By National Whistleblowers Center – November 10, 2024
As professionals who have operated in high-pressure situations, veterans possess a distinct perspective on assessing volatile environments. Some follow commands without question; in some situations, orders conflict with their policies or even their own morals.
Thankfully, and especially when the latter situation arises, veterans have blown the whistle when they experienced or witnessed acts of fraud, abuse or waste.
In honor of Veteran’s Day, National Whistleblower Center (NWC) spotlights the legal protections for military whistleblowers and honors specific allies who served in the armed services and demonstrated bravery in the legal arena.
Veterans and the Origin of National Whistleblower Day
The origins of whistleblower law in the United States date back to the 1770s and the American Revolution.
Esek Hopkins was a Rhode Island slave runner who became the commander in chief of the first United States Navy under then-General George Washington. Seamen under Hopkins’ command reported his wrongdoing and abuses committed in the Continental Navy against captured British soldiers.
Hopkins subsequently retaliated against these whistleblowers by arresting them. Ultimately, Hopkins commission was terminated by Congress on Jan. 2, 1778, and the passage of the world’s first whistleblower law followed six months later on July 30, 1778 — which is why the date is designated as National Whistleblower Day.
The recognition of National Whistleblower Day 2024 remains a cornerstone of NWC’s Seven Major Campaigns! NWC still fights for an Executive Order to establish a permanent National Whistleblower Day. Learn more here.
Military Whistleblowers Are Protected
an effort to encourage and support the growing culture of transparency and accountability, Congress passed the Military Whistleblowers Protection Act of 1988 (MWPA). This legislation made it illegal for the armed forces to retaliate against military personnel for communicating with members of Congress or an Inspector General.
Developments in whistleblower protections led to the Military Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2013, allowing whistleblowers claims to be made within one year instead of an abnormally small 60-day period. Most notably, protected communications were expanded to include issues concerning any violation of law, specifically including those prohibiting rape, sexual assault, and other sexual misconduct under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).
Commander Kimberly Young-McLear, Ph.D
Commander Kimberly Young-McLear, Ph.D. reported systemic abuses of power at the highest levels of the Coast Guard in 2014. As a result of her courage, integrity, and advocacy, the Coast Guard has since implemented more than 30 policy improvements to reduce and remove discriminatory prohibitions, such as those on dreadlocks and natural hair styles for Black women on active duty. Her courage also resulted in new protections for LGBTQ+ members of the Coast Guard.
Commander Young-McLear served for 19 years. She remains undeterred in the fight for truth and equity. She founded The Right The Ship Coalition, which is dedicated to the pursuit of justice for all individuals wronged by the culture of cruelty and cover-up within the U.S. Coast Guard.
NWC has publicly supported Commander Young-McLear’s courageousness and in conjunction with several advocacy groups and allies, sent a letter to President Biden in January 2024 calling for him to recognize her courageous work.
Jacqueline Garrick, Whistleblowers’ Leading Mental Health Advocate
Before becoming one of the of the most visible and vocal proponents for mental wellness in the whistleblower landscape, Jacqueline Garrick served as a captain in the U.S. Army, and established a career in public service and the Department of Defense (DoD). She was appointed by the Obama Administration to the DoD to work in the office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (P&R), where she organized the Defense Suicide Prevention Office in 2011.
A series of whistleblower and retaliation claims in the mid-2010s halted her career in government and nearly eradicated her disability retirement benefits. But her faith in the system coupled with persistence via proper use of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) ultimately helped her reach the light at the end of the tunnel. In 2020, with the additional FOIA information, a judge overturned a prior denial by the Office of Personal Management and Garrick was awarded disability retirement going back to 2017.
Garrick went above and beyond to bring her military and social work expertise to the whistleblower community. She incorporated Whistleblowers of America (WoA) in 2017, after identifying a need for peer support. The non-profit organization provides education, mentorship and training to help people understand whistleblower retaliation and how to prevent hostile work environments. WoA also engages the media in public advocacy campaigns on behalf of whistleblowers and watchdogs.
Garrick is also working on a new project, with a goal of measuring whistleblower trauma and how it affects the quality of a whistleblower’s life. If the trauma can be measured, she said, potentially there are legal grounds for collecting damages for trauma like PTSD in whistleblower cases.
“There has been some progress in understanding the need for increased access to mental health and support, but it is still too inconsistent and there are not enough trained clinicians in this space,” Garrick told NWC in May 2024. “Better communication is needed in sharing a trauma-informed perspective that considers whistleblowers as trauma survivors and treats their experience with proper care and attention.”
Daniel Ellsberg and The Pentagon Papers
Daniel Ellsberg was a former United States military analyst who blew the whistle on U.S. Government misconduct in the Vietnam War by leaking the “Pentagon Papers.”
In compiling “The Pentagon Papers,” Ellsberg determined in 1968 that the U.S. government was aware it could not win the Vietnam War, but proceeded to engage and cost the lives of thousands of U.S. soldiers.
\While employed by the RAND, a non-partisan American nonprofit global policy think tank that is still active, Ellsberg and a colleague, Anthony Russo, secretly photocopied the 7,000-page study. They attempted to persuade U.S. senators to release the papers on the Senate floor, but ultimately Ellsberg decided to risk prison and leak the documents to The New York Times and The Washington Post in 1971.
Ellsberg’s courage shook America to its foundations, as the papers demonstrated how five presidential administrations misled the American people about the Vietnam War, which was at the core of chaos in the country and the world at the time.
After the facts about the Vietnam War were exposed, President Richard Nixon declared Ellsberg a traitor. He was charged under the Espionage Act of 1917, and charges of theft and conspiracy, carrying a total maximum sentence of 115 years in prison.
Ellsberg was charged under the Espionage Act of 1917, and facing 115 years in prison, surrendered on June 28, 1971. After the Supreme Court upheld newspaper rights under the First Amendment, the Nixon administration charged Ellsberg and Russo. In 1973, a mistrial was declared due to government misconduct and illegal evidence gathering, including a break-in at Ellsberg’s psychiatrist’s office orchestrated by Nixon.
Ellsberg’s relentless telling of truth to power, which exposed the secret deeds of an “Imperial Presidency,” inspired Americans of all walks of life to forever question the previously unchallenged pronouncements of its leaders. Many have credited Ellsberg’s disclosures as a key influence in ending the Vietnam War.
Ellsberg also authored his memoirs, including 2018’s The Doomsday Machine. Whistleblower Network News covered Ellsberg’s appearance at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in 2018. He passed away June 16, 2023 at age 92, following a bout with pancreatic cancer.
This article was written by Justin Smulison, a professional writer, podcaster, and event host based in New York.
