I don’t know whether to call Stuart Scheller the mad Marine or the sad Marine. He made a big splash when he released a video criticizing the withdrawal from Afghanistan and bragging how patriots such as himself could take over and “we will bring the whole fucking system down.” He also says in this diatribe, “You don’t know what I’m capable of.” Listen to his latest pathetic comments. He doesn’t sound like a man who can tie his own shoelaces very well, much less one who is going to lead a revolution.
Marine Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller, relieved of command and whose wife has left him, posts video last night in uniform where he says he is filing criminal charges against Gen McKenzie, will post the charges online, and has set up a fund for people to send him money. pic.twitter.com/e7BB4r4TSr
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) September 17, 2021
He wants to go after General McKenzie, who is Kenneth F. McKenzie, Jr., I assume.
Now what intrigues me no end is that he’s set up this GoFundMe page, to pay for his family’s expenses, if I understand correctly, and that would not be necessary but for the fact that the man is walking away from his job and his pension. But apparently he feels alright begging for somebody else to finance the responsibilities which he so cavalierly walked away from. I wouldn’t give him a dime on these facts. Although I do feel bad for his wife and kids. This madness descended on them like storm clouds can descend on the desert and turn into a flash flood and that is not a good position to be in. People have gotten killed that way. It’s an apt analogy for Scheller, nothing good is coming of his sudden split from reality.
There’s another issue here, too, and if one of you military types wants to take a bash at it, please do. Both Scheller and McKenzie would be governed under the auspices of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. I don’t know if Scheller can actually sue his superior officer simply because he disagrees with the general following the orders of the Commander in Chief, Joe Biden. Maybe I don’t understand exactly what he plans to sue him for, but at first blush that’s how it appears to me, that he has to show grounds for a lawsuit and I don’t see them.
He says, “I am submitting charges against General McKenzie for his bad assumptions.” Is that a cause of action, “bad assumptions?” And I’m not being snide. I don’t know to what extent military law echoes civilian law. I can only tell you that “making bad assumptions” is not actionable in tort law, last I knew.
And I haven’t a clue about standing or whether Scheller has it, either. He makes reference to all military personnel being covered by UCMJ. Maybe that gives officers the right to sue other officers.
So weigh in you military types. And if you medical types want to weigh in on what’s wrong with Scheller, please do. He appears depressed to me. At this point I think his best and only option is to turn himself in to the nearest psychiatric facility and ask for help.
This is a story I’ll continue to keep up on because something strange is going on here. If he was still blustering and arrogant I would say he’s bucking to be a candidate for a right-wing media show, which is what I said to begin with. But depressed and begging for money, I don’t know if he’s going to get offered a gig by Fox, OAN or Newsmax. They like their hosts to be radical, true believers.
Maybe the guy has some insane need to self-destruct. Remember the book, Overcoming The Fear Of Success? Maybe he just couldn’t handle being an officer, a good career for the past 17 years and having a wife and family; and he needs to throw it all away, pension and reputation included. And he does so in the name of some obscure duty to right what’s wrong with America.
Or, here’s another thought: ever hear of Pick’s Disease? It’s a form of dementia, less common than Alzheimer’s. Reportedly that’s what Robin Williams had, which compelled him to take his own life.
I’m now out of suppositions. I marvel at this like people used to marvel at some of the freakish attractions P.T. Barnum would show up with. I hope the man gets help. I sincerely do.
My guess is his problem is simply that he is a dumbass.
*nods*
Something else is going on. This makes no sense. He is self-immolating and for what? He said himself that he was given a decent kind of settlement (he didn’t use that word but he inferred that the military was trying to do right) and he throws it away by continuing to do these videos. He’s not acting in his own best interests and it’s been my experience when people do that, that something else is going on.
Absolutely .. I would share w military FB friends but you wont let me. Try sending to @votevets .. they connect w civilian America and May respond.
Especially the LEGAL part. My limited understanding Marine Corps has own special rules, as they take a life oath.
This is going to go really well for him. Not.
No, he cannot sue under the UCMJ. IANAL but unless I’m mistaken no civilian court would accept his taking that route. If he’s still on active duty (or transferred to the Reserves – some complicated issues with that regarding whether he had an augmented commission) what he can do is what anyone in the Naval Service right down to an E-1 (the lowest enlisted rank) do – request Mast. What this procedure is is that if you disagree with a superior in some manner you can formally request Mast to bring the issue to the attention of the next higher person in your and your superior who you believe has violated the terms of their authority over you. An appeal if you will. If you disagree with THAT person’s decision you can continue to appeal up the chain of command. Literally all the way to the Commander in Chief (The President). It never gets that far of course, and one had better have a goddamned good reason complete with “receipts” over a superior abusing their authority when requesting Mast. But, assuming he still hasn’t been discharged that is his option. Basically appeal over his Commanding General’s head, all the way up to the Commandant of the Marine Corps, the Chairman of Joint Chiefs, the Secretary of the Navy, the Secretary of Defense, the Vice President and ultimately the President.
If he’s that fucking deranged and stupid. Even going over the head of the General he’s all upset with is a bad idea for his future. And taking it even higher would make any future employer say not a chance in hell at hiring him. The best he could hope for is to write a book that will be an abject failure in generating royalties. Perhaps some gigs for a while in RWNJ media but that too will dry up after a while.
He’s made his bed and the best thing he can do for his future and that of his kids is to STFU and go away for a while. And then accept a job with a right wing defense contractor. One of the small ones that has a specialty like an old high school pal of mine has down in Fayeteville. It wouldn’t be the kind of living he would have had had he kept his mouth shut and completed his twenty years and THEN retired and started mouthing off some, but given how out there this guy is getting if he pushes this even a hard-core Trumper like my old high school pal wouldn’t want to hire him – for fear of how it might affect his ability to get future logistics contracts.
I don’t know if it’s still a term in use, but there’s one I recall from my days on active duty in the Corps that applies to this “officer.” Shitbird. I never heard that label applied to an Officer but hell, this guy had it made and CHOSE to be a major fuckup. So yeah, I think it applies.
I don’t know what Mast is — other than a lunatic congressman and I know you’re not talking about him. But it’s an appeal process or something? Like if I’m a Private and you’re my Sergeant and I think you’ve done me wrong, then I appeal to some authority above you and that authority (let’s say a Captain) adjudicates the issue? And if I still don’t like the outcome, I go to somebody above thee Captain? Is that how that works? And it still just keeps going up the chain of command?
To be honest, I don’t know how this guy made it in the military as far as he did. I’ve known any number of people who have served and from everything I know, you just don’t question the chain of command unless it’s an extraordinary circumstance. And here, he’s bitching about “bad assumptions?” I mean, excuse me, WTH is a “bad assumption?” This would be black comedy, like Dr. Strangelove, if it wasn’t so tragic. He’s a young man and he’s destroying himself. You and I could be his parents, at our age. I hate to see this, I really do.
I’m sure if the Orange man was president, the sheeple on the left would be calling Scheller a hero. It would be the same thing with the right sided sheep on the other side. All you morons can’t see the divide and conquer strategy being used by the powers that be. What was what Lincoln said a while back about a house divided? Idiots
I can think of 13 G-d**** reasons you traitor!
13 reasons with receipts payed in blood!
Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover, 31, of Salt Lake City, Utah
Marine Corps Sgt. Johanny Rosariopichardo, 25, of Lawrence, Massachusetts
Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, 23, of Sacramento, California
Marine Corps Cpl. Hunter Lopez, 22, of Indio, California
Marine Corps Cpl. Daegan W. Page, 23, of Omaha, Nebraska
Marine Corps Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez, 22, of Logansport, Indiana
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza, 20, of Rio Bravo, Texas
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz, 20, of St. Charles, Missouri
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum, 20, of Jackson, Wyoming
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola, 20, of Rancho Cucamonga, California
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui, 20, of Norco, California
Navy Hospitalman Maxton W. Soviak, 22, of Berlin Heights, Ohio
Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss, 23, of Corryton, Tennessee.
If you read my other response to you then you should know my heart hurts for every one of them and their families. As it does for every other troop and their loved ones who died or were hurt by their service in Bush’s stupid, uncessecary war. We deposed the Taliban quickly and could have and SHOULD have killed Bin Laden early on but Bush was preoccupied with deposing Saddam who had NOTHING to do with the 9/11 attacks. But we eventually killed that motherfucker. Each of the deaths of our people and countless innocent civilians was and will always be a tragedy. But once the Taliban was deposed and Bin Laden’s ability to lead his fanatics was at least curtailed we should have gotten the hell out of that place. And never have gone into Iraq either. So many waste lives and wrecked families. But I’m willing to bet that had those same thirteen people been killed at the end of a withdrawal on Trump’s watch, YOU would be CROWING about how “we only lost thirteen people because Trump was so masterful.” Admit it to yourself, if no one else!
When I was twenty five I spent most of the year working on getting into OCS in the Marine Corps, outwaiting an OSO who didn’t want to put me up because of my age. The gunny quietly told me a new one would be in place in late May and to keep the faith and continue hanging out with the Platoon Leaders Class guys at my alma mater in the college town six miles from my own home town. This was in 1983 when Beirut was raging. Sure enough, the new OSO saw me as a great Officer Candidate and Naval Aviator and worked with me to get my package ready for an Officer Candidate selection Board in October by which time I’d have turned twenty six. Two friends a few years older than me from my hometown were Naval Aviators – Drew had flown Tomcats in the Navy and had just separated from active duty and Charlie had started in Skyhawks but switched to helicopters and an old squadron mate of his (whom I’d met and even flown with) was on the selection board. Alas, the Col. in charge at that district ensured I wouldn’t get a slot at Quantico. The board me just after the Barracks bombing in Beirut. I was free and clear of my commitment but went into the Corps as an enlisted puke, and to the dismay of the local recruiters who had visions of putting me into one of those hard to fill M.O.S.s (due to their requiring high test scores) including some aviation ones I insisted on infantry with the full expectation of winding up in Lebanon. Being old enough to remember people from my hometown (10k people back then) who came home in steel coffins or missing limbs (not to mention all the guys over at SIU due to their then cutting edge Rehab Institute) I had no illusions about what I faced. So I became an enlisted puke and being addressed by the title Marine for the first time after three long months of the pressure cooker of boot camp was the proudest moment of my life.
So FUCK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My country, and my Corps hasn’t always been perfect. But I did my best to serve and in my own small way make each a little better and stronger. I never questioned my service and sacrifice until the morning after Donald FUCKING Trump was declared the winner in 2016. How sixty million fellow Americans could vote for someone so unfit, so unmanifestly qualified in every way for that Office, who was so clearly nothing more than a real-estate developer version of a sleazy used car salesman (what he would have been if not born to a rich daddy with a successful business) shook my faith in my country to the core. But, I thought then MORE people had voted for someone who was qualified and competent, and even many Republicans held their noses when they voted for Trump doing so ONLY because it was Hillary Clinton. They mistakenly believed he’d be controlled by sane leaders of their Party. We saw how that worked out and it wasn’t a pretty sight. So we got a do-over last year and Trump got his ass kicked not by a couple of million votes but seven million. Still, even more Americans voted for him in 2020 than before, and I still feel sick inside.
He said people like me who served this country were suckers and losers. For the life of him he couldn’t understand why we did so, going so far as to voice that question to a fucking Marine General (who happened to have been his Chief of Staff and who lost a Marine son in combat) and at Arlington National Cemetery no less! This is the same President who couldn’t be bothered to, on the 100 year anniversary of the end of WWI couldn’t be bothered to make the trip from Paris up to the cemetery that held our dead (mostly Marines) from the Battle of Belleau Wood which turned the tide of that war. Because it was rainy and drizzly and he just didn’t feel like going. Maybe because he learned there wasn’t a fancy pavilion and his duckass combover hairdo would get wet and show he’s actually bald. Whatever.
But that cemetery is hallowed ground to Marines. Trump had NO respect for us, or for anyone who served in any branch of the armed forces. We have had Presidents who made mistakes, and decisions that while not mistakes still resulted in the deaths of troops. But most of them (including Biden) have cared, and have felt that loss. The responsibility weighs on them, and I’d be willing to bet that if Trump had had his way and we’d have gotten out of Afghanistan before he left office there would have been a LOT more dead Marines (and others), that a LOT more Americans would have been trapped there and damned near NONE of the Afghanis who helped us would have been evacuated. We still haven’t gotten enough out, but many refused to go when they had the chance because they had extended families and wanted all of them brought out too, even if they’d barely known them. And what is the reaction from conservatives? WE DON”T WANT THOSE PEOPLE HERE!
So again I say FUCK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Maybe you served in uniform and maybe not. But I did and I was a true volunteer. I had other options at that point in life. I believed that despite our fault our country was overwhelmingly made up of people who put our country and its professed (if not always lived up to) values first. People like you have shaken my belief in the goodness of my country. But we screwed the pooch in Afghanistan almost from the start. It was never going to end the way we wanted and the only question was when we’d realize that that particular place which has resisted outsiders from coming in and changing how that country was for over a thousand years was when we too would accept it wasn’t worth the cost of trying to remake it in our image. But Biden was dealt a losing hand as any competent President would have had to play given how Bush 43 set things up. And Trump intentionally made the hand worse on the way out the door. If Biden has some blood on his hands from those thirteen brave souls, Trump is COVERED in their blood!
So one last time – FUCK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think he may have a mental problem. He seems sad, as you say depressed. He also seems lost, like his life is falling apart and he doesn’t know why. His perception of reality doesn’t seem to match up to ours.
I think he might have Pick’s disease. A former boyfriend of mine got that. He was also behaving irrationally and doing things that were against his own interest. That’s what made me think of it. The guy I’m thinking of kept going with a persistent pattern of self-sabotage. He literally left a normal living situation and ended up sleeping in a field with a sleeping bag, because he had some wild idea he was going to improve his life and he was vague, like this guy, Scheller.
I guess Scheller went to some psych evaluation but I don’t think they tested for the right thing. Just my instinct, having seen how far people can get on Pick’s disease. It’s different from Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s is more obvious.
“Mad” works for me – in either definition – or both.
He’s a tragic figure.