Last week, a general court-martial at Fort Carson, Colorado, convicted an Army World Class Athlete Program paratriathlete of sexual assault and sentenced him to seven years’ confinement, according to Army officials and the soldier’s attorney.
Master Sgt. Allan Armstrong, an electromagnetic spectrum manager assigned to WCAP, was convicted of one specification of penetrative sexual assault, according to a statement from Fort Carson spokeswoman Brandy Gill.
In addition to confinement, he will forfeit all pay and allowances, be reduced in rank to private, and ultimately face a dishonorable discharge.
“Allegations of this nature are taken very seriously,” Gill said. “Both the United States Army and the Uniform Code of Military Justice hold Soldiers to a high standard in all that they do.”
A jury found the senior NCO guilty of sexually assaulting a woman in Colorado Springs in September 2019, his attorney Joseph Jordan confirmed, but he was acquitted of a second specification of sexual assault and a charge of abusive sexual contact against another woman that stemmed from an incident in summer 2020.
Jordan indicated that Armstrong’s defense team will request a mistrial declaration and appeal the verdict, due to what he perceived as inappropriate behavior from the judge.
The senior NCO was formerly a top-ten paratriathlete in the world for his division, winning three consecutive paratriathlon national titles from 2017 to 2019.
Armstrong, who had more than 17 years in service, deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan during his Army career, according to service records provided by Gill. But the injuries that took his leg occurred off duty in 2013.
Davis Winkie covers the Army for Military Times. He studied history at Vanderbilt and UNC-Chapel Hill, and served five years in the Army Guard. His investigations earned the Society of Professional Journalists' 2023 Sunshine Award and consecutive Military Reporters and Editors honors, among others. Davis was also a 2022 Livingston Awards finalist.
