9/11 enraged and pained me like all Americans. But unlike many of my peers, the events of 9/11 aren't what compelled me to join the military. For me, I found myself working as an accountant in a cubical post college. From my cubical one day in 2004, I was able to watch the Marines moving through the city of Fallujah on the news. At the center of this violent attack, was the unit V18. Watching those Marines filled me with awe, respect, and love. I knew how much I loved America, and I was mad at myself for not making more sacrifices for the country. I called the Marine Corps that day and began my journey.
After 17 years, I want to express how grateful I am for everything the Marine Corps did to mold me into the man I am. Despite the recent events, and everything that has been discussed today I owe the Marine Corps a lot.
The Marine Corps for me was never supposed to be a career. But I've stayed as long as I have for two reasons:
1. Love for the Marines and
2. The opportunity to make a difference on the battlefield as a leader.
I truly believe America is the greatest country in the world.
I truly believe the American military is the greatest military in the world.
I truly believe the Marine Corps has the best talent of all the military services.
But I also truly believe fundamental change needs to occur in the military. I have observed that the General officers are unable or unwilling to hold themselves accountable.
I have always loved the Marines. But as my recent public comments illustrate, I have started questioning the long-standing system of the Marine Corps, and for that matter, the military as a whole.
Prior to the withdrawal of Afghanistan, I was reflecting on the often-told stories about the previous Commandants Wilson and Barrow. Those two Commandants led the USMC after the failures in Vietnam. The narrative told today is that Commandants Wilson and Barrow 'fixed the service' with their generational shift. They fixed the Service by raising the standards on the junior enlisted Marine. Said another way, the junior enlisted Marines weren't capable of winning the Vietnam war, or the next war, so the Generals needed to fix the Service.
I was thinking about the parallels of Vietnam and Afghanistan as I read General Berger's letter to the Force dated 18 August. This letter in my opinion perfectly illustrates senior military leader's inability to see the true pain in Service members following a failed war effort. General Berger told Service members their sacrifices were worth it without offering any connection back to a bigger purpose. He concluded the letter with how Service members should go seek counseling. At no point did he acknowledge any failures of the leadership.
A week after reading his statement, I was sitting in my office on August 26th, and I was told that 13 service members had been killed and many more injured in an SVEST attack. I also knew the majority of the casualties were from V18… my first unit. My mind was immediately taken back to my friend Dave Borden, who was hit with an SVEST when we served in Ramadi together with V18. It was the same situation playing out again. I thought about all the time I spent with Dave in Walter Reed, and in the half-way treatment house months later. I thought about LCpl Gluff who was killed in that SVEST attack next to Dave. And at the same time as these thoughts ran through my mind, I was receiving pictures from a friend on my phone from Marines who were involved in the recent Abby Gate Afghanistan SVEST incident.
In that moment I had clarity. I realized the military was continuing to make the same mistakes because senior leaders continued to diagnose the wrong problem. I concluded that our senior leaders were either unable or unwilling to have an honest discussion about our failures in a public forum that would necessitate REAL change. I also decided that quietly addressing these concerns within the chain of command would be ineffective. I knew my complaints would never be heard by the Commandant, the SECDEF, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, or the American people if I went through the proper channels. Reference the charges I tried to prefer against General McKenzie. It is a perfect example of how going through the system doesn't work.
In the first video I connected the failed Afghan withdraw, the attacks on V18, and General Berger's letter to the force. I stated, 'The reason people are so upset right now is NOT because of the Marine on the battlefield. That Service member has always rose to the occasion and done extraordinary things. The reason people are so upset right now is because their senior leaders let them down, and none of them are raising their hands and taking accountability.' I ended by saying, 'I've been fighting for 17 years and I'm willing to throw it all away to say to my senior leaders… I demand accountability.'
That Thursday night, as the video started to go viral, I stated on my LinkedIn page that I did not plan to resign despite all the demands for my resignation. At that time, that is how I felt. I wanted to remain in the Marine Corps.
When I came into work the next morning, on August 27th, the first person I spoke to was Col Emmel. He asked what I was trying to achieve with the video. He told me he didn't think I would be able to affect any real change. He then told me that morning that I would NOT be relieved immediately. He told me to go home for the weekend and an investigation would take place, and that following the investigation the command would decide if it warranted my relief and/or follow-on administrative action.
When Col Emmel left my office, my Battalion Executive Officer came in so we could conduct a turnover. He was going to run the Battalion in my absence. He said, 'I don't need anything from you sir. I just want you to know how much I respect you, and how political and fucked up the Marine Corps has gotten. That's why a lot of guys are getting out. That's why our old Gunner got out. In fact, I first heard about your video when our old Gunner called me this morning. He said, your new boss just posted a video that is all truth. I'm sure he's going down, but someone needed to have the courage to say it. Please tell him how proud we all are of him.' My Battalion Executive Officer then went on to say, 'We all know it's political. You know the joint chiefs who signed a letter condemning the January 6th attacks… how political was that? I'm not saying I condone the January 6th attacks, but I am saying for all the joint chiefs to sign a letter on that topic, but not to condemn any of the other recent riots that have caused more damage and deaths is purely political.' To which I responded… 'Yes, those idiots on January 6th were unorganized and unintelligent. If ever there was a force that used deliberate thought, the outcome could be much worse.'
At no time did I ever advocate for the violent overthrow of the government. I was led into the conversation of the January 6th attacks by someone I trusted, and then my words were twisted. Furthermore, the investigating officer then took that statement and led every witness he interviewed with questions about my involvement in the January 6th attacks. This in my perception, was as an attempt by the Marine Corps to paint me into something I'm not. The Marine Corps, despite their best efforts, was not able to find any evidence of insurrection. If the Marine Corps could have charged me with insurrection… they would have.
Then later that same Friday the 27th, while I was back at my house, without explanation, Col Emmel called me back into work, even though he told me to take the weekend off. When I came back into work, he relieved me for cause. He never explained why he did a 180, and I didn't ask. I'm not sure if it was my Battalion Executive Officer's comments, or a decision made above Col Emmel. But at the time, not even understanding what my Battalion Executive Officer had said, I agreed that the relief was best for the Marine Corps. And I wanted, and still want, what was best for the Marine Corps. When I left work, I made a post stating that I had been relieved, 'and that my command was doing exactly what I would have done.' After publicly announcing my relief, at that time, I still planned on allowing the investigation to run its course, and to remain in the Marine Corps without further statements.
But after my relief, when I got home and back on my social media, I saw a post from my old commanding officer Colonel Hobbs. He commented below my statement on LinkedIn that I didn't plan to resign and stated, 'If Stuart Scheller were honorable, he would resign.' This comment devastated me. He didn't call me. He didn't text me. He didn't email me. Someone who I even stated in my second video, 'That I loved like a father.' He demonstrated that he didn't care about me at all. And even though he's retired, Colonel Hobbs is still very active in the Marine Corps. In fact, he called after my second video and left me a voicemail stating that he and General Neller were discussing my situation. That's the influence Col Hobbs still has.
After reading his comment following my relief, my thoughts went from disappointment to anger. It was the first time I started thinking about resigning. I started thinking, if my call for accountability can result in me being fired and investigated in 24 hours, and my greatest mentor in the Marine Corps can immediately turn on me without any empathy for me as a human being, maybe my senior leaders don't care about me at all. Maybe, this is not an organization that I want to be a part of. This led me to my second post on Friday the 27th, where I stated, 'Last night when I posted the video I immediately had multiple Marines call and ask me to take down the post. 'We all agree with you Stu, but nothing will change, and it will come at a huge personal cost to you.' Now that I've had time to process… I'll offer this… we can't ALL be wrong. If you all agree… then step up. They only have the power because we allow it. What if we all demanded accountability? Every generation needs a revolution.'
This post is where the Marine Corps and I started parting ways dramatically. My calls for revolution were always about changing the system. A system that centralizes power and fails to hold senior leaders accountable. A system that will immediately turn on you if you speak out.
Col Emmel called me that Friday night and made it very clear that I was heading towards legal action with the most recent post and reminded me again of the social media policy.
So I took Saturday to contemplate my situation. In that day I came to the conclusion that the Marine Corps didn't really care about me, and that best case, I would be hidden in an office for three years as a failure. But that most likely I was heading towards a BOI for separation based on my use of the word revolution. This situation led me into the second video that I posted on Sunday August 29th. The second video was me declaring that I felt like the General Officers and leaders of the military didn't understand or care. In the video I stated my intention to resign and give up my retirement. I also stated, 'I want to be clear that I love the Marine Corps.' And then I went on to state, 'Follow me and we will bring the whole fucking system down.' If I could go back, I would have chosen different words. But at no time was that a call to violence. I was stating that the system is broken and needs to be rebuilt. I still feel this is the case. I still feel fundamental change is required. I still feel a revolution, or rebuilding the broken system is the only way to fix the shortfalls if senior leaders are unable or unwilling to fix it themselves.
Following the post of the second video, that Sunday afternoon my CO texted me to call him. Immediately after he texted me, the SOI XO called me. I answered his call and spoke to him for over ten minutes. He obviously thought I was suicidal, which I knew I wasn't. He kept stating that he would come meet me, and I kept stating that it wasn't necessary. We repeated the same thing over and over to each other until finally I got frustrated and said, 'That's enough. I answered your call out of professional courtesy. I am not suicidal. And I'm not going to continue having this conversation.' And then the phone call ended. I didn't call Col Emmel back because I had just spoken to his XO for a great length of time, and I assumed that was sufficient.
I kept my phone on for the rest of the day and no one called me until later that night. Two Marines I know, Major Cummings and LtCol Helminski texted me that NCIS arrived at their houses respectively. Both told me NCIS was looking for me. To which I responded, 'Why didn't they just call me and ask where I was?' They didn't know. So I told both of them the same thing, 'I'm fine, and I can talk to NCIS tomorrow morning at 08:00 when I show up to work. I am not suicidal.' Then I saw a statement released by the Marine Corps public affairs office that stated, 'the Marine Corps is trying to locate LtCol Scheller to ensure his safety and the safety of those around him.' I was furious about this statement. I assumed if the Marine Corps was REALLY trying to locate me, that they would have been smart enough to call me. The SOI XO was able to reach me. My peers were able to reach me. This seemed like an obvious attempt from the Marine Corps to paint me as suicidal. Which was another indicator to me that the system didn't really care about me, but only wanted to protect itself. If they really thought I was suicidal… why not call me… unless they were actually hoping I would commit suicide.
When I went into work the next morning the Marine Corps narrative of my unstable mental health continued to be discussed. My CO told me he wanted me to volunteer for a mental evaluation. I told him that wasn't necessary. So he ordered me to
