On April 23rd, 2015 General Petraeus (ret.) received sentence of two years probation and a fine of $100,000.  His crime? Releasing highly classified information to his mistress.

Now, let’s step back and think about the crime here. Petreaus, knowingly and willingly gave out classified information pertaining to the CIA that jeopardized national security, put American lives and operations at risk, and was all done in an effort to maintain an affair, and boost his own biography.  For Petraeus, this is a mere slap on the wrist and his next book or a couple of speeches will more than cover what he owes to the US government.  Note that his retirement from the US Army will still be paid in full (Generals receive the salary they earned while in the military into retirement), his honorable discharge will remain and he will still be known as the General who led the charge in Iraq and Afghanistan, now with just a little bit of a black eye.  In short, prosecutors gave him more of a warning than anything and will allow him to carry out his days in ease.

In 2013, Col Gregg Davies of the Arizona Air National Guard was ordered to pay back wages that he and 20 other guard members were accused of stealing totaling $1.4 million.  According to an indictment provided by the US Attorney’s Office, Col. Davies and his subordinate officers falsified documents to receive a higher home-of-record pay from the Air Force.  These individuals fraudulently received between $10,000-$90,000 between November 2007 and September 2010.  What is striking about this is that these members of the National Guard, knowingly and deliberately took money from the US government and their punishment was to simply pay it back.  The US Attorney’s Office stated that the lack of punishment imposed was due to the fact that the cost of trying the individuals would have been too high and that they were all fighter pilots who would be costly to replace.  In this instance the ranks and positions of the National Guard members allowed them to keep from being criminally prosecuted.

Now compare these two instances to the National Guard members being prosecuted and punished by CID and the US Attorney’s Office.  In most cases, the crimes the individuals are being accused of are based on weak, faulty evidence for their participation in a flawed program that the National Guard emplaced.  Not only that, but the US Government is spending millions of dollars* each year to ensure these soldiers are prosecuted and sent to jail.  So far the US Government has spent upwards of $40 million to retrieve just over $900,000 in restitution** and have sent countless soldiers to prison.  In these instances soldiers are being prosecuted for their participation in a program that ran from 2006-2012, almost the same time frame as the Arizona National Guard soldiers.  In addition they are being charged for theft of government funds between $2,000 and $100,000, around the same amount if not less than the Arizona National Guard soldiers.  Finally they are being prosecuted for participating, most often in good faith, in a sanctioned program under the direction of the National Guard.

What our judicial system and National Guard leadership show us is that they aren’t interested as much as the nature of the alleged crime, but more so, who committed the crime.  If you are an officer, or a General you get a slap on the wrist, even if you knowingly committed a crime.  But, if you are an innocent lower enlisted soldier you are going to go to jail and be forced out of the military for participating in the Guard Recruiting Assistance Program (G-RAP).  If there is any doubt to this hypothesis then we should revisit the fact that no senior National Guard leadership have been prosecuted for their participation G-RAP even though CID identified them for conducting fraudulent activity.

*University of New Hampshire (4/12) report that the costs to prosecute a single white collar crime is $15,000 – $20,000.

** NGAUS: The Investigations and an Injection of Reality.pdf

The scope of the G-RAP investigation is costing taxpayers. Millions of dollars are being spent looking at the wrong people and lives are being destroyed.

The average cost of investigating a single financial crime is $15,000-$20,000. By that measure, investigating even 1% of the 109,000 individuals who participated in G-RAP program, is costing taxpayers $15million-$20million.

But the millions used for the CID investigations, prosecutions and incarcerations are just the beginning. Any soldier convicted of a felony will receive a dishonorable discharge from the Army. However, there are a number of instances in which soldiers who have not been convicted are still being forcefully separated as the National Guard races to show that they are ‘doing something.’ There is no ‘innocent until proven guilty’ for these men and women.

Replacing these soldiers will cost taxpayers a minimum of $57,500 to train each new soldier and up to $1,400,000 to train for Special Forces. If only half of those investigated are separated, it will cost at least $100 million to replenish our troops.

So is it all worth it? As of Feb 4, 2014, there were 28 convictions, accounting for $29million.* And, the cost to taxpayers is only the beginning. What about the cost to those accused?

In addition to the tangible costs of defense attorneys (quickly adding up to tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars) and, for many, an inability to work (as firearms may not be used when one is charged with a felony), there are also the intangible costs to the vilified soldiers and their families as reputations are being sullied and they endure months of stressful investigations and prosecutions. In several instances, even after cases being declined by the US attorney, charges dismissed, and soldiers acquitted and fully exonerated by National Guard Separation boards, an overzealous CID is taking administrative punitive actions using GOMAR and debarment letters. These letters affect a soldier forever, destroying careers and reputations.

Finally, there is the cost to morale within the National Guard as a whole. There are approximately 438,000 members in the National Guard; around 109,000 took part in the program. That means that 23% of our National Guard stands to be investigated and wrongfully prosecuted (86,000 have already been investigated). The message these soldiers have received is that they are not trusted by the National Guard and cannot trust their own command. This particular cost cannot be underestimated. For an institution built on an ethos of trust and honor through the ranks, the erosion of this principle by commanders seeking to escape blame by scapegoating soldiers could be devastating in combat.

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*The number of convictions is now closer to 40—still an underwhelming number when trying to justify the sacrifice of thousands of innocents.