If you were hoping I'd kick season 4 off with a bang, I'll instead start us off with a reference to Firework, the musical masterpiece from Katy Perry. I have no casual transition to tell you that the song is FIFTEEN YEARS OLD, and that its age makes me feel personally attacked. Apparently, there's a not insignificant portion of servicemembers that DO feel like a plastic bag drifting through the wind wanting to start again. When servicemembers ignite the light and take flight from their commitment, their desertion doesn't just leave the Department of Defense in awe–the DOD goes looking for them for the months, years, or decades it takes to track them down.

I relied on the the Robinson ACCA opinion and AFCCA opinion for Lemburg. I also referenced information from Instagram, PBS, WFTV, People, and Ocala.com.

Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to share, rate and review it wherever you hit play today. I'm happy to receive constructive feedback or case suggestions at conductunbecomingpod@gmail.com. Join me over on Instagram @conductunbecoming!

Disclaimer: Conduct Unbecoming is a podcast where I get to talk about interesting crimes and cases that involve US military service members. I research, write, and produce the podcast myself… the opinions expressed are my own and, perhaps it's obvious, Conduct Unbecoming is not approved, endorsed, or authorized by the Department of Defense or whatever name they go by socially now. I am not a military JAG and have never been a military JAG. While I'm a practicing attorney, I don't do direct criminal defense. This podcast is a passion project, not legal advice or expert opinion.

During sorority rush, we came up with quiet signals to communicate without having to out ourselves out to prospective new members. When things were going south during a conversation, we'd make eye contact with another sister and play with our hair - a bat signal asking for help. Naturally, this bled into the rest of our lives. If we were out and got bad vibes, we'd make eye contact with a sister and play with our hair. You don't have to be really all that subtle or creative with drunk men at parties - I once interrupted a conversation and said only, "I need to take her with me now." Worked like a charm. Of course, not all interactions with drunk men occur in public spaces… there aren't always a bunch of witnesses that can explain what happened. When a series of cameras tracked Specialist Second Class Coleman to a back room and recording his suspect interaction with a woman, there was undoubtedly solid proof as to what happened. And investigators let that proof disappear.

I relied on the NMCCA opinion heavily. I also briefly discussed information gleaned from the various review websites for Teasers, but I'll let you find those details on your own if you feel so inclined.

Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to share, rate and review it wherever you hit play today. I'm happy to receive constructive feedback or case suggestions at conductunbecomingpod@gmail.com. Join me over on Instagram @conductunbecoming!

Disclaimer: Conduct Unbecoming is a podcast where I get to talk about interesting crimes and cases that involve US military service members. I research, write, and produce the podcast myself… the opinions expressed are my own and, perhaps it's obvious, Conduct Unbecoming is not approved, endorsed, or authorized by the Department of Defense or whatever name they go by socially now. I am not a military JAG and have never been a military JAG. While I'm a practicing attorney, I don't do direct criminal defense. This podcast is a passion project, not legal advice or expert opinion.

I don't know if we even consider it an unwritten code that you don't date your ex's friends or your friend's exes. I feel like that's probably actually written somewhere when it comes to explaining to people how they should behave. We give high school students a little bit of a pass because their social circles are small and it's kind of low stakes in most high school relationships. But when the world opens up to you, I think we can all agree that your dating pool should too. I guess Specialist Second Class Douglas Rogan never got that memo.

I relied on the NMCCA opinion heavily, and reference information from Major Rendleman's Law Review Article regarding unsworn statements.

Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to share, rate and review it wherever you hit play today. I'm happy to receive constructive feedback or case suggestions at conductunbecomingpod@gmail.com. Join me over on Instagram @conductunbecoming!

Disclaimer: Conduct Unbecoming is a podcast where I get to talk about interesting crimes and cases that involve US military service members. I research, write, and produce the podcast myself… the opinions expressed are my own and, perhaps it's obvious, Conduct Unbecoming is not approved, endorsed, or authorized by the Department of Defense or whatever name they go by socially now. I am not a military JAG and have never been a military JAG. While I'm a practicing attorney, I don't do direct criminal defense. This podcast is a passion project, not legal advice or expert opinion.

When we moved back from Japan to the United States, we encountered an ever tightening noose of gun violence. It was an abrupt reintegration to the American fascination with firearms. I don't know if the socialization of young boys to idolize and play with guns has anything to do with the prevalence of violence, and without CDC research into the gun violence that plagues this country, it's unlikely we'll have real or meaningful answers. It could be that boys are socialized to pretend and play with guns, it could be the male loneliness epidemic, it could be the lack of sufficient mental health resources. But maybe, just maybe, it's the guns - the ready access. I've discussed men playing around with guns before, but Lance Corporal Robbins brings us right back to this same conundrum – opting to up the ante on his gun play, stealing a laser sight from the Marine Corps so he could have even more… fun? In predictable fashion, playing around with loaded guns went tragically wrong and landed Robbins in a court martial.

I relied on the NMCCA Robbins opinion and the CAAF Maebane opinion to write up this episode script.

Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to share, rate and review it wherever you hit play today. I'm happy to receive constructive feedback or case suggestions at conductunbecomingpod@gmail.com. Join me over on Instagram @conductunbecoming!

Disclaimer: Conduct Unbecoming is a podcast where I get to talk about interesting crimes and cases that involve US military service members. I research, write, and produce the podcast myself… the opinions expressed are my own and, perhaps it's obvious, Conduct Unbecoming is not approved, endorsed, or authorized by the Department of Defense or whatever name they go by socially now. I am not a military JAG and have never been a military JAG. While I'm a practicing attorney, I don't do direct criminal defense. This podcast is a passion project, not legal advice or expert opinion.

I think the worst phone call I've had to make to my dad is when I was fresh out of college and working in Tennessee. I got cut off on an exit ramp and didn't have enough space to stop, so I ended up in a fender bender. Well, my fenders, bumper, hood and headlights all needed a makeover, but the Honda CRV that darted in front of me bore only a scratch from my license plate screw. The person I dreaded calling most was my dad, my dad who taught me to drive and taught me to be careful! I wasn't looking forward to him thinking I wasn't careful. I put off the call as long as I could, dialing up USAA first to start the claim. A nice agent took my call, started the claim, and helped me find a body shop that could repair my car. He asked if there was anything else I needed help with and I made an offhanded comment that no, I was okay, unless he had any tips for calling my dad. He paused for a moment before sharing that he was a dad and the first thing he would want to hear would be that I was okay, then that the damage was minimal, then circle back to me being okay.

It was excellent advice and my dad was, indeed, mostly concerned about my wellbeing.

So Dad: when you listen to this episode and get to the part about the worst call Chief Petty Officer Kuhn ever had to make to her father, please take a moment to reflect how lucky we are that the worst call from me resulted in multiple reminders that no one was hurt.

First up, as promised, is the link to the appellate case management page for Kuhn's appeal. I referenced a lot of video coverage from the trial from Court TV, as well as articles from the Pensacola News Journal, Yahoo, and WKRG.

For more information on intimate partner violence, I urge you to explore Alliance For Hope and their Family Justice Center Alliance. If you need help finding shelter in your area, please visit DomesticShelters.org. Last, but not least, many law schools and courthouses offer free legal assistance for people seeking protective restraining orders.

This episode contains a discussion of attempted suicide. If you are experiencing thoughts of self-harm, I urge you to contact the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988. Help is also available via chat on their website. For support specific to veterans, first dial 988, then selecting option 1. They also have veteran-specific chat support.

Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to share, rate and review it wherever you hit play today. I'm happy to receive constructive feedback or case suggestions at conductunbecomingpod@gmail.com. Join me over on Instagram @conductunbecoming!

Disclaimer: Conduct Unbecoming is a podcast where I get to talk about interesting crimes and cases that involve US military service members. I research, write, and produce the podcast myself… the opinions expressed are my own and, perhaps it's obvious, Conduct Unbecoming is not approved, endorsed, or authorized by the Department of Defense or whatever name they go by socially now. I am not a military JAG and have never been a military JAG. While I'm a practicing attorney, I don't do direct criminal defense. This podcast is a passion project, not legal advice or expert opinion.

I remember the first time I went out to socialize after learning I passed the Bar exam. I'd graduated in May, studied for months, took the test, and waited until late November for results. The wait was brutal – I lost about a third of my hair volume from the stress that comes with spending tens of thousands of dollars on an education that I really, really hoped would result in a Bar license on the first try. When the results came back and I learned that I'd passed, it was as though I could finally breathe again and it felt so much lighter to go out and see friends, to have the time to socialize without guilt. The buoyancy was palpable.

Having never retired from the armed services, I don't know if the feeling is comparable in those giddy final months when you remember that your life is about to become your own again. But, it's the nearst experience I can think of. Unlike Lieutenant Colonel Gonzalez, none of my friends were out there cheating on their partners in observance of that giddiness.


I relied on the CAAF opinion and briefing, as well as one quick review on sofrep.com.

Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to share, rate and review it wherever you hit play today. I'm happy to receive constructive feedback or case suggestions at conductunbecomingpod@gmail.com. Join me over on Instagram @conductunbecoming!

Disclaimer: Conduct Unbecoming is a podcast where I get to talk about interesting crimes and cases that involve US military service members. I research, write, and produce the podcast myself… the opinions expressed are my own and, perhaps it's obvious, Conduct Unbecoming is not approved, endorsed, or authorized by the Department of Defense. I am not a military JAG and have never been a military JAG. While I'm a practicing attorney, I don't do direct criminal defense. This podcast is a passion project, not legal advice or expert opinion.

I'd like to say that I don't spend a lot of time thinking about what I'm going to share, but we're two and a half years deep on this podcast, so we all know the truth. When you think about it, the lifestyle cultivated by military moves is actually kind of ideal for those drawn to murder. Take the Navy, for instance. Many of their warm water duty stations are popular vacation spots drawing tourists - looking specifically to Hawaii, Southern California and Florida and maybe a little less at Guam. Assignment to the locales are temporary and shifting.

In the last few years, it certainly appeared that one sailor lived up to that life, picking up an indictment for murder in Hawaii just weeks into a life sentence in Florida for the same crime.

I relied on information from WFTV, Action News Jacksonville, Hawaii Tribune Herald, Hawaii News Now, Law and Crime, the very brief appellate opinion in Florida, KHON, Honolulu PD, and Daily Mail.

Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to share, rate and review it wherever you hit play today. I'm happy to receive constructive feedback or case suggestions at conductunbecomingpod@gmail.com. Join me over on Instagram @conductunbecoming!

Disclaimer: Conduct Unbecoming is a podcast where I get to talk about interesting crimes and cases that involve US military service members. I research, write, and produce the podcast myself… the opinions expressed are my own and, perhaps it's obvious, Conduct Unbecoming is not approved, endorsed, or authorized by the Department of Defense. I am not a military JAG and have never been a military JAG. While I'm a practicing attorney, I don't do direct criminal defense. This podcast is a passion project, not legal advice or expert opinion.

Prior to recent legally dubious phone searches at border crossings, I have never had occasion to sweat giving someone access to my phone. Now, I fear my pure sass would have me, a U.S. citizen, extradited to a country I have no ties to. I suppose we are all fortunate that I squeaked back into the country when I did. At least now we know that, should I vacation abroad, I'll take a prepaid phone without my usual detritus on it.

I recognize that as an adult who didn't have a smartphone until my senior year of college, I got a lot of growing up out of the way in the pre-digital era, and, I've always been a total rule follower, as I suspect many middle children obsessed with fairness are. That's all to say it's not shocking to me that young people with access to the entire world in the palm of their hands sometimes retain incriminating evidence on their phones and might not realize that some things shouldn't be documented for posterity. That some paper trails can only cause harm. For Lance Corporal Nelson, it wasn't so much that he didn't realize how closely he should safeguard his phone, but rather that he avows he did not understand what his privacy rights were.

This episode discussed substance use. If you, or someone you know is struggling with substance use, the SAMHSA National Helpline can be reached at 1-800-662-HELP and their treatment locator is available online.


I relied heavily on the NMCCA and CAAF opinions. I also referred to the information from some of the briefing.

Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to share, rate and review it wherever you hit play today. I'm happy to receive constructive feedback or case suggestions at conductunbecomingpod@gmail.com. Join me over on Instagram @conductunbecoming!

Disclaimer: Conduct Unbecoming is a podcast where I get to talk about interesting crimes and cases that involve US military service members. I research, write, and produce the podcast myself… the opinions expressed are my own and, perhaps it's obvious, Conduct Unbecoming is not approved, endorsed, or authorized by the Department of Defense. I am not a military JAG and have never been a military JAG. While I'm a practicing attorney, I don't do direct criminal defense. This podcast is a passion project, not legal advice or expert opinion.