Thanks to public pressure generated by conservative groups, the military has reversed its decision to court-martial a decorated Green Beret who came to the rescue of a boy being sexual abused in Afghanistan.

In 2011, Sergeant First Class Charles Martland learned from the 12-year-old Afghan boy’s mother that an Afghan police commander had chained her son to a bed in order to repeatedly abuse him. This all occurred on a U.S. military installation.

Martland confronted the rapist, who admitted to his sexually abusive actions and laughed off Martland’s concerns. The Green Beret then reacted by physically throwing the Afghan off the base. But instead of being commended for his action, Martland was criticized by his superiors and would likely have been kicked out of the military.

Matthew Clark is an associate counsel with the American Center for Law and Justice, which launched a letter-writing campaign and petition drive he says helped convince the military to exonerate Martland.

“The voice of the people has been heard and it made a tremendous difference,” Clark tells OneNewsNow. According to ACLJ, almost 350,000 people signed the petition demanding justice for Martland.

“That black mark has actually been removed from his record; it’s been redacted,” the attorney continues. “So when he is up for his promotions or anything else, that won’t even be in his file anymore. He has now been exonerated.”

But there remains a need for caution, says Ed Vitagliano, executive vice president of the American Family Association.

“We do think it’s ominous that the Obama administration and the U.S. military would even have to think about [how to respond to this incident],” he states. “This seems like a no-brainer to us that Martland is a hero.

“What sort of administration at least initially perceives this man as somehow a threat or somehow not worthy of the honor that is due this young man?”

Vitagliano believes there’s more of this kind of politically correct overreach in the military to come.

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Copyright American Family News. Reprinted with permission.

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