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Mathew L. Golsteyn

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Matthew Golsteyn
AllegianceUnited States of America
Service / branchUnited States Army
Years of service2002–2015
RankMajor
AwardsSilver Star (revoked in 2015)
National Defense Service Medal
Afghanistan Campaign Medal
Army Service Ribbon
NATO Medal for ISAF
Special Forces Tab (revoked in 2014)

Major Mathew L. Golsteyn is a United States Army officer who served in the War in Afghanistan. He was charged with murder after the summary killing of an Afghan civilian detainee in Marjah, whom he claims was a bomb maker for the Taliban. Golsteyn's case came to prominence after U.S. President Donald Trump said that he would review Maj. Golsteyn's case.[1][2][3][4] Golsteyn received a presidential pardon on 15 November 2019.

Early life

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Golsteyn grew up in Central Florida, where he attended Trinity Preparatory School;[5] as a student he was quarterback of the football team, which was coached by his father, former NFL player Jerry Golsteyn.[6]

Military career

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Golsteyn greeting President Donald Trump in December 2019

Golsteyn graduated from the United States Military Academy in 2002. He was commissioned into the army as a second lieutenant and later attended Special Forces Selection. He served in the 3rd Special Forces Group. In 2011, then Captain Golsteyn was awarded a Silver Star, for actions in February 2010. In 2013 the Army reopened an investigation into Golsteyn resulting in the award being revoked in 2015 for a violation of rules of engagement for an incident dating back to 2010.[7][8]

Killing of alleged Afghan bomb-maker

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In 2010 Golsteyn was part of Operation Moshtarak, a campaign to liberate the town of Marjah, Helmand Province, from the Taliban. In February, a bomb killed two Marines who had been working under Golsteyn's command. Golsteyn and his team searched the nearby village for the bomb-maker, who they believed was a local named Rasoul. A tribal leader alleged that Rasoul was a member of the Taliban. According to the Army, once Rasoul was detained, the leader did not want him released and feared that if he was released, he would kill more people, to include U.S. Servicemembers. Golsteyn allegedly admitted to the killing as part of a lie detector test taken during a CIA job interview in 2011. It was also allegedly reported that in the interview with the CIA, Golsteyn claimed that another soldier had later taken the alleged bomb-maker off base, and then shot and killed him, and Golsteyn later helped burn the body. After this revelation, the Army investigated the case, but closed it with no charges in 2013.[3][9] The Army instead dealt with the matter administratively, and issued Golsteyn a memorandum of reprimand and revoked both his original Silver Star and the Distinguished Service Cross that had not yet been presented.[10] The medal revocation was justified by the Secretary of the Army on the grounds that "facts subsequently determined" would have prevented the original award, which was permissible by both Army and DoD regulations.[11] In June 2015, Golsteyn was referred to a board of inquiry to "show cause" for retention on active duty. The board found that he engaged in "conduct unbecoming an officer," and committed "misconduct, moral, or professional derelection" and recommended his elimination from the armed under a general characterization of service.[12] In April 2016, the board reconvened to clarify that Golsteyn "failed in his duties to own all the circumstances of the incident in its entirety," specifying that "he shot an Afghan . . . and then took steps to cover it up," "omitted key facts in his reporting," "failed to report all the facts officially and for the record over an extended period of time," and "failed those he led by engaging in activities during the incident that sought to cover up the circumstance in question."[13]

In November 2016, Golsteyn was a guest on a Fox News show. Asked by host Bret Baier if he had killed a suspected bomb-maker, Golsteyn responded "yes". Golsteyn's admission led to the Army reopening the case.[9]

Presidential pardon

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Official pardon of Golsteyn on November 15, 2019

Golsteyn made national news when U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he would review Golsteyn's case.[14]

On November 15, 2019, President Donald Trump signed a pardon for Golsteyn; it resulted in the dropping of all charges.[15]

The following month, Lieutenant General Francis Beaudette, the commander of U.S. Army Special Operations Command, denied a request by Golsteyn to have his Special Forces Tab reinstated.[16] The service then convened an administrative panel, the Board for Correction of Military Records, to determine whether it should reinstate the Special Forces Tab and a Distinguished Service Cross, and expunge a letter of reprimand Golsteyn received.[16] The Board ruled against Golsteyn in all requested actions. On Golsteyn's medal revocation, it noted that "The Department of Defense has directed that awards such as the DSC and [Silver Star] should be revoked if subsequently determined facts would have prevented the original approval or presentation of the award," and also noted that this appeared in Army Regulations. The Board determined relief was not warranted because Golsteyn's pardon was "a sign of forgiveness" and "does not indicate innocence."[17] Similarly, the Board noted that Golsteyn's Special Forces Tab was revoked pursuant to Army regulations, as the USASOC Commander determined that his actions were "inconsistent with the integrity, professionalism, and conduct of a Special Forces Soldier." They found that the revocation was not impacted by Golsteyn's pardon, noting that the Department of Justice advised Golsteyn that the pardon "does not equate to a finding of innocence." They found that the CID investigation contained ample evidence of "an unjustified killing" as well as "conspir[ing] . . . . to hide and destroy evidence of his misconduct," which was admitted both "to the CIA and to the media." The Board also noted that Golsteyn had been administratively eliminated (fired) from the Army as a result.[18] Finally, the Board declined to remove the reprimand from Golsteyn's personnel file, ruling that the reprimand "addresses and condemns behavior beyond conduct proscribed by [Golsteyn's UCMJ charges]," and the reprimand was not "in any way untrue or unjust." Further, it noted that the Department of Justice advised Golsteyn that the pardon would not expunge all records relating to the offense.[19]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Thomas Gibbons-Neff (2018-12-14). "Army Charges Special Forces Soldier in 2010 Killing of Afghan". The New York Times. Washington, DC. p. A9. Archived from the original on 2018-12-17. The accusations against the soldier, Maj. Mathew L. Golsteyn, are the latest chapter in a winding story that began after he told the Central Intelligence Agency — during a job interview in 2011 — that he had killed a suspected Afghan bomb maker a year earlier, during the battle for the city of Marja in Afghanistan's volatile Helmand Province.
  2. ^ Helene Cooper, Michael Tackett and Taimoor Shah (2018-12-16). "Twist in Green Beret's Extraordinary Story: Trump's Intervention After Murder Charges". The New York Times. Washington, DC. p. A1. Archived from the original on 2018-12-17. With that tweet, Mr. Trump made another extraordinary intervention into the American judicial system. A president who just last week threatened to stop a Justice Department effort to extradite a Chinese tech executive and who spends most days vilifying the special counsel had now stepped into a complicated legal and ethical case that goes to the heart of the fraught politics of the military's rules of engagement.
  3. ^ a b "Trump 'to review' Mathew Golsteyn Afghan murder case". BBC News. 2018-12-16. Archived from the original on 2018-12-16. Retrieved 2018-12-17. It is unclear what the president meant when he posted the tweet. However, as Commander in Chief of the US armed forces, any intervention by Mr Trump could count as unlawful command influence, and might mean the case against Maj Golsteyn is thrown out.
  4. ^ South, Todd (2018-12-18). "Trump said he'll review the case against an Army Green Beret charged with murder. This is what could happen". Army Times. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
  5. ^ "Lost Alumni - Trinity Prep". www.trinityprep.org. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  6. ^ "Apopka at Lake Brantley". Orlando Sentinel. 2021-07-31 [1997-09-04]. Retrieved 2024-06-07. Sante Fe at Trinity Prep… behind quarterback Matt Golsteyn… Jerry Golsteyn played in the NFL, son Matt is a three-year starter…
  7. ^ Lamothe, Dan (February 4, 2015). "Army revokes Silver Star award for Green Beret officer, citing investigation". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 4, 2015. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
  8. ^ Lamothe, Dan (February 6, 2015). "CIA job interview leads to criminal investigation of Green Beret". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 8, 2015. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
  9. ^ a b Cooper, Helene; Tackett, Michael; Shah, Taimoor (2018-12-16). "Twist in Green Beret's Extraordinary Story: Trump's Intervention After Murder Charges". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2018-12-19. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
  10. ^ Information Paper, SAMR-MP, 29 Sep 2014
  11. ^ Dwight Mears, “Medals ‘Ridiculously Given’?: The Authority to Award, Revoke, and Reinstate Military Decorations in Three Case Studies Involving Executive Clemency,” Military Law Review 229 (2021): 404
  12. ^ Mathew Golsteyn, No. AR20200000309, Army Bd. for Corr. of Mil. Records, 7 (June 26, 2020).
  13. ^ Ibid.
  14. ^ Geoffrey S. Corn; Rachel E. VanLandingham (Dec 21, 2018). "Let military justice system decide if Major Matthew Golsteyn is a victim or murderer". USA TODAY. Archived from the original on December 21, 2018. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
  15. ^ Melissa Leon, Lucas Tomlinson (November 15, 2019). "Trump grants clemency to 2 Army officers accused of war crimes, restores rank to Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher". Fox News. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  16. ^ a b "Army general denies request by officer pardoned by Trump to have his Special Forces tab reinstated | The Spokesman-Review".
  17. ^ Mathew Golsteyn, No. AR20200000309, Army Bd. for Corr. of Mil. Records, 11 (June 26, 2020).
  18. ^ Ibid., 12.
  19. ^ Ibid., 12-13.
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