"I've been the victim of a concerted effort by cowardly military officials who want to smear my name and reputation prior to publication of my tell-all book, which, in part, exposes defense contractor fraud and revolving door corrupt practices in the U.S. Navy." - Syneeda Penland
This former Naval Officer, Syneeda Penland, is the only woman in U.S. military history to be court-martialed and locked up for adultery. Military law experts say that a decision such as this is rare, even unprecedented, especially for something that’s not illegal in the civilian world. Any conviction at general court-martial is a felony, so as a result, she was being charged with felony adultery. A threat was made to spread nude photos of her, allegedly by the top naval officers, because she refused to "shut up" and "look the other way." The pictures are of a man and a woman and show no visible faces.
They thought they could destroy her reputation by putting Syneeda on trial at court martial then sending her to the notorious Miramar Brig, where the Navy's most aggressive female criminals are imprisoned. Penland was fined $9,000 and spent two months in the brig.
"Just to be denied my right to continue serving my country is depressing," she said.
Syneeda Penland was denied a retirement pension after serving more than 19 years on active duty. She survived her incarceration at Miramar Brig and is currently publishing a book guaranteed to "tell all" about her experiences and about the lesbian subculture in the Navy prison. She claims that her bosses bent rules to pay for building construction and upgrades and allowed civilian contractors to manage military personnel — according to her, all things that violated either federal laws or Defense Department regulations.
Her problems began on Feb. 26, 2007, when she received a letter of instruction from her commanding officer accusing her of missing deadlines and having personality clashes with co-workers. She then received a fitness report grade of 1.0 — after the same command gave her a 4.33 on her previous report. On March 26, Penland (who is single) was told that she was suspected of having a sexual relationship with a married lieutenant junior grade, and that she called the man’s wife (coincidentally, a Navy chief) at work to question her about it.
"How I came to be prosecuted is a travesty, it's an injustice," Penland explained.
"Not only am I wearing the scarlet letter," she said, "but they've ruined my life; not just my career but my life."
