Naval officer John Sharpe was denied a promotion and was eventually discharged from the service in 2009 for making public comments in 2004 and 2005 critical of the Commander-in-Chief and the Gulf War. We agreed to help Mr. Sharpe ask the Board for the Correction of Naval Records to set aside the reprimand since his critical comments merited First Amendment protection.
In February 2016, the Board for Correction of Naval Records found that these actions were unjustified and recommended to the Secretary of the Navy that Sharpe’s record be corrected to deem that he continued to serve without interruption. The Board did not reach the question whether Sharpe had a constitutional right to say what he said.
In April 2016, the Assistant Secretary for Manpower and Reserve Affairs approved the Board’s recommendation.
