This is the actual impact statement from the real-life situation that this case study is based off of, so it’s not going to match perfectly with what we’ve discussed here in the forum (sorry!). The two major deviations between the story and real life are that “Bradley” didn’t really die in Iraq, and “Schum” didn’t get his ass beat in that parking lot.
I changed all of the names, dates, units, and other identifying information. Obviously, “Scott Faith” is a pseudonym, and “the 2nd Special Forces Group” and “A/3-111st Aviation” are, as far as I know, entirely fictitious units.
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MEMORANDUM FOR RECORD
SUBJECT: Impact Statement- Specialist Jody Schum
My name is CPT Scott Faith. I am currently the Military Intelligence Company Commander for the 2nd Special Forces Group. The purpose of this memorandum is to explain the negative impact of SPC Jody Schum’s misconduct on my unit and the soldiers within it, so that his chain of command can decide what action, if any, to take against him.
The negative impact of SPC Schum’s misconduct on my command has been profound. His actions were, and continue to be, contrary to good order and discipline, and they have brought shame and discredit to his unit and to the Army. His illegal and morally reprehensible actions were deleterious to our combat mission in Iraq and are detrimental to our garrison activities. The time and attention he diverted away from the sustained combat operations we performed in Iraq were, to me, actions tantamount to aiding the enemy.
For at least six months, SPC Schum carried on an adulterous relationship with a married woman who is sick with a brain tumor, all the while knowing that her husband was in Iraq, exposed to hostile fire on a daily basis- and ran his mouth about it to her husband. SPC Schum conducted this affair with Mrs. Brenda Bradley, who until recently was married to SGT Billie Bradley, a soldier in my command. In his emails to SGT Bradley, SPC Schum bragged about his relationship with Mrs. Bradley; he claimed combat credit he had not earned; he impersonated a senior NCO; he implied that he was a Special Forces soldier; and he was knowingly disrespectful to an officer and to an NCO and willfully disobedient to the lawful orders I gave him to cease contact with Mrs. Bradley.
SPC Schum’s adulterous relationship with Mrs. Bradley came to light in June of 2005, when we were deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. At the time, we did not know who SPC Schum was by name, only by the answering machine message he left on SGT Bradley’s home answering machine, and the emails exchanged between SGT Bradley, Mrs. Bradley, an anonymous individual named “Jody,” and myself.
In those emails, “Jody” implied he was a Special Forces-qualified soldier and was senior to SGT Bradley; he insulted SGT Bradley, threatened to take away SGT Bradley’s rank, and was disrespectful both to SGT Bradley and to me when I contacted “Jody” and ordered him to cease contact with Mrs. Bradley. He refused to give his name, and refused to cease contact with Mrs. Bradley. Ultimately, he agreed to cease contact with Mrs. Bradley but did not do so; one of many lies told by SPC Schum. Another of SPC Schum’s lies to me was that he was not having a sexual relationship with Mrs. Bradley. Mrs. Bradley is now pregnant with what she claims is SPC Schum’s child.
While we were in Iraq, SGT Bradley received notice from his bank that a check for several hundred dollars written to an individual named Jody Schum had bounced. This is how we were able to determine that the mysterious “Jody” was Jody Schum, who was in fact not a Special Forces-qualified Soldier, was not senior to SGT Bradley, and was in fact assigned to A/3-111st Aviation and held the rank of Specialist.
At the time, SGT Bradley did not know anyone named Jody Schum, and had certainly not written him any checks. When the bank forwarded the canceled check to SGT Bradley, it was obvious that someone had forged SGT Bradley’s signature on the check. Given the circumstances, it seems apparent that SPC Schum either forged the check made out to him that he attempted to cash, or he had to know the check was forged by a third party. Either way, it is obvious that he is complicit in this forgery.
While we were in Iraq, every soldier in my detachment worked at least a 15-hour shift. This is on top of time required to deal with alerts, special projects and missions, and artillery strikes from local insurgents. The stress of long hours and genuine physical peril was compounded by the emotional toll inflicted by SPC Schum’s threatening, anonymous, disrespectful emails to SGT Bradley. The situation that SPC Schum created was an enormous drain emotionally as well as from the standpoints of morale and time consumption. In the intimate confines of a company-sized element at war, what affects one Soldier has an impact on the entire unit. Due to unforeseen personnel shortages that resulted in part from unfilled combat losses, SGT Bradley was soon one deep in his shop. The emotional toll SPC Schum inflicted almost caused SGT Bradley to become combat ineffective. The end result of this condition was that detachment sergeant and I both had to divert attention away from our warfighting mission to address the situation.
SPC Schum is a “hider” who does not man up to his responsibilities and actions. When we were in Iraq, he hid behind the anonymity of the Internet. When we returned, he hid behind lies and counteraccusations. Now he hides by trying to point the finger at others. It is likely that he will attempt to hide behind Mrs. Bradley, a woman sick with a brain tumor, that he impregnated while he knew that Mrs. Bradley’s husband was a sergeant on active duty with the 2nd Special Forces Group and engaged in combat operations in Iraq.
SPC Schum’s lies and misconduct have continued after we returned from Iraq. I have been informed that SPC Schum claims that members of my command stole property belonging to him when they conducted a joint inventory with him at a storage shed where SPC Schum was “storing” SGT Bradley’s personal property. I put “storing” in quotes because SPC Schum did not have permission to take possession of SGT Bradley’s personal property and did not inform SGT Bradley where the property was, or how he could get it back. Where I come from, we do not call that “storing,” we call it “stealing.” Although this ridiculous allegation does not even merit a response, I will say that it is completely unfathomable to me that SPC Schum can even make an accusation of theft when all SGT Bradley did was go and get back what was stolen from him- and SPC Schum was even present when SGT Bradley reclaimed his property! I offered to personally inspect SGT Bradley’s barracks room and personal vehicle for SPC Schum’s property, but SPC Schum was unable to provide a list of what was allegedly stolen. But speaking of stolen items, I also understand that during the joint inventory conducted at the storage shed that SPC Schum had rented, a protective mask was recovered that was apparently stolen from SPC Schum’s company.
SPC Schum is duplicitous liar who is unwilling to take responsibility for his actions. For example, I doubt that he will own up to sending the emails SGT Bradley and I received while we were in Iraq. If he remains true to form, it is likely that he will try to blame those emails on a third party, like Mrs. Bradley. “It was my account, but not my emails,” or some such. However, any reasonable person can clearly see from the emails sent to me separately by Mrs. Bradley and SPC Schum that those statements are made by two completely different, marginally literate individuals. I am completely confident that the emails that came from Mrs. Bradley’s account were written by her, and the ones from SPC Schum’s account were written by him.
When we returned from Iraq, SGT Bradley had no home to go to, and literally only the clothes on his back to sustain him until we recovered his personal property. SPC Schum and Mrs. Bradley were nowhere to be found, and neither was any of SGT Bradley’s property. When we finally did recover SGT Bradley’s vehicle, it had sustained body damage, and the inside of the vehicle was in such a condition that to describe it as completely filthy is an understatement. We also found large-caliber rifle ammunition laying loose inside the vehicle, which SPC Schum claimed was his, and was for firearms that he possessed. Amidst the filth of the vehicle were several of SPC Schum’s personal items, which to me were further evidence of a long-term relationship with Mrs. Bradley. We knew that the property belonged to SPC Schum because much of it had his name on it. We provided SPC Schum the opportunity to retrieve all of his property from SGT Bradley’s car, which he did.
In conclusion, SPC Schum’s misconduct has had an enormously detrimental effect on my command. His prior misconduct and his current unwillingness to accept responsibility for his actions continue to act in a manner contrary to good order and discipline. He is extremely brave over anonymous email, but in person he is a coward who is unwilling to man up and take responsibility for his own misconduct.
Let me sum up what SPC Schum has done: First, he knowingly conducted a sustained, adulterous relationship with a woman sick with a brain tumor, who he knew was married to a Soldier deployed to Iraq. He sent the woman’s husband, SGT William Bradley, insulting, inflammatory and disrespectful emails in which he claimed to be a Special Forces Soldier, was senior in rank to SGT Bradley, and threatened to take away SGT Bradley’s rank. In those emails, he also informed SGT Bradley that he had basically taken over SGT Bradley’s family, and that SGT Bradley’s two sons were now calling SPC Schum “Daddy.” SPC Schum refused to obey my lawful orders when I sent him an email from my official AKO account, identifying myself as a commissioned officer and ordering him to cease contact with Mrs. Bradley.
When SGT Bradley returned home, his wife and two young children had moved in with SPC Schum; SPC Schum was driving SGT Bradley’s vehicle, and SGT Bradley’s personal possessions were in a storage shed rented in SPC Schum’s name. Afterwhich SPC Schum had the nerve to say that SGT Bradley stole from him; if anything, it was the other way around.
I doubt that SPC Schum’s misconduct is limited to adultery and the related charges I mentioned above. I am confident, without even knowing the circumstances, that if we were to ask SPC Schum’s chain of command we will see a pattern of misconduct that extends well beyond the scope of this memorandum.
SPC Schum’s misconduct is surely without precedent within his unit. This case should go to court martial with charges to include adultery, larceny, disrespect to an NCO, disrespect to an officer, impersonating an NCO, and disobeying a lawful order. Should SPC Schum be found guilty of the charges against him, at this point, nothing less than the maximum punishment for all counts will be satisfactory. Given that his adulterous relationship with Mrs. Bradley lasted at least six months, if SPC Schum is found guilty of the charges against him a prison sentence of at least six months seems appropriate, followed by a dishonorable discharge. I will be glad to make myself or any of the members of my command available to testify or to provide sworn statements as necessary.
The stain on his honor cannot be erased. This case should proceed to court martial immediately. SGT Bradley and the members of the 2nd Special Forces Group have waited for justice long enough.
Point of contact for this memorandum is the undersigned at (XXX) XXX-XXXX or
Scott.Faith@XX.XXXXX.XXX.
SCOTT M. FAITH
CPT, MI Commanding
