Conduct Unbecoming: A Military True Crime Podcast
This podcast analyzes the crimes committed by US military personnel - the very people who swore to protect the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic, only to become the sort of monsters we fear.
Episodes
071 United States v. Ohu
In the aftermath of a sexual assault, one young Marine struggled to cope with what happened, and with her underlying health conditions. It seemed for her that each place she turned, she was met with either unwillingness or inability to hel…
070 United States v. Soloshenko
Sometimes when I need to compose a challenging message, I rely on a council of women. It’s always women because I have many years of Taboo board game experience and a team of women will win every time. My first council of women messaging…
069 United States v. Thomas
The last two times I reported for jury duty, I got kicked by the parties using peremptory challenges. The first time, I was working on post conviction record relief and it was a criminal case--a prosecutor's least favorite kind of juror. T…
068 United States v. Harpole; United States v. Deremer
My freshman year of college, I spent a lot of time out of my dorm room. Which, given the size of the room I shared with two other women, was objectively the correct choice. My primary motivation for avoiding the room my parents lovingly an…
067 United States v. Swisher
Just before last call in a beachfront party area, two sets of men observed a woman that was a little too drunk. What they chose to do, having realized she was so vulnerable, proved the litmus test for them. The events of December 1, 2019 …
066 United States v. Hilton
A few years back, we were at a holiday party when the host grabbed my butt. I turned in horror and he observed to his friend that what he did was “probably not good.” I scooped up my spouse, explained that I wouldn’t be in the same room wi…
065 United States v. Jenkins; United States v. Edwards
It’s been my experience that women and girls receive a lot of messaging around domestic violence. We’re coached to recognize warning signs and to get out. In hushed conferences, we advise each other to set aside a little money, just in case…
064 Japan v. Alkonis
There are parts of the drive up to the national park atop Haleakala that start to feel a little otherworldly. You’re angled up and climbing quickly, and you can lose sight of the horizon before you crest a hill and reacquaint yourself accor…
063 United States v. Lee
This case has a lot of moving parts, but in trying to write this introduction, I found I kept distilling it to the same point. Viewed through a relationships lens, this case highlights how far two women would go for the men they loved. One…
062 United States v. Dillenburger
I have a pretty serious food allergy - one I feel compelled to share with restaurant staff and friends we visit with.  It’s deeply unfun, but the alternative is, you know, anaphylaxis. The silver lining I’ve been able to identify is that it…
061 United States v. Hill
Eight young men started the night at various happy events, celebrating the end of an arduous week of work. Then, they clashed in an unplanned roadside encounter. Although they'd been at parties, they had at least a combined four knives betw…
060 United States v. Greene-Watson
There’s been a lot of discussion in the legal community about the culpability of those whose brains have not yet fully developed. I think that’s why college has such a deserved reputation for being formative. Your brain is still developing…
059 United States v. Lovett
I've shared before that military moves force everyone into creating quick community ties so that everyone can keep their heads above water and feel tethered to their new duty station while they're miles away from the comforts of wherever f…
058 United States v. Brassfield
When we talk about personal liberties, we necessarily carry with that discourse the question of how far our right to do something extends. To that end, a quote that has long stuck with me is from Oliver Wendel Holmes Jr., who observed that …
057 United States v. Tarin
Back in my sorority days, I often served as one of the sober sisters for events. The task was pretty simple--keeping an eye on my sisters. Sometimes it involved passing flip flops to whoever thought stilettos were danceable or a plastic bag…
056 United States v. Fat Leonard
People who were stationed in Okinawa sometime before the internet became commonplace waggle their eyebrows at you when you say you lived there. The island had a Bacchanalian reputation, known for its promise of misanthropic adventures. The…
055 United States v. Praefke
Every so often, I get it in my head that I need to find some hyper specific item that I know I own. The downside to living in two countries and two states in the last three years is that I can visualize the item exactly where it was in Jap…
054 Michigan v. Hassel
You’ve made it through the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. Perhaps your season went well, there were no fights about politics, and you got to see the people you love and care for most. Perhaps your season was the exact opposite, an…
053 Arizona v. Gooch
Four hundred years ago, the religious climate in England was tense. Religious wars were nothing new, and the head of state was also the head of the Anglican church. It was a dangerous set up that served to further the absolute power of the …
052 United States v. Cassaberry-Folks
Single servicemembers that deploy from duty stations stateside often put their belongings in some kind of storage. It's a dicey proposition because some storage facilities are terrible. Cars present their own special challenge and dead bat…
051 Japan v. Gadson
A listener note: I recorded this while in the final throes of a cold that I though I had beat, but heard in my voice in the first few words. Sadly, I've not yet found a filter to de-nasalfy a recording. I can certify, however, that the case…
050 Texas v. Perry
Our cell phones bear witness to our insecurities, patiently returning search results for the things that spark in our brains that we need immediate answers to. Mine, if you were wondering, would tattle on me for my deep election anxiety. A…
049 United States v. Smith
About this time two years ago, the weather in Virginia had just begun to shift from crisp to cold and I decided it was time to fill up my tires because the cold made the air inside sluggish. I first tried to plump them up at Costco, but I’…
048 United States v. Hirst
At work, I have a little white board where I can see at a glance where all of my projects are - it’s not entirely dissimilar to the surgery board in Grey’s Anatomy, except my projects are not life or death and don’t require nearly so much …
047 United States v. Helvey
I used to have this recurring nightmare about going into a restroom and instead of finding a stereotypical American toilet, I’d encounter the kind that required the user to squat over them.  It didn’t occur to me until I wandered into a nat…
046 Texas v. Murphy
I am a human who gets to the airport with as much lead time as possible to get through security, confirm my gate exists, and then try to be chill. I say try because I have no chill while traveling. I stress sweat and keep getting up to see …
045 United States v. Cook
When a job is wrapping up, it’s only natural to turn an eye to what comes next.  Folks getting out of the military can speak with people trained in supporting servicemembers transitioning into civilian life and get one-on-one support with r…
044 Washington v. Byrne
What we don’t talk about in the Bar is that law school ruins eyeballs. Looking between our incoming class photo and photos from my 3L year, I clocked a lot of new framed faces. I went that opposite direction - I went from wearing glasses to…
043 United States v. The Port Chicago 50
Growing up in the Golden State means a certain familiarity with warm summers and fire risks. We worry about lightning strikes, gender reveal parties that involve any kind of explosives, and lost hikers who, for some unknown reason, light a …
042 United States v. Wilkerson
Any time I’ve walked into a barracks building, I’m immediately transported back to freshman year at the college dorms. There’s a lot of growing up that happens in both spaces for a similarly aged group. It can be a really joyful and festiv…
041 Florida v. Williams
Petty Officer Williams woke to the sound of her alarm in the morning of November 6th. Williams, the mother to a five-year-old, should have woken to the soft noises of her child stirring in the next room. Perhaps she would have normally tri…
040 United States v. Abdullah
A move to a new duty station is a bit of a fresh start - that's my preferred framework for thinking about the move. Afterall, it can smart a bit to think about the family and friends we had to say goodbye to, so focusing on the "opportunity…
039 United States v. Maebane
When we hear information repeated to us, we’re hardwired to begin to believe it. The positive effect we feel when we hear the information or story repeated is called the illusory truth effect. We have a pretty good example of the illusory t…
038 United States v. Brinkman-Coronel
A half hour up the road from resort-lined beaches is an Army base nestled in the interior of Oahu. Though the on-base housing might not be beach front, they’ve got ready access to everything the island has to offer. Maybe living in paradis…
037 United States v. DeDolph
Stop me If you’ve seen A Few Good Men. A group of servicemembers sneak into a soldier’s bedroom in the middle of the night to do a bit of corrective action. When day breaks miles away from American shores, a mysterious death nearly gets pa…
036 United States v. Walters
I’ve left mission-driven non-profit jobs twice. It was really emotionally taxing to leave jobs that I really believed in once upon a time--I was so committed to the mission in both instances, and had been so full of hope that I would make a…
035 North Carolina v. Laurean
If you are old enough to remember the foibles of a certain President around the turn of the millennia, you’re likely familiar with the phrase, “it’s not the crime, it’s the cover up.” For Corporal Laurean, stationed at Camp Lejeune, North …
034 United States v. Baba
I don’t think anyone would accuse me of having good luck when it comes to my checked luggage making it with me on trips. I’ve had a number of suitcases driven up days after my arrival. Most recently, our luggage on our move from Japan went…
033 United States v. Brown
Captain Brown arrived at Minot Air Force Base some time before June 2012 and although Air Force duty station assignments are short, he was determined to make the most of his stint in North Dakota. Even in places where the cost of living mi…
032 United States v. Becker
In the old cobblestone streets of Mons, Belgium, Lieutenant Becker and his wife had an opportunity to start fresh. They were thousands of miles from their family and friends and, when faced with the stress of moving overseas, they could ei…