Let’s once again watch the military two-tiered justice system in action. If this situation involved an enlisted man or junior officer what do you think would happen?
The underlings would get slapped with a variety of charges like “conduct unbecoming,” etc, etc. And, if they were not court-martialed, they would probably be administratively separated from the service.
Remember a young Army officer could receive two years in prison and a dishonorable discharge for dating an enlisted member of the service. This, according to the UCMJ. They call it fraternization.
Of course, if the unit commander liked the individual who was off-base trying to buy a hooker, their career might be spared, otherwise it would be curtains for any enlisted or junior officer. Right now there doesn’t seem to be much happening to Col. Fernando, which fits the military playbook.
First, go quiet and move the colonel to a different job. After everything quiets down, have the colonel quietly sign some retirement papers and out the door he slithers.
If any of our contacts at Ft. Jackson have additional information, you know how to reach us. BTW, since people are creatures of habit, it’s very likely Colonel Fernando Guadalupe may have some other interesting events in his past.
If you have personal knowledge of anything, contact us. We would like to know how many people in the Army have been disciplined by Colonel Guadalupe and for what.
Acccording to the website: taskandpurpose.com, Col. Fernando Guadalupe was charged on July 10 with solicitation of prostitution.
Guadalupe Jr. allegedly agreed to pay $100 to an undercover officer posing as a prostitute and was arrested on July 10 when he showed up at the agreed upon time and place, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department in South Carolina.
The colonel faces a misdemeanor charge of solicitation of prostitution and is slated to appear in court on Aug. 7, sheriff’s department spokeswoman Capt. Maria Yturria told Task & Purpose on Monday. Attempts to reach Guadalupe Jr. for comment were unsuccessful.
Based at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, Guadalupe Jr. had been responsible for implementing new criteria for basic training that include a greater emphasis on marksmanship. Starting in October, all Army recruits will fire 100 extra rounds on the rifle range, test on their iron sights, and pass a “battle, march, and shoot” drill as part of The Forge, basic training’s 81-hour culminating event.
Those changes are already underway and will not be slowed by Guadalupe Jr.’s suspension, said Lt. Col. Jeffrey Pray, a spokesman for the U.S. Army Center for Initial Military Training. The new program of instruction is already being implemented at Fort Jackson and elsewhere.
“Because the ball has already started rolling on that, there’s not much that the LTB [Leader Training Brigade] commander would be involved with at this point, because everything has already been put in place,” Pray told T&P.; “It’s kind of past the point where the commander would have a significant impact on making those changes to basic training.”
The Army has been preparing to update basic training for months, so Guadalupe Jr.’s arrest will not delay the Oct. 1 start of the enhanced marksmanship instruction, Pray said.
“Even though he is a key figure, it’s not going to make a significant impact to the implementation of that,” Pray said.
