SHE FIGHTS FOR JUSTICE – FORMER NAVAL
OFFICER AND WHISTLEBLOWER HIRES FAMED
ATTORNEY JOHN “BULLDOG” WELLS IN BATTLE
TO HAVE DISCHARGE OVERTURNED – LT CMDR
CELESTE SANTANA SAYS SHE BOUNCED OUT
OF NAVY AT 17-YEAR MARK BECAUSE SHE
COMPLAINED TO TOP BRASS ABOUT UNSAFE
HEALTH CONDITIONS AT CAMP LEATHERNECK
SAYS SHE VICTIM OF A “SEXUAL ASSAULT”
AT FORWARD BASE IN AFGHANISTAN
© 2014 MilitaryCorruption.com
Celeste Santana doesn’t suffer fools gladly. And she isn’t the type to win any popularity contests.
Some might even call her “abrasive,” while other Neanderthal critics would label her an “uppity black woman.”
But there is no disputing the former Navy lieutenant commander did her job in an outstanding manner. An environmental health expert, Santana was grudgingly respected for her know-how, even by her most severe detractors.
It was just that dedication to duty and excellent job performance that got her in big trouble.
RETALIATION ON A WHISTLEBLOWER
In 2009, Santana was assigned to Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan. It didn’t take her long to find a good many problems at the sprawling Marine installation.
For example, discarded computers were tossed in fume-filled burn pits. Drinking water in plastic bottles were stored in areas where the high temperatures during the day caused chemicals to leach into the aqua.
Santana took these concerns up the chain-of-command, but was stymied at getting the problems corrected.
Then, while visiting a forward operating base in Helmand Province, she says she was “sexually assaulted” by a Marine and nothing was done about it.
After being passed over twice for promotion, the Navy sent her to a shrink that recommended the aggressive female be discharged with a diagnosis of “adjustment disorder.”
“BULL DOG” WELLS TO THE RESCUE
“She was just three years short of qualifying for retirement,” says top defense attorney and former Navy CMDR John “Bulldog” Wells. “Santana made enemies who sought to shut her up. All she was doing was her job, and she did it too well.”
Now, Santana has filed a lawsuit with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and is seeking to have her Navy discharge overturned and be reinstated in the military for three more years, until such time as she qualifies for retirement.
Wells calls his client “a whistleblower who was retaliated against.”
We think she deserves justice.
