Blue: Tell us about your military experience.

Clint: I enlisted into the Army as soon as I turned 18 and chose to be an MP (military police). I deployed to Iraq and then decided to go to college while I was in the Army. Once I finished school I went into OCS (Officer Candidate School).

Blue: Where did the desire to serve in the military come from?

Clint: I did it because of this city right here (New York City) due to the events of 9/11. I really wanted to be a Texas state trooper. Even though they don’t make much money, they are highly respected in Texas. But I don’t know if I would do that now because of the way police get treated.

Blue: Prior to becoming an officer in the Army, had you considered the fact that you may have to make a split-second decision that carries enormous legal and life-threatening consequences?

Clint: Yes. While I was in Iraq, I saw it all the time. I saw officers making critical decisions that were later scrutinized. I felt I could handle it because I know I’m a good guy, I loved the Army and I love America. Like most people, I never wanted to kill people. That was a war where you would have to make impossible decisions.



Blue: The incident occurred on your third day with the platoon. You were selected to take over the platoon after the original platoon leader was wounded and sent to the rear. Why you?

Clint: My commander at the time told me the platoon seriously lacked discipline and that they needed someone like me to clean it up. He told me that when he sees them, they’re not shaven, they don’t wear their body armor when they’re supposed to, they’re running around in their underwear, they’re calling the platoon leader by his first name … and that is simply unacceptable.

Blue: That is unacceptable. I specialize in leadership theory. Subordinates who call their leader by their first name degrade discipline and the leader’s authority. In law enforcement, that jeopardizes public safety.

Clint: And when you have soldiers that stop shaving (one of the most basic military requirements), what else are they going to give up on? Stop loading their magazines? Or stop calling in reports? That all starts with discipline.

Blue: From a leadership perspective, when a new lieutenant arrives to his or her unit for the first time, the soldiers already there will be very cautious, critical, and even uncooperative to a certain degree simply because the lieutenant represents change and fear of the unknown. How do you feel that played a role with several of your soldiers disagreeing with your decision, even testifying against you?

Clint: They should have been skeptical; I would be skeptical too. You have a new guy who’s giving you orders, making you work more, who’s making you do your job compared to the last guy who, in my case, hasn’t even read the book. When I walked into the guard tower and soldiers didn’t have their helmet or body armor on, I told them to put it on. And they didn’t like that, they didn’t like taking orders like that, but I was brought in there to enforce the standard.