# I Pit this US Marine. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 6, 2013, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-this-us-marine/654985 "2013-04-06T04:08:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-this-us-marine/654985/21 "2013-04-06T08:47:51Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Care to elaborate on how someone in a court-martial has fewer rights than in a civilian court? I’m hardly the best expert, but to give an obvious example that pops to mind, the infamous Aberdeen rape cases. _The New Republic_ did a great article on them showing how the African-American sergeants accused of raping mostly white women would never have been convicted in civilian trials because the military prosecutors were allowed to use evidence that would never have been admissible in civilian courts. Moreover, they pointed out that in every single civilian court, what happened wouldn’t have met the legal requirements for rape because in all states in order for one to be guilty of a “coerced rape” the coercion had to be due to either fear of death or serious physical injury whereas all the cadets did so because they were worried the accused DIs would make their lives miserable. Beyond that, there’s always the question of command influence and who the jury is composed of. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-this-us-marine/654985/22 "2013-04-06T09:01:56Z")
Without in any way defending the angry Marine, my reaction to the Youtube was surprise that the incident was so tame – it seemed too tame to be remarkable. I’ve witnessed a few incidents that would have made far more exciting and unbelievable Youtubes. If the surprise is that it was specifically a U.S. Marine who behaved this way, I’m afraid that surprise also doesn’t mesh with my experiences. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-this-us-marine/654985/23 "2013-04-06T10:20:44Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > I’m hardly the best expert, but to give an obvious example that pops to mind, the infamous Aberdeen rape cases. > > _The New Republic_ did a great article on them showing how the African-American sergeants accused of raping mostly white women would never have been convicted in civilian trials because the military prosecutors were allowed to use evidence that would never have been admissible in civilian courts. > > Moreover, they pointed out that in every single civilian court, what happened wouldn’t have met the legal requirements for rape because in all states in order for one to be guilty of a “coerced rape” the coercion had to be due to either fear of death or serious physical injury whereas all the cadets did so because they were worried the accused DIs would make their lives miserable. > > Beyond that, there’s always the question of command influence and who the jury is composed of. Ah, I see; you don’t seem to be familiar with the UCMJ in the US. Your assertion was that the defendants (in US military parlance, “the accused”) have less rights in a military court. That, in fact, is not the case. As to command influence, the procedures in place are supposed to prevent that from happening. I would question, though, how a mere Captain (the usual rank for a company commander in the US Marine Corps) could have that much influence over a group of servicemembers selected from the base military population. There is also the issue of the court-martial convening authority and the trial judge, neither of whom being the aforementioned company commanding Captain. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-this-us-marine/654985/24 "2013-04-06T10:49:09Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > _The New Republic_ did a great article on them showing how the African-American sergeants accused of raping mostly white women would never have been convicted in civilian trials because the military prosecutors were allowed to use evidence that would never have been admissible in civilian courts. Thankfully you included the races of the assailants and the victims. Were the women like 90 percent white? ---
**Author:** ![Fugazi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f08c70/32.png) [@Fugazi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fugazi)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-this-us-marine/654985/25 "2013-04-06T10:50:39Z")
> [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](#): > > The Department of Veterans Affairs is famously effed up right now and in unconscionable backlog of paperwork so the guy may very well be trying to get help from the government and is being left hanging out to dry with his PTSD and other issues. From what I understand the guy is still Active Duty, so wouldn’t be treated by the VA. ---
**Author:** ![Doughbag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Doughbag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doughbag)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-this-us-marine/654985/26 "2013-04-06T12:16:07Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > I’m hardly the best expert, but to give an obvious example that pops to mind, the infamous Aberdeen rape cases. > > _The New Republic_ did a great article on them showing how the African-American sergeants accused of raping mostly white women would never have been convicted in civilian trials because the military prosecutors were allowed to use evidence that would never have been admissible in civilian courts. > > Moreover, they pointed out that in every single civilian court, what happened wouldn’t have met the legal requirements for rape because in all states in order for one to be guilty of a “coerced rape” the coercion had to be due to either fear of death or serious physical injury whereas all the cadets did so because they were worried the accused DIs would make their lives miserable. > > Beyond that, there’s always the question of command influence and who the jury is composed of. You are as usually a fucking dim witted dick wit!! WTF has a road rage incident between **2 White Parties** has to do with back guys raping white women? Nothing! It’s clearly showing the White Supremacy, since a black Marine most likely would have raped the door instead of hitting it and said mothafuka. :smack: Now, go back and let your little inbreed sister play with your underdeveloped little pincer. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-this-us-marine/654985/27 "2013-04-06T13:26:30Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > But let’s just stop with the “you were caught on video having a bad moment, YOUR LIFE IS DESTROYED!” Samuel Colt didn’t make all men equal, [Phillipe Kahn](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippe_Kahn) did. ---
**Author:** ![Uber\_the\_Goober](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/58956e/32.png) [@Uber\_the\_Goober](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uber_the_Goober)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-this-us-marine/654985/28 "2013-04-06T14:07:08Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > How about we do that. > > No, you want to try him via the internet. You have no idea if he did cut those people off. You just take their word. He said they had damaged his car but, fuck him, he had emotions. Scary ones! Awww did you get some stains in your undies? > Did you see his pecs? He could have broken that window if he was the raving maniac you want to make him out to be. > > In other words, take your recreational outrage and shove it. The world is a messy place and sometimes people get yelled at. I dared to raise my voice to some people who were stealing from me, and I was painted as the bad guy because I yelled. > I never said to give him a fucking medal or a free pass. But Each and every person who yells does not need to get your fucking permission to do so and your judgement against them means JACK SHIT. You are conflating your own personal experiences, which apparently turned out badly for you, with this Marine’s poor self-control. Because of his poor self control, he likely would have seriously injured two people. This is a Bad Thing. Your slanted view of the situation means JACK SHIT. Whether he did or didn’t cut them off, his behavior is beyond unacceptable for civilized society, let alone a military base. When a tirade lasts as long as this guy’s did, it’s no longer a simple issue of “_I raised my voice because I was angry_”. It becomes “_I went ballistic, threatened the life of another person, and attempted to harm them repeatedly while damaging their property._” Take special note of the lack of exacerbation of the altercation by the people filming. They were not participants in this explosion of testosterone fueled rage. They were doing the only thing they could do to avoid becoming victims of assault. The USA has clearly established and judicially precedented laws that provide for punishment against people who act this way. Or are you from another country where this behavior is acceptable? In the court of public opinion, this guy is clearly a Douchebag. You, well how about we just lock you in a room with this fella and see how your opinions change? ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-this-us-marine/654985/29 "2013-04-06T14:17:41Z")
> [@RandMcnally](#): > > Some people commenting in another article on this said they think the guy is suffering from PTSD. I wonder if anything will be released about that. I can’t speak to the PTSD, but based on the video he appears to be suffering from acute testosterone poisoning and a buildup of fluid in his skull that I strongly suspect is vinegar and water. Something similar happened to me once, with not quite as much door-kicking. No cell phone cameras back then. Now we have cell phone cameras, ergo public actions are often more likely to have consequences. Probably a good thing to teach kids, eh? ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-this-us-marine/654985/30 "2013-04-06T14:26:29Z")
Marine or not, whoever he is, he needs some serious help. Getting that insane over a minor car accident is pathological. What else might set him off? He doesn’t need jail, he needs some therapy and an anger management program. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-this-us-marine/654985/31 "2013-04-06T14:36:59Z")
OK, yes that guy lost is mind when the post-accident adrenaline hit him. It happens, and it leads too unpleasantness. I’d just like to point out that the three guys who stepped in to help also appear to be Marines. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-this-us-marine/654985/32 "2013-04-06T15:19:18Z")
> [@Uber\_the\_Goober](#): > > You are conflating your own personal experiences, which apparently turned out badly for you, with this Marine’s poor self-control. Nope, didn’t turn out badly for me. > [@](#): > > Because of his poor self control, he likely would have seriously injured two people. This is a Bad Thing. Your slanted view of the situation means JACK SHIT. Whether he did or didn’t cut them off, his behavior is beyond unacceptable for civilized society, let alone a military base. Oh he was mad but “out of control”? I disagree. I don’t know if you know this, but people on militray bases yell at each other. A lot. Your statement is like the classic line from Dr. Strangelove. You gentlemen can’t fight in here! This is the war room! > [@](#): > > When a tirade lasts as long as this guy’s did, it’s no longer a simple issue of “_I raised my voice because I was angry_”. It becomes “_I went ballistic, threatened the life of another person, and attempted to harm them repeatedly while damaging their property._” Take special note of the lack of exacerbation of the altercation by the people filming. They were not participants in this explosion of testosterone fueled rage. They were doing the only thing they could do to avoid becoming victims of assault. The video starts and the “angry Marie” is already out of the at the window. We don’t know how long. There has been an accident. The two cars have collided. When you are in an accident, you need to get out of your vehical, access the damage and exchange information with the other driver. If someone hit the car you were driving. You wife is an occupant of the car, and that drive refused to get out, talk to you, exchange information, I think you may get a little angry. > [@](#): > > The USA has clearly established and judicially precedented laws that provide for punishment against people who act this way. Or are you from another country where this behavior is acceptable? In the court of public opinion, this guy is clearly a Douchebag. > > You, well how about we just lock you in a room with this fella and see how your opinions change? I wouldn’t be afraid to be in a room with this guy. Yes, the guy made some verbal threats. IANAL but I don’t think the volume he made the threats makes any difference in court. IDK does yelling “I’ll kill you” come with stiffer fines or punishment than just whispering it? You tell me? This guys behavior doesn’t rate being pitted and you think he should go to jail? Guess what, he probably won’t go to jail. It would really depend on if he had ever been in trouble previously. Now a civil court with a jury would sure be sympathetic to the maker of this video and they just might not ask for any other facts before they make up their minds as to who is naughty and who is nice but even in that court they would have to explain why they wouldn’t talk to a man who’s car they just hit. Do you come from a country where you can strike another vehical with your car and you don’t have to exchange information. Is it OK to play bumper cars where you come from? And don’t give me the “the passenger was an injured Marine” argument. Would it not have been so outrageous is the passenger being yelled at was any other person? And if we are to believe everything in the article, the man being pitted was an injured Marine as well. \*\* I’m not apologizing for him. \*\* My ability to have empathy for him, doesn’t make me a bad person. Your inablilty to have empathy… This is just a small little sample of “real life” you’re seeing. It happens everyday. Nobody got hurt. Just some people on a messageboard, not related to any part of the action, got butt hurt. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-this-us-marine/654985/33 "2013-04-06T15:58:57Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I, too, am against people who cause traffic accidents. There, I said it. > > Don’t really care if he’s a Marine or not. That is a bold stance. On another note I love how PTSD is brought up in every instance with military people. There was a double murder around here and every story lead with “Former Marine.” You didn’t find out unless you read the entire article that he was discharged for being a shitbag and never left California. PTSD is used as either the excuse or the boogeyman way too often. Look up the symptoms of PTSD. It doesn’t make you violent. Severe cases can lead to suicide not homicide. It causes depression and isolation. If you are an asshole before PTSD you are still an asshole after. The fact that this guy is a marine is irrelevant. ---
**Author:** ![keeganst94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a6a055/32.png) [@keeganst94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/keeganst94)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-this-us-marine/654985/34 "2013-04-06T15:59:25Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Nope, didn’t turn out badly for me. > > Oh he was mad but “out of control”? I disagree. I don’t know if you know this, but people on militray bases yell at each other. A lot. Your statement is like the classic line from Dr. Strangelove. You gentlemen can’t fight in here! This is the war room! In case you didn’t notice, he didn’t just yell at them (and by the way, they may yell a lot, but how often do they yell death threats, and that they’re going to beat the shit out of each other?), he repeatedly hit their car while screaming about wanting to hurt them. If that’s not out of control, what is? > [@](#): > > The video starts and the “angry Marie” is already out of the at the window. We don’t know how long. There has been an accident. The two cars have collided. When you are in an accident, you need to get out of your vehical, access the damage and exchange information with the other driver. If someone hit the car you were driving. You wife is an occupant of the car, and that drive refused to get out, talk to you, exchange information, I think you may get a little angry. And if I saw that guy, there is absolutely no chance in hell I would get out. Hell I’d probably drive away, if possible. And the other guy might have stayed in his car without getting out and assessing the damage. Maybe. It’s possible. But there’s absolutely nothing suggesting that, so you’re assumption that that’s what happened is ridiculous. > [@](#): > > I wouldn’t be afraid to be in a room with this guy. You’re an idiot. > [@](#): > > Yes, the guy made some verbal threats. IANAL but I don’t think the volume he made the threats makes any difference in court. IDK does yelling “I’ll kill you” come with stiffer fines or punishment than just whispering it? You tell me? No, probably not. It doesn’t matter if he yelled it or whispered it, it matters that he said it at all. And hitting their car while yelling death threats, showing that he was pissed off enough to get physical, probably does matter. > [@](#): > > This guys behavior doesn’t rate being pitted and you think he should go to jail? Guess what, he probably won’t go to jail. It would really depend on if he had ever been in trouble previously. > > Now a civil court with a jury would sure be sympathetic to the maker of this video and they just might not ask for any other facts before they make up their minds as to who is naughty and who is nice but even in that court they would have to explain why they wouldn’t talk to a man who’s car they just hit. Do you come from a country where you can strike another vehical with your car and you don’t have to exchange information. Is it OK to play bumper cars where you come from? No, it’s not acceptable to play bumper cars, and if the guy in the back did hit him, I expect him to be charged. But so far the story has been that the angry marine slammed on his breaks, not that the other car just hit him. And it’s actually probably more unacceptable, where I come from, to yell death threats while kicking somebodies car. And you continue to assume that the reason the guy was pissed was because they were refusing to exchange information, and there’s no reason to think that. It’s just something you made up to try to defend the guy. He might not deserve to go to jail. Maybe he just deserves a fine and some anger management classes. But he certainly deserves to be charged. > [@](#): > > And don’t give me the “the passenger was an injured Marine” argument. Would it not have been so outrageous is the passenger being yelled at was any other person? And if we are to believe everything in the article, the man being pitted was an injured Marine as well. It would have been outrageous no matter what. > [@](#): > > \*\* > I’m not apologizing for him. \*\* Yes, you clearly are. You’re making up bullshit reasons why his actions were acceptable. “But the other guy wouldn’t exhange information, that’s why he got pissed!” (not that there’s any reason to think this), “but the other guy was playing bumper cars!” (no reason to think this either), “Death threats aren’t so bad anyway!” (Seriously, WTF?). > [@](#): > > My ability to have empathy for him, doesn’t make me a bad person. Your inablilty to have empathy… > This is just a small little sample of “real life” you’re seeing. It happens everyday. Nobody got hurt. Just some people on a messageboard, not related to any part of the action, got butt hurt. I have empathy for him. I don’t condone his actions though. You are trying to. And no, nobody got hurt. But people could have gotten hurt, and probably would have if they’d left the car. And I’d imagine that the two people who were threatened by the marine are pretty butthurt about it as well. Or at least, scared shitless. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-this-us-marine/654985/35 "2013-04-06T16:25:48Z")
> [@Doughbag](#): > > You are as usually a fucking dim witted dick wit!! > > WTF has a road rage incident between **2 White Parties** has to do with back guys raping white women? Nothing! > > It’s clearly showing the White Supremacy, since a black Marine most likely would have raped the door instead of hitting it and said mothafuka. :smack: > > Now, go back and let your little inbreed sister play with your underdeveloped little pincer. Huh? I was asked a question on why I thought many would rather be tried in civilian courts than military courts and I answered it. The sergeants in the infamous Aberdeen rape case wouldn’t have even been charged in civilian courts because what they were accused of doing didn’t reach the standard set for rape in any state in the US. I wasn’t comparing the incidents. Also, if you’re going to accuse me of being stupid please don’t confuse the term “inbreed” and “inbred.” Finally, are you under the impression that I’m a redneck? I’m not even white. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-this-us-marine/654985/36 "2013-04-06T16:29:31Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > Thankfully you included the races of the assailants and the victims. Were the women like 90 percent white? Huh? I included the races because the men argued, as did many of their defenders, most notably Maxine Waters, that the military courts were going after them because they were African-American and that had they been white, the courts wouldn’t have been so harsh. ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-this-us-marine/654985/37 "2013-04-06T19:13:07Z")
Wow. Stone-calm nerves, good self-protection and digital video, left that roid-raged marine impotent, which (in his raged state) sent him even further into full animal mode. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-this-us-marine/654985/38 "2013-04-06T19:14:21Z")
Note to self: **Zebra** is psychotic and do nothing to cross him. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-this-us-marine/654985/39 "2013-04-06T19:16:26Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Not seeing anything worthy of a pitting. Yeah, road rage, bad. > > But let’s just stop with the “you were caught on video having a bad moment, YOUR LIFE IS DESTROYED!” mentality. > > He raised his voice? Take away his gun? Give out his name? HELL, dishonorable discharge and lets cut his fucking balls off in public. He shall live on the street in a box for this terrible crime. We hold the military to two sets of standards. Civilian AND military, at least while they are in the USA. This guy might be saying good bye to his honorable discharge if this thing goes viral. > [@Monty](#): > > Care to elaborate on how someone in a court-martial has fewer rights than in a civilian court? Its a bit apples and oranges. But the consequences of getting court-martialed are more severe than a civilian assault charge. A court martial can result in an unfavorable discharge (probably not dishonorable in this case but an “other than honorable” or “bad conduct” discharge would not be out of the question if there is a court martial. If its just a civilian assault charge then you can ignore it as long as noone gets sentenced to jail, its not like barfights don’t happen. > [@Zebra](#): > > Oh he was mad but “out of control”? I disagree. I don’t know if you know this, but people on militray bases yell at each other. A lot. Your statement is like the classic line from Dr. Strangelove. You gentlemen can’t fight in here! This is the war room! It doesn’t look like a military base to me. > [@](#): > > This guys behavior doesn’t rate being pitted and you think he should go to jail? Guess what, he probably won’t go to jail. It would really depend on if he had ever been in trouble previously. He went to jail. If only for a few hours to cool off, he went to jail. He probably won’t be sentenced to jail but he’s going to see the inside of a drunk tank. > [@](#): > > Do you come from a country where you can strike another vehical with your car and you don’t have to exchange information. Is it OK to play bumper cars where you come from? If someone is being belligerant, you have the right to just drive away and call the police to inform them of your involvement in an accident. You don’t have to sit there like this driver did. > [@](#): > > \*\* > I’m not apologizing for him. \*\* Yeah, you kind of are. > [@](#): > > This is just a small little sample of “real life” you’re seeing. It happens everyday. Nobody got hurt. Just some people on a messageboard, not related to any part of the action, got butt hurt. This guy will be lucky to avoid a discharge. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-this-us-marine/654985/40 "2013-04-06T19:49:10Z")
The incident happened on a military base, regardless of how it looks to you. There are four options for military legal action against the offending Marine (five if you consider no action to be an option), and it’s quite clear that at least one offense was committed. [Here is the Wiki page on Courts-martial in the US military](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courts-martial_in_the_United_States). You will note that not all levels of court-martial include the option for a punitive discharge. Of course, there is also the option for proceedings under [Article 15 of the UCMJ](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_15). Proceedings under Article 15 do not include punitive discharge. I’m still not seeing how a court-martial gives less rights than a civilian court. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-this-us-marine/654985.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-this-us-marine/654985.md?page=3)