A Green Beret ordered discharged after he confronted a sexual predator in Afghanistan has appealed the Army's decision, as his supporters in Congress and beyond urge the military to reinstate him.
Sgt. 1st Class Charles Martland originally was ordered discharged by Nov. 1, but was given an extension after lawmakers pressured the Army to reconsider. According to Rep. Duncan Hunter's office, Martland formally submitted his appeal on Thursday.
The Army has until Jan. 1 to decide Martland's fate.
"The decision on Charles' future is now squarely in the hands of the Army," Hunter, R-Calif., who has advocated for Martland, said in a statement on Friday. "With such broad agreement that he should be retained, and the identified irregularities and deficiencies in his evaluation that prompted the Army to consider him for involuntary removal, the Army has everything it needs and more to make a favorable decision."
An Army spokesman said last month it is their desire to make sure every soldier "receives fairness and due process."
The case has received widespread attention since Fox News first reported on the circumstances of his discharge.
Martland had faced internal reprimand dating back to a September 2011 encounter, involving him and team leader Capt. Daniel Quinn, and local police commander Abdul Rahman in Kunduz Province.
According to accounts from both Martland and Quinn, an interpreter came to them saying a boy claimed he was "tied to a post in Rahman's house and was raped repeatedly" for days. The two confronted the commander, who apparently confessed but "laughed it off."
They roughed him up. According to Martland, Quinn "picked him up and threw him" while Martland body-slammed him. But according to them, the commander was never knocked out and ran away from the camp.
Because of their intervention, the Army had Quinn and Martland removed from the camp in Kunduz Province and eventually sent home from Afghanistan. Quinn has since left the Army, but Martland was discharged.
His fellow soldiers have come to his defense. And Martland, in a statement in September, said: "Kicking me out of the Army is morally wrong and the entire country knows it."
The U.S. Army Human Resources Command initially denied his appeal.
Martland's latest appeal is before the Army Board for Correction of Military Records.
Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson contributed to this report.
