“To say that you’ve got to be nice to the child rapist because otherwise the other child rapists might not like you is one of the stupidest things I’ve ever heard — totally insane and wrong,” Hunter said in one.

Martland had a “moral necessity to intervene” against a child rapist who was supported by U.S. trainers and tax dollars, and he did so in a way that was misrepresented by Army leadership, Hunter added.

“Charles is an elite warrior, and he’s exactly the type of person we need and want defending this country. He did the right thing when he confronted the Afghan commander for kidnapping and raping a young boy — and it wasn’t the first time he encountered this kind of situation,” Hunter told The San Diego Union-Tribune. “I have every reason to believe that Charles’ status will be restored, because there is no way that our Defense Department or the Army will put a child rapist and corrupt commander above one of the best soldiers serving today.”

Martland, now a senior instructor for Army Special Forces, wants to reclassify as a medic and continue his otherwise exemplary Army career. If his latest appeal is rejected, he will be booted out and owe the Army $3,000, he said.