options would be limited. I was 22 years old and, apparently, a spinster, so they cautioned that my dating market would probably be people who'd married young and were winding their way through divorce. I wasn't particularly interested in being a stepmother and, ultimately, didn't seriously date while I was living t...

When your spouse deploys, there are a lot of new fun things to worry about and a rush of plans to get into place. Your best bet is to get a power of attorney for the things that matter, and some people elect to move back to their home towns during deployments, eager to return to a sense of comfort and community. It's a challenging time where the burden of running a life and house shift to just one...

During my senior year of college, I went through a weird period of time where everything I ate made me feel nauseous and I wasn't really experiencing hunger. My regular doctor couldn't find anything wrong with me, suggesting it was perhaps just stress. My parents, however, were pretty concerned that their daughter wasn't interested in food and demanded I seek more opinions. A second opinion was th...

If you were hoping I'd kick season 4 off with a bang, I'll instead start us off with a reference to Firework, the musical masterpiece from Katy Perry.  I have no casual transition to tell you that the song is FIFTEEN YEARS OLD, and that its age makes me feel personally attacked. Apparently, there's a not insignificant portion of servicemembers that DO feel like a plastic bag drifting through the w...

During sorority rush, we came up with quiet signals to communicate without having to out ourselves out to prospective new members. When things were going south during a conversation, we'd make eye contact with another sister and play with our hair -  a bat signal asking for help. Naturally, this bled into the rest of our lives. If we were out and got bad vibes, we'd make eye contact with a sister...

I don't know if we even consider it an unwritten code that you don't date your ex's friends or your friend's exes. I feel like that's probably actually written somewhere when it comes to explaining to people how they should behave. We give high school students a little bit of a pass because their social circles are small and it's kind of low stakes in most high school relationships. But when the w...

When we moved back from Japan to the United States, we encountered an ever tightening noose of gun violence. It was an abrupt reintegration to the American fascination with firearms. I don't know if the socialization of young boys to idolize and play with guns has anything to do with the prevalence of violence, and without CDC research into the gun violence that plagues this country, it's unlikely...

I think the worst phone call I've had to make to my dad is when I was fresh out of college and working in Tennessee. I got cut off on an exit ramp and didn't have enough space to stop, so I ended up in a fender bender. Well, my fenders, bumper, hood and headlights all needed a makeover, but the Honda CRV that darted in front of me bore only a scratch from my license plate screw. The person I dread...

I remember the first time I went out to socialize after learning I passed the Bar exam. I'd graduated in May, studied for months, took the test, and waited until late November for results. The wait was brutal  – I lost about a third of my hair volume from the stress that comes with spending tens of thousands of dollars on an education that I really, really hoped would result in a Bar license on th...

I'd like to say that I don't spend a lot of time thinking about what I'm going to share, but we're two and a half years deep on this podcast, so we all know the truth. When you think about it, the lifestyle cultivated by military moves is actually kind of ideal for those drawn to murder. Take the Navy, for instance. Many of their warm water duty stations are popular vacation spots drawing tourists...

Prior to recent legally dubious phone searches at border crossings, I have never had occasion to sweat giving someone access to my phone. Now, I fear my pure sass would have me, a U.S. citizen, extradited to a country I have no ties to. I suppose we are all fortunate that I squeaked back into the country when I did. At least now we know that, should I vacation abroad, I'll take a prepaid phone wit...

In the aftermath of a sexual assault, one young Marine struggled to cope with what happened, and with her underlying health conditions. It seemed for her that each place she turned, she was met with either unwillingness or inability to help. She continued to spiral until someone ended up in custody… not her assailant, but her. This episode involved discussion of sexual assault. There are a number...

Sometimes when I need to compose a challenging message, I rely on a council of women. It's always women because I have many years of Taboo board game experience and a team of women will win every time. My first council of women messaging meeting followed a weird twenty first birthday in which the young man I was dating ignored all of my friends and criticized me for consuming a single mojito with...

The last two times I reported for jury duty, I got kicked by the parties using peremptory challenges. The first time, I was working on post conviction record relief and it was a criminal case--a prosecutor's least favorite kind of juror. The second time, I held a more general legal position and it was a civil case. I think both times I got kicked it was because I'm an attorney and, well, attorneys...