U.S. Marine Demoted for Urinating on Dead Taliban

Video of crime surfaced earlier this year

A U.S. Marine who urinated on dead Taliban insurgents and then posed for pictures with the bodies has been demoted. Staff Sergeant Joseph Chamblin was charged with failing to properly supervise junior Marines, failing to require junior Marines to wear protective equipment, failing to report the misconduct of junior Marines, failing to report the negligent discharge of a grenade launcher, and failing to stop the indiscriminate firing of weapons. He pleaded guilty to the first charge, as well as wrongfully urinating on a deceased enemy combatant. His sentence was the maximum penalty: a reduction in rank and forfeiture of $500 in pay for one month. The incident occurred during an operation in Helmand Province in Afghanistan in July 2011. It came to light in January this year when a video of the incident was posted on YouTube and other websites. (NBC)

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