In a seismic, self-inflicted black eye for the United States Marine Corps, DEI MARSOC Commander Major General Daniel Daijin Yoo ignored the findings of both the Criminal Investigations Division (CID) investigator and the attending forensic physician and exercised gross Undue Command Influence (UCI) to have criminal charges filed against Gunnery Sergeant Daniel A. Draher, Jr. and Gunnery Sergeant Joshua Negron, Marines with impeccable 18-year records of decorated bravery in multiple combat tours and selfless service to their country.
“Criminal Justice is a shared responsibility (Gideon v. Wainwright). And this Court will not permit Gideon’s promise to be rendered meaningless by Unlawful Command Influence.” – United States v. Daniel A. Draher, Jr. USMC; United States v. Joshua Negron; United States Navy-Marine Corps Court of Military Appeals, Decided December 27, 2024
At the insistence of Major General Yoo, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune Judge Advocate Major W . P. PENDLEY filed the following four charges:
CHARGE I: Violation of the UCMJ, Article 119
SPECIFICATION 1: (Involuntary Manslaughter): In that Gunnery Sergeant Daniel A. Draher Jr., U.S. Marine Corps, did, at or near on or about I January 2019, while perpetrating an offense directly affecting the person of Mr.Wit to wit: an assault consummated by a battery, unlawfully kill the said Mr. Wit by striking him with his fist, causing him to fall and hit his head on the ground.
Specification 2: (Involuntary Manslaughter): In that Gunnery Sergeant Daniel A. Draher Jr., U.S. Marine Corps, did, at or near on or about l January 2019, by culpable negligence, unlawfully kill the said Mr. Wit by failing to ensure that the said Mr. was transported to a medical facility in a timely manner.
CHARGE II: Violation of the UCMJ, Article 134
SPECIFICATION: (Negligent Homicide): In that Gunnery Sergeant Daniel A. Draher Jr., U.S. Marine Corps, did, at or near on or about 1 January 2019, unlawfully kill Mr. Wit by negligently failing to ensure that the said Mr. Wit was transported to a medical facility in a timely manner, and that said conduct was to the prejudice of good order and discipline in the armed forces and was of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed
forces.
CHARGE III: Violation of the UCMJ, Article 13th
SPECIFICATION (Obstructing Justice): In that Gunnery Sergeant Daniel A. Draher Jr., U.S . Marine Corps, did, at or near on or about I January 2019, wrongfully do a certain act, to wit: return the unconscious Mr. Wit to his quarters to avoid the command discovering the said Gunnery Sergeant Draher’ s alcohol consumption, curfew violation, and fight with an American contractor, with intent to obstruct the due administration of justice in the case of himself, Gunnery Sergeant Joshua S. Negron, U.S. Marine Corps, and Chief Hospital Corpsman U.S. Navy, against whom the accused had reason to believe that there were or would be disciplinary proceedings pending.
CHARGE IV: Violation of the UCMJ, Article 92
SPECIFICATION: (Violation of a Lawful General Order): in that Gunnery Sergeant Daniel A. Draher Jr., U.S. Marine Corps, did, at or near on or about 1 January 2019, violate a lawful general order, which was his duty to obey, to wit: paragraph 2a of U.S. Central Command General Order IC, dated 21 May 2013 , by wrongfully consuming an alcoholic beverage.”
Even before the court martial began, General Yoo gave interviews to multiple news outlets and openly disparaged the character of the Marine Special Operators to multiple civilian sources and made his intent clear to multiple military assemblies. GySgt. Draher and his fellow warriors were immediately relieved of duty, removed from their unit and relegated to issuing towels at the MCB Camp Lejeune gym while suffering the opprobrium of their less well-informed fellow Marines.
General Yoo’s intentional misinterpretation of the actual facts of the case and pre-trial public excoriation of the Marines cast a cloud of unimaginable sense of betrayal in the Marines who endured the court-martial for five years.
Meanwhile, General Yoo felt he needed to create another “bullet” for his Officer Efficiency Report by moving the First Raider Battalion from their newly-built compound at Camp Pendleton to Camp Lejeune wasting tens of millions of taxpayers’ dollars in new construction and uprooting the lives of those Marines’ families – in some cases, denying them of specialized pediatric medical care available only in California.
Sources report General Yoo’s motive for such an unexpected move a 1,00 man Marine battalion from brand-new facilities at Camp Pendleton, CA. was to capitalize on his recent, significant real estate purchases in the Jacksonville, N.C. vicinity. Sources also report Major General Yoo was denied a third star and “forced to retire.” Too bad enlisted Marines aren’t “punished” with such harshness.
DEFENSE MOTION FOR APPROPRIATE RELIEF: Undue Command Influence (UCI)
6 December 2021″Pursuant to the Sixth Amendment, Article 27, UCMJ, Article 37, UCMJ and Article 38, UCMJ, as well as, R.C.M. 104, R.C.M. 506 and R.C.M .. 907, the defense moves to dismiss all charges and specifications with prejudice due to unlawful command influence committed by Colonel Christopher Shaw while acting in his capacity as Judge Advocate Division’s Deputy Director.
On 18 November 2021, Colonel Shaw held a meeting with members of the Defense
Services Organization at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. During this first 18 November 2021 Colonel Shaw commented:
(1) That the Colonel Shaw held a position of power at Judge Advocate Division that included input on PCS orders for Judge Advocates.
(2) That protections for Defense Counsel to do their assignment without outside influence is a “legal fiction”, or words to that effect. Colonel Shaw made several comments regarding how Judge Advocates assigned as Defense Counsel receive fitness reports from within the Defense Services Organization while in that billet, but careers could be effected by Judge Advocates in promotion boards, or words to that effect. This included words to the effect of, “you are shielded, but you are not protected.
(3) That the Judge Advocate community “is a small community“, or words to that effect. Colonel Shaw made comments about Defense Counsel becoming known for their actions as Defense Counsel and how that related to negative career consequences.
(4) That individuals had spent extended periods of time defending cases stemming
from incidents in or words to that effect. This included direct references to
the [Draher] court-martial.
(5) That Colonel Shaw told Captain Matthew Thomas, U.S. Marine Corps, that he knew which cases Captain Thomas was defending. Colonel Shaw made this comment in front of several other Marine judge advocates.
(6) That resources would be given equitably, but not equally, between the
government and the defense. These comments were related to getting to the
“right result”, or words to that effect, that Congress wanted in courts-martial.
Colonel Shaw made comments about ensuring more convictions, or words to
that effect. These comments were made regarding proposed changes to the
court-martial process.
(7) That Colonel Shaw wanted to make sure he is saying things that “are allowed”,
or words to that effect.
Defense Motion for Dismissal With Prejudice for Unlawful Command Influence (UCI):
“If convicted GySgt Negron and GySgt Draher face federal felony convictions, a dishonorable discharge, and over 20 years of confinement. Additionally, GySgt Negron’s and GySgt Draher’s court-martial has attracted significant media attention and put their careers on hold for years. GySgt Negron and GySgt Draher are in the midst of the fight for their lives, and are reliant upon their Defense Counsel to zealously represent them. No attorney, let alone a Judge Advocate operating as a Deputy to the Staff Judge Advocate to the Commandant, could believe that attorney’s with split allegiances are fully vested in the defense. These concerns would be compounded many times over in the minds of any client. The statements by Colonel included references to making sure what he was saying was alright to say, or words to that effect, inferring that what was being said was ‘correct.’
The word from the highest corridors of Judge Advocates in the Marine Corps is that zealous defense has consequences. GySgt Negron and GySgt Draher have to carry the burden of wondering if Colonel Shaw’s comments were either accurate, and Defense Counsel’s careers are being jeopardized, or that it has effected the interests of their Defense Counsel. As the Court highlighted in the evidence from United States v. Lewis, each individual has to review their own actions in light of outside influences. This thought process is more severe for the accused who faces court-martial, but have to consider the thoughts going through the counsel’s heads.
Those billeted to duties as Defense Counsel form attorney client relationships that are
essential to a judicial system that can operate. Given the procedural history of this, it is
unsurprising that three different attorneys attached to this common trial have either deployed, executed PCS orders, or sought new employment.”
“Apparent Unlawful Command Influence
Colonel Shaw’s comments also represent apparent unlawful command influence. An outside observer, with knowledgeable of all of the facts of this case and the comments by Colonel would necessarily question the validity of the military justice system. In fact, the more an outsider observer knew about the circumstances that more troubling it would become. Addressing the Defense Counsel for HMC alluding to cases that civilian Defense Counsel previously defended, and discussing the possible negative consequences of zealous advocacy would show those outside the system how reliant Judge Advocates are in the present day on the Defense Services Organization.
There is no repairing the damage that has already been done. A threat made without restraint and with knowledge of the consequences, cannot be remedied with a post-hoc statement or pressure created by Colonel Shaw . The strength of belief in Colonel Shaw’s statements are displayed in the audience they were made to and the force with which they were delivered. A remedy has to be crafted that ensures that, beyond a reasonable doubt, there is no effect of the life and liberty of GySgt Negron and GySgt Draher.
As described in United States v. Lewis and United States v. Sayler, the actions of the Government to influence independent officers of the Court are not easily remedied. A remedy short of dismissal with prejudice would allow the Government to have achieved their end state, attempting to influence Defense Counsel.”
GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO DEFENSE MOTION FOR APPROPRIATE RELIEF (UCI): 13 December 2021
“On 19 November 2021, Colonel Shaw was replaced in his duties as Deputy Director for Community Management and Oversight, and is no longer involved in the detailing and
slating process by which Marine Judge Advocates receive future duty assignments and
locations.” [prima facie evidence of wrongdoing – Ligon]
On 21 July 2020, the Marine Court denied a motion pursuant to UCI filed by the defense in U.S. v. GySgt Negron.”
The unaltered, actual facts of the incident are that a retired Green Beret, boisterous, bullying and drunk-turned- defense contractor harassed the MARSOC 3 for several hours at a local restaurant and was kicked out of the establishment by the restaurant owner. Rather than going back to base and cooling off, the bully waited outside the restaurant for them and again began berating them at close personal range before assaulting GySgt. Draher twice and attempting a third assault before being knocked unconscious. The bully’s buddy defense contractors left him on the pavement so Gunny Draher and Negron put him in their vehicle and took him back to his cot (there is video of the incident from a camera outside the restaurant). The MARSOC corpsman maintained vigil over the sleeping bully for several hours until his co-contractors returned and were advised to keep watch over him. They didn’t and the bully drowned in his own vomit soon after. When his fellow contractors returned from breakfast they found him not breathing and immediately took him to the medical facility where he was pronounced dead.
It was a long five years in coming suffering the ignominy from a Marine Corps these warriors gave their hearts and souls to – not to mention risking their lives for on multiple occasions – but the good news finally came:
United States Navy-Marine Corps
Court of Military Appeals
27 December 2024
PER CURIAM:
Appellant was convicted, contrary to his pleas, of one specification of violating a lawful general order, in violation of Article 92, Uniform Code of Military Justice [UCMJ], by wrongfully consuming an alcoholic beverage.
Appellant asserts two assignments of error (AOEs):
(1) whether the Government engaged in unlawful command influence (UCI) by interfering with Appellant’s right to counsel; and,
(2) whether the Government violated Appellant’s Article 38(b), UCMJ, rights by interfering with his established attorney client relationship.
After careful consideration of the record, as well as the briefs of appellate
counsel, oral argument, and in light of this Court’s opinion in United States v.
Negron, we find merit in both assignments of error.
Accordingly the findings and sentence are SET ASIDE and the Charge
and its Specification are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE
In legal parlance, “dismissed with prejudice” means the Court feels the charges were absurd on their face.
The MARSOC warriors are vindicated by an unbiased court untainted by the undue command influence of Major General Yoo and Colonel Shaw after five years of unimaginable emotional turmoil and disruption of their lives.
Apparently Major General Yoo and his his sycophant Colonel Shaw coercing a junior legal officer to alter the facts of an incident to construct what Major General Yoo felt was a Congressional mandate to get guilty convictions, in order to earn a third star, railroading his obviously innocent soldiers into prison and a dishonorable discharge by politically motivated bias and abuse of authority in coercing a guilty verdict of innocent troops is not illegal. DEI Major General Yoo and his DEI Colonel Shaw like most politicians, escapes with no punishment -despite “that said conduct was to the prejudice of good order and discipline in the armed forces and was of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces” – Violation of the UCMJ, Article 134.
Until the institutionalized issue of Undue Command Influence is corrected by stricter regulations – and punishment of officers who commit this violation – in the Uniform Code of Military Justice, situations like this and numerous others will continue to destroy the morale of highly motivated Marines and adversely affect recruitment.
Charging and punishing Major General Yoo and his lackey Colonel Shaw would be a good place to start.
See: SOS to Maligned MARSOC 3! this site dated November 16, 2021.
See also:
– www.jag.navy.mil/Draher, Jr. D.
– United American Patriots, Inc. www.uap.org a completely citizen-funded veteran-run, non-profit 501(c) organization that pays for fees and associated expenses for our Nation’s Warriors to have the best attorneys, investigators, experts, and consultants.
– Daniel Yoo (general) Wikipedia
