TORONTO - A Canadian Forces soldier who cocked a loaded rifle and threatened to shoot a buddy in a drunken rage while on duty in Afghanistan has lost a bid to have the charges thrown out.
Master Cpl. T.J. Mills was handed a 30-day suspended sentence in Sept. 2008 at a military court martial at CFB Cold Lake, Alta. Mills was found guilty of assault with a weapon during a drunken Christmas Day 2005 incident in Kandahar. He wasn't charged with the offence until Jan. 2007.
Mills tried to have the conviction quashed by the Federal Court of Appeal, claiming it had taken the military more than two years to lay charges. But, his appeal was thrown out by the court on Nov. 27 this year.
The court said the delay -- caused by missing paperwork -- didn't prejudice the outcome of the case.
"The appellant (Mills) was never incarcerated and he sustained neither loss of liberty nor threat to the security of his person," the court said in a decision signed by three judges. "He continued to serve and progress in his career."
Court heard Mills was promoted to Master Corporal after the incident. He is still in the military and can be kicked out due to the conviction.
The two-day hearing was told Mills was drinking when he and a colleague "were engaged in horseplay" that escalated into a fight.
He "stood three-to-five feet from the other soldier and cocked the weapon," Military Judge Lieut.-Col. J. G. Perron said. "Fearing for his life, the soldier grabbed the appellant by the throat, kneed him in the ribs and cleared the weapon."
Perron blasted Mills' "lack of self-discipline" for abusing alcohol while noting the battlefield can be a stressful place.
"This is unacceptable behaviour on the part of a soldier," he ruled. "You used your weapon in a threatening manner after a brief fight with that soldier."
Perron said fellow soldiers are concerned about deploying overseas with Mills and the incident has had an impact on his unit.
"Your actions have also affected the psychological well-being of the victim," he said. "You used the weapon issued to you to threaten a fellow soldier while intoxicated."
