AFA gets behind 'Save Sgt. Martland' push

A pro-family organization has joined a grassroots effort to allow a U.S. Special Forces soldier to remain in the armed forces.

"Sgt. First Class Charles Martland is a hero to probably 99 percent of Americans," observes American Family Association spokesman Ed Vitagliano.

Martland is being forced out of the U.S. Army after he and others physically assaulted an Afghan commander who had sexually assaulted a 12-year-old boy and attacked his mother when she complained.

OneNewsNow reported in September that Martland and others serving in Afghanistan have been ordered to ignore the sexual assaults on young boys by Afghan men in authority. The practice is known as "boy play."

A second Green Beret, Captain Dan Quinn, has already left the military over his role in the same incident involving the Afghan commander and Martland. 

Vitagliano says AFA is encouraging concerned Americans to add their name to a petition that will be sent to the Armed Services Committees, urging them to demand the Pentagon clear Sgt. Martland's record and allow him to return to his regular duties.  

After the next presidential election, Vitagliano says he's hopeful that both Democrats and Republicans will end this "persecution of heroes" in our armed forces.