The Indiana National Guard's 1990 non-commissioned officer of the year began serving a four-day jail sentence Tuesday for refusing to follow orders to remove a cap that protected burned skin from severe cold.
Spec. 4 Joseph N. Showalter began his military sentence at the Madison County Jail in Anderson, while his wife, Cynthia, and an attorney continued to work to get clemency for the 13-year military veteran."This is so unfair," Cynthia Showalter said tearfully. "He is not a criminal."
Until January, Joseph Showalter, 30, of Indianapolis, had an unblemished record in the National Guard and the Army since his enlistment at age 17. He was cited for hard work and professionalism after winning the Indiana NCO of the Year in 1990.
Showalter's problems began Jan. 23, when he reported for overnight training at Camp Atterbury in southern Indiana. The temperature was around zero, and Showalter, who trains soldiers to install military telephone networks in the field, wore a soft cap with ear flaps under his regulation helmet.
Showalter's doctors had warned him to wear protective clothing outdoors to guard his face and ears, which were burned the previous spring while he was burning a tree stump at his home.
An officer ordered him to remove the cap, and at first Showalter complied. He then asked the officer if there was a regulation barring the wearing of a cap and helmet together.
"And he said, `I don't know.' I said, `OK then, sir, I need to wear this. This is the way I'm going to go to the field.' And I put it back on.
"The next thing I know, I'm up on a court-martial," he said.
His attorney, Andrea Reed, said she recommended Showalter plead guilty to a charge of disobeying an order because "we fully expected his punishment would be something in the area of a reprimand."
Instead, he was busted three pay grades to private first class, losing $600 a month salary, and ordered to jail for 15 days.
The battalion commander later reduced the sentence to four days and boosted his rank one step to specialist.
The Guard said the insubordination had been preceded by two other instances in which Showalter was cautioned about proper military headgear.
"He was a staff sergeant. He's one of the leaders of the Guard," said Capt. Joe Drury, a Guard spokesman. "We expect him to set an example."