General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: To the Manning defenders... [View all]NavyDem
(570 posts)Is to establish a pattern of misconduct. It's fairly common in this day and age (in the Navy at least) to document misconduct (even smaller offenses) that lead up to a charge that can be persued.
For example: a person can be late to work which is technically failure to be at their appointed place of duty. Once in a great while, this will be overlooked. But when they make a habit of it, it starts to get documented through verbal, and then written counseling, followed by being brought up on charges.
In Manning's case, his pattern of conduct may be used to establish that he was carrying a vendetta due to being bullied, or not able to adjust to military life, etc. Granted, I don't know who that works out better for, the prosecution or the defense.