Chapter 8 - The Stripping of the Rank
Two days later. The United States Court of Military Appeals, Joint Base Andrews.
The courtroom was packed to the gills with high-ranking officers, Pentagon officials, and members of the national press who had been summoned under strict national security embargoes. The air was thick with the suffocating smell of scandal.
Sitting at the defense table were Arthur Vance and Logan Vance.
Both men were stripped of their combat ribbons, their medals, and their unit badges. Arthur’s uniform was plain olive-drab, looking baggy and ill-fitting on a frame that had visibly aged ten years in forty-eight hours. His hands lay flat on the oak table, motionless.
Logan sat beside him, his eyes swollen, staring down at his lap, unable to look at the dozens of his former West Point classmates who sat in the gallery, their faces cold with disgust.
In the second row of the public gallery, Eleanor Vance and Chloe sat under the watchful guard of two armed MPs. Eleanor wore no makeup; her designer clothes had been replaced by a cheap, off-the-rack gray pantsuit purchased from a department store. Her arrogant sneer had been replaced by a permanent, hollow stare of utter ruin.
The heavy mahogany doors at the rear of the courtroom swung open.
The bailiff stood tall. "All rise for the presiding authority: Lieutenant General Sarah Sterling, Judge Advocate General of the United States Army!"
The room rose in unison, the sound of boots snapping together echoing off the high ceilings.
General Sterling, a razor-sharp woman with three combat tours and a reputation for uncompromising adherence to military law, took her seat behind the elevated bench. She adjusted her reading glasses and picked up the thick dossier in front of her.
"Be seated," Sterling commanded.
The room sat.
"This court is convened to deliver the administrative summary judgment in the matter of the United States versus Brigadier General Arthur Vance and Captain Logan Vance," Sterling announced, her voice cutting through the silent room like a scalpel. "The civilian espionage charges have been transferred to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Today, we address the violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice."
She looked directly at Arthur Vance.
"Arthur Vance. For the crimes of Treason, Espionage, Conduct Unbecoming an Officer, and Dereliction of Duty resulting in the deaths of active-duty service personnel, this panel finds the evidence presented by the Intelligence Support Activity to be absolute, irrefutable, and uncontested."
Arthur didn't move. He kept his eyes fixed on the grain of the oak table.
"Pursuant to Article 106 of the UCMJ," Sterling continued, "you are hereby sentenced to Dishonorable Dismissal from the United States Army. Your rank is stripped to Private E-1. All pensions, benefits, and healthcare privileges are revoked in perpetuity. Furthermore, upon conclusion of your military processing, you will be remanded to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons to serve two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole at ADX Florence."
A collective murmur rippled through the gallery. Eleanor Vance let out a choked gasp, burying her face in her trembling hands.
General Sterling then turned her gaze toward Logan.
"Logan Vance."
Logan flinched as if struck across the face. He slowly rose to his feet, his knees knocking against each other.
"Sir..." Logan whispered, tears immediately welling in his eyes.
"For your complicity in the falsification of official manifests, the unauthorized receipt of foreign shell payments, and the fraudulent procurement of combat valor decorations, you are hereby sentenced to Dishonorable Discharge from the United States Armed Forces. Your rank is stripped to Private E-1. You are sentenced to twenty-five years confinement at the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth."
"No... please..." Logan choked, his voice cracking like a terrified child’s. "General, please... I was following orders! My father told me—"
"Silence!" Sterling slammed her gavel onto the sounding block with a sharp CRACK!
"You were an officer of the United States Army, Logan Vance! Your primary duty was to the Constitution, not to your father's criminal enterprise! You disgraced the uniform, you disgraced your unit, and you disgraced the men who bled while you signed false manifests for financial gain!"
Sterling gestured toward the bailiff. "Bailiffs, strip the rank."
Two master sergeants stepped forward, carrying sharp tactical seam-rippers.
They approached Arthur first. With deliberate, humiliating slowness, the sergeants sliced the Velcro and stitching holding the Brigadier General stars to Arthur’s collar, dropping the silver stars into a black velvet tray.
Then they moved to Logan. The double silver bars of a captain were sliced from his collar and epaulets. The Ranger tab was ripped from his shoulder with a violent tearing sound that echoed through the quiet courtroom.
Logan stood there, sobbing openly, looking down at his stripped, blank sleeves. The facade of the golden-boy military prince was completely erased.
"Remove the prisoners," General Sterling ordered coldly.
As the MPs pulled Arthur and Logan toward the holding cells, Logan suddenly caught sight of the woman standing at the back of the courtroom.
Victoria stood near the double doors, dressed in an immaculate Class-A service uniform bearing the silver oak leaves of a Lieutenant Colonel, the Obsidian Scythe tab, and three rows of high-level valor decorations.
"Victoria!" Logan screamed, struggling against the MPs' grip. "Victoria! Look at me! Tell them! Tell them you forgive me! Victoria!"
Victoria didn't speak. She didn't blink.
May you like
She simply raised her right hand, touched the brim of her service cap in a cold, final dismissal, and watched as her former husband was dragged through the heavy steel door into the darkness of the holding cells.
***
