Military board substantiates misconduct but declines to fire Marine who adopted Afghan orphan

Associated Press

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (AP) — A U.S. Marine whose adoption of an Afghan war orphan has spurred a yearslong legal battle and raised alarms at the highest levels of government will stay in the Marine Corps. A three-member panel of Marines found Tuesday that while Maj. Joshua Mast acted in a way unbecoming of an officer in his zealous quest to bring home the baby girl, it did not warrant his separation from the military. Mast insisted he was upholding Marine values by working to adopt the girl orphaned on the Afghan battlefield in 2019 — even though her extended relatives have been found and are fighting to raise her themselves.