The head of U.S. Army Special Operations Command has requested the Army reconsider an adverse discharge of a Green Beret for having drugs and alcohol in his system when he broke his neck trying to save a girl’s life.
In a memo to Human Resources Command, which has final say on the matter, Lt. Gen. Kenneth Tovo called for a review of the case of Sgt. 1st Class Tim Brumit. The soldier was paralyzed from the chest down diving into shallow water from a boat in a storm in Florida in an effort to help a distressed swimmer last summer. In particular, Tovo asked HRC command to reconsider the “unknown factors that likely contributed” to Burmit’s decision to jump.
“[I]t is difficult to ascertain how the consequences of multiple combat rotations could have impacted SFC Brumit’s actions on 25 July. It is certainly possible that the negative effects of combat contributed to his substance abuse and ultimately to his extremely poor decision and lapse in judgement…that resulted in his paralysis,” Tovo wrote. “From a commander’s perspective, erring on the side of the Soldier and presuming that his headfirst dive was not an act of willful negligence adds an element of empathy to this case.”
Read More- Army Times
Image courtesy Randy Brumit
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