Major Metzger's unexpainable disappearance

Major Metzger’s whereabouts became unaccounted for on September 5, 2006 while shopping in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. She was missing until she was found alive on September 8, 2006. Nine months after she went missing her disappearance remains unexplainable other than by her claim of capture, detainment, escape, and evasion. Nine months later we are being told she is being given an 18-month leave-of-absence when more accurately she is being put on the Temporary Disabled Retired List (TDRL) and quietly administratively separating her to avoid completing official inquiry into possibilities of her misconduct and the misconduct of others.

Major Jill Metzger was deployed to an active imminent danger pay location directly supporting on-going combat operations in Afghanistan. She went missing and her explanation is she was kidnapped which is the same as saying she was captured. Consequently the same dilemma exists for both Major Jill Metzger and the United States Air Force. Was this a crime against an individual or was it a hostile act of a group against the United States. Major Jill Metzger is at a loss to give an explanation why somebody needed to specifically capture and detain Major Jill Metzger and the United States Air Force and the United States State Department is unable to identify an active group hostile to the United States conducting kidnapping or attempting to kidnap members of the United States military in Kyrgyzstan. It’s even more embarrassing because the Kyrgyzstan government can’t find a single criminal organization involved in her kidnapping and in fact offered official opinion she went missing to have an abortion.

This is why she received no hero’s welcome on return to Moody AFB and more importantly why there is nothing being done as required had her involuntary absence resulted from a hostile action against the United States in a declared imminent danger pay location. This is also why most people suspect misconduct and why her going missing is still being investigated by the State Department and the United States Air Force.

USC Title 10, chapter 61 makes it clear a disability resulting from the member’s intentional misconduct or willful neglect, or incurred during a period of unauthorized absence are conditions causing ineligibility for permanent or temporary disability retirement entitlements. An inquiry into misconduct is required if misconduct is suspected. This is the first law being ignored by top leaders of the Air Force by putting her on the TDRL while inquiry into her unexplainable going missing status is ongoing.

Kyrgyzstan law enforcement official’s apparently suggested she went missing to have an abortion. If so, the act or deed of getting an abortion isn’t misconduct and more importantly § 919a. Article 119a.--Death or injury of an unborn child—specifically prohibits prosecution of any woman with respect to her unborn child and decision to have an abortion. Consequently, presuming the reason for the unauthorized absence from duty was to get an abortion, the conduct and behavior causing the pregnancy and the conduct and behavior of taking an unauthorized absence in the manner deliberately chosen to get the abortion, and the claim of kidnapping followed by subsequent escape and evasion is the misconduct. Acts of misconduct extend at the deployed location to include, if abortion was the cause for going missing, would extend to conduct and behavior of partner or partners as the father was probably not the spouse.

More relevant however is Title 10, USC, Missing Persons Act which prescribes obligations, responsibilities, duties, and inquires should a member or members of the armed forces on active duty who is in a missing status; or a civilian employee of the Department of Defense or an employee of a contractor of the Department of Defense who serves in direct support of, or accompanies, the armed forces in the field under orders and who is in a missing status. This is the second law being ignored by top leaders of the Air Force by putting her on the TDRL while inquiry into her mysterious missing status is ongoing and her intentional misconduct or willful neglect is suspected.

DOD Instruction 2310.5, Accounting for Missing Persons, 31 Jan 2000 distinctly and clearly defines “captured” as “A person who has been seized as the result of action of an unfriendly military or paramilitary force in a foreign country.” This instruction prescribes procedures throughout the Department of Defense for the determination of the status of covered persons and for the systematic, comprehensive, and timely collection, analysis, review, dissemination, and periodic update of information related to such persons. The actions required by this instruction would put closure on the accounting of her being or not being a missing person.

Once the missing person or persons is found, DOD Instruction 2310.4, Repatriation of Prisoners of War (POW), Hostages, Peacetime Government Detainees and Other Missing or Isolated Personnel, 21 Nov 2000 prescribes the requirement to ensure all returnee-debriefing information is correctly and expeditiously disseminated to the proper Agencies and more importantly to develop and disseminate studies and reports on lessons learned from returned personnel debriefings. The actions required by this instruction would put closure on the accounting of her being or not being a missing person unless it is otherwise determined the status was other than missing such as for example deserted, absent without leave, or dead. Clearly Major Jill Metzger is not dead, so was she missing or was she absent without leave, or something else?

The attempt to quietly administratively separate Major Jill Metzger from active duty by putting her on the TDRL certainly-so raises probability publicly disciplining this officer will besmirch the reputation of commissioned military appointments and the United States Air Force. More directly it gives appearance there is no equally subjected to the law if person holds certain commissioned military rank and concurrently has the right command connections.

10 USC Chapter 33 Section 532 Qualifications for original appointment as a commissioned officer puts in place the requirement the person appointed a military commission “be of good moral character”. To command military units requires a military commission. To impose punishment on a military member after being convicted of a military offense of the Uniformed Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) requires appointment to command. This is why moral competence of the commissioned military office is of such critical importance. Misconduct and malfeasance are similar relevant to the lacking of be of good moral character. They differ in that malfeasance requires cooperation of two or more persons. Consequently what is motivating the top Air Force leaders to quietly administratively separate Major Metzger on TDRL without any inquiry determining her missing status as being captured and that her missing status wasn’t resulting from intentional misconduct or willful neglect?

Putting Major Metzger on the TDRL for purposes of administrative separation convenience is a slap in the face of every combat wounded or killed inaction veteran and their family members. If placement on the TDRL is justified it should be given after all inquiry into her going missing is completed not before, especially with the wide spread suspicions the cause for going missing and medical disability is her willful neglect or intentional misconduct. Why isn’t there official disclosure her status was missing resulting from capture by unfriendly people to the United States and not from her intentional misconduct or willful neglect?