Maj. Matthew Golsteyn, the former Green Beret stripped of his Silver Star, will face a board of inquiry on May 18 to make his case against the Army's effort to boot him from the service. The board could recommend to separate the soldier and, if so, what type of discharge he should receive.
Details of the case remain sparse. The Army has not publicly stated the allegations pursued in a completed Criminal Investigation Command probe. Stackhouse, however, said the Army investigated whether Golsteyn shot an unarmed combatant suspected of building a bomb that killed two U.S. Marines.
McHugh spokesman Lt. Col. Christopher Kasker declined to elaborate on details of the case.
"The results of that investigation were provided to Army leadership, and appropriate action — within the scope of the Army's current ability to do so — was taken," Kasker told Army Times in a written statement.
Stackhouse criticized McHugh for his handling of the case. Golsteyn only learned he had lost his valor medal via an automated email notifying him of a change to his personnel file. No Army leader approached him to inform him of McHugh's decision or reasoning, Stackhouse said.
"This is how a person who has served for over a decade — who has gone on multiple combat tours, who has earned multiple awards for valor, who had second highest valor award signed off on by the Army — finds out the third-highest award has been revoked," Stackhouse said. "By machine-generated email."
Golsteyn
, according to Army Regulation 600-8-24, would be allowed to have friends and family at his hearing. In doing so, he would waive the confidential status of the proceedings.
Kasker called that assessment unfair, as McHugh "was exercising both his statutory responsibility and his obligation to the significance of valorous awards" in stripping the honors from Golsteyn.
"The Secretary's actions were appropriate and, indeed, necessary," Kasker wrote.
No one has disputed the events leading to his valor award. In February 2010, Forward Operating Base McQueary in Marjah, Afghanistan, came under attack. Then-Capt. Golsteyn ran alone through an open field and enemy gunfire as dozens of coalition soldiers were pinned down, according to the Army's account, as relayed by the Washington Post.
Stackhouse said witnesses in the investigation were consistently asked about the battle for which he was awarded, as well as the IED attack that same month. He said in cases investigators appeared to be "fishing," using inconsistent lines of questioning to ask if witnesses knew anything about Golsteyn killing an unarmed combatant, or in at least one example asking if the witness saw Golsteyn in a small group lead a prisoner away.
Human Resources Command initiated elimination action against Golsteyn on Feb. 3, according to Special Operations Command spokesman Lt. Col. Mark Lastoria
