Chief pleads to reduced charges in faking case - Navy News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

Chief pleads to reduced charges in faking case

NORFOLK, Va. — A veteran sailor accused of publicly embellishing his service record on the eve of his scheduled 2009 retirement pleaded guilty at a Feb. 3 summary court-martial to making a false official statement and two counts of wrongfully wearing official appurtenances.

A much longer list of related charges, however, was either disproved or dropped.

In exchange for his guilty plea, the sailor, Chief Logistics Specialist (AW/SW) Aubrey Barbour Jr., of Strike Fighter Squadron 106 out of Oceana Naval Air Station, was given a punitive letter of reprimand and a $2,200 forfeiture of pay — a half-month’s worth — by the squadron commander, Cmdr. Scott Knapp.

Barbour, owner of a solid service record, had originally faced a litany of charges: nine counts of making false statements about his qualifications; six counts of wearing decorations without authority to do so; and one count of altering his service record. While some of the charges were prompted by a copy of the retirement program he’d had printed, others dated back to September 2005.

But there was a “disconnect” between the charges and Barbour’s official record, and he was actually entitled to wear “a great majority” of decorations he was charged with wearing unlawfully, according to Grover Baxley, his attorney.

Specifically, Baxley said he produced for the Navy documentation proving that Barbour had indeed earned a sixth and seventh Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, the Combat Action Ribbon, the Seabee Combat Warfare qualification, the Navy Expert Pistol Shot and Navy Expert Rifleman medals, and the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal — decorations he was accused of falsely wearing.

“From the beginning, the charges in this case were largely the result of an incomplete service record,” Baxley said. “As anyone who has served in the military knows, service records are hardly infallible, and quite often are missing awards, decorations, or qualifications. Simply because an award or decoration is not included in one’s service record is not de facto proof that the person is not entitled to wear it. That was the case here.”

Barbour admitted to improperly depicting himself wearing the Fleet Marine Force insignia and the Navy and Marine Corp Parachutist Insignia in his retirement program, and wearing the parachutist insignia one time, in February 2007, Baxley said. In return for those pleas, the Navy withdrew and dismissed the remaining charges and referred the case, originally slated for a special court-martial, to a lower-grade summary court-martial.

Barbour continues serving as a chief petty officer, Baxley said.

Barbour could not be reached for comment.