Army refuses to allow pardoned ex-Green Beret have his SF tab back

A US Army general has denied an ex-Green Beret the right to wear his Special Forces tab, despite the man being pardoned in an open homicide case by the President of the United States.

Former SF Major Mathew Golsteyn was denied on December 3 by Lt. Gen. Francis Beaudette, the commander of U.S. Army Special Operations Command.

Beaudette’s decision is not final, and the Army will eventually have an administrative panel consider whether it should reinstate the Special Forces Tab and a Distinguished Service Cross for Golsteyn.

Golsteyn was awaiting trial this year after he allegedly murdered a suspected Taliban bomb maker in Marja, Afghanistan in 2010.

The so-called crime had gone undetected until 2011, when he admitted the matter to the CIA during a pre-employment polygraph.

In response, Army officials revoked the tab and valor award in 2014 while issuing the reprimand and charged Golsteyn with murder in 2018.

According to the Stars and Stripes, President Trump made an iconic move in November to pardon Golsteyn along with former 1st Lt. Clint Lorance, an Army officer who had been convicted of murder in Afghanistan.

Golsteyn was somewhat let down that he won’t be getting his tab back right away, but knows there is also a process beyond the general’s decision.

The so-called crime had gone undetected until 2011, when he admitted the matter to the CIA during a pre-employment polygraph.

In response, Army officials revoked the tab and valor award in 2014 while issuing the reprimand and charged Golsteyn with murder in 2018.

According to the Stars and Stripes, President Trump made an iconic move in November to pardon Golsteyn along with former 1st Lt. Clint Lorance, an Army officer who had been convicted of murder in Afghanistan.

Golsteyn was somewhat let down that he won’t be getting his tab back right away, but knows there is also a process beyond the general’s decision.

“I’m disappointed, but I’m not surprised,” Golsteyn said. “I was really hoping they would do the right thing.”

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