{"id":74400,"date":"2024-10-09T20:04:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-09T20:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2024\/10\/09\/marine-who-adopted-afghan-orphan-will-stay-in-service\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T16:33:04","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T16:33:04","slug":"marine-who-adopted-afghan-orphan-will-stay-in-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2024\/10\/09\/marine-who-adopted-afghan-orphan-will-stay-in-service\/","title":{"rendered":"Marine who adopted Afghan orphan will stay in service"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. \u2014 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 remain on active duty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A three-member panel of Marines found Tuesday that while Maj. Joshua Mast acted in a way unbecoming of an officer in <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/afghan-baby-us-marine-custody-battle-b157557538b84b288a0a8415735e24ab\">his quest<\/a> to bring home the baby girl, it did not warrant his separation from the military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lawyers for the Marine Corps argued Mast abused his position, disregarded orders of his superiors, mishandled classified information and improperly used a government computer in his fight over the child who was found <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/afghanistan-raid-marine-orphan-custody-1e73bba608994a53fca37b904dfd9a81\">orphaned on the battlefield in rural Afghanistan in 2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mast and his wife, Stephanie, then lived in rural Fluvanna County, Virginia. They persuaded a judge there to grant them an adoption of the child, even though she remained in Afghanistan as the government there tracked down her extended family and reunited her with them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mast helped the family flee Afghanistan after the Taliban took over in 2021. Once in the U.S., Mast used the adoption papers to get the federal government to take the child from <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/afghanistan-politics-united-states-government-virginia-children-97a4e2f4c38925d50e5511a3232974f0\">her Afghan relatives<\/a> and give her to him. She has remained with his family ever since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A five-day board of inquiry hearing held partially behind closed doors at the Marine Forces Special Operations Command at Camp Lejeune was administrative, not criminal, and intended to determine whether Mast was fit to remain in the military. <\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2024\/07\/17\/appeals-court-voids-marines-adoption-of-afghan-war-orphan\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Afghan_Baby_Adoption_Voided_19510.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Appeals court voids Marine\u2019s adoption of Afghan war orphan<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The appeals court decision dealt a blow in Maj. Joshua Mast\u2019s yearslong legal quest to keep the child, who was orphaned on the battlefield in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mast, 41, who now lives in Hampstead, North Carolina, denied the allegations against him, insisting he never disobeyed orders but was encouraged by his supervisors, and was simply upholding the code of the Marine Corps by working tirelessly to ensure the girl was safe. At the front of the room, he set up poster-sized photos of the child as a baby at Afghanistan\u2019s Bagram Airfield and as a smiling toddler in North Carolina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But because the board substantiated misconduct, a report will be entered into Mast\u2019s file, which could affect promotions and assignments, the Marines said Tuesday. The board\u2019s report will be sent up the ladder to Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro, who will close the case against Mast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/afghanistan-baby-marine-adoption-joshua-mast-295673fb358cf30abd243995cd846c99\">The child\u2019s fate, however, remains in limbo<\/a>. The Afghan couple who raised the child for 18 months in Afghanistan is seeking to have Mast\u2019s adoption of her undone. The U.S. <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/afghan-war-orphan-marine-baby-abduct-adoption-8a0411f16067d73ad0d86b706f5ae46d\">Department of Justice has intervened<\/a> and contended that Mast lied to the Virginia court and federal officials to justify taking the girl, and his actions threaten America\u2019s standing around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The State Department issued a statement Tuesday that said its decision to work with the Afghan government and International Committee of the Red Cross to reunite the child with her Afghan relatives \u201cwas consistent with international law and U.S. policy to take appropriate steps to facilitate the reunion of families separated during armed conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The statement reiterated that it has insisted the Virginia courts return the child to the Afghan family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Virginia Court of Appeals <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/afghan-baby-adoption-marine-joshua-mast-2496683d5dbab37aa091e42edc24ad16\">ruled earlier this year<\/a> that the adoption should have never been granted but the case is stalled at the Virginia Supreme Court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lawyers for the Afghan couple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Much of the government\u2019s case in the hearing was held in secret because lawyers were presenting classified information. Mast chose to make an unsworn statement in a closed session, which meant he was not subject to cross-examination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But his wife, Stephanie, testified publicly, offering rare insight into the couple\u2019s motivation for working so vigorously to bring the child into their home. The Masts have long declined to talk to The Associated Press about their actions and the Virginia court file remains sealed. The Masts, as well as the Afghan couple, are now barred from speaking to the media about the state court case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stephanie Mast wept as she described her husband\u2019s decision to work to bring the girl back to the United States as exemplary of his commitment to Marine Corps values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt was very much an American response,\u201d she said. \u201cWe value human life. As Marines, you serve and protect.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The deciding panel of two lieutenant colonels and a colonel was allowed to ask questions, and one asked Stephanie Mast why she and her husband continued to try to adopt the girl even after she had been reunited with relatives in Afghanistan. They noted that multiple high-ranking officials, including then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and a federal judge, told them to stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When she responded that getting the child to the United States was their highest priority, the board asked whether the assumption that a child would be better off in the U.S. rather than Afghanistan was a product of Western bias.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey have a survival mentality,\u201d she said of Afghans. \u201cWe believe in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And we wanted her to have that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Maj. Joshua Mast acted in a way unbecoming an officer to bring home the baby girl, but it did not warrant his separation from the military, a panel ruled.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":110475,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":69,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[12,69],"tags":[],"coauthors":[7198],"class_list":["post-74400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-your-marine-corps"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"J53USMRRLBXU6NDHKNUGMNLRKZ","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-military\/2024\/10\/09\/marine-who-adopted-afghan-orphan-will-stay-in-service\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Marine who adopted Afghan orphan will stay in service - Marine Corps Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Maj. Joshua Mast acted in a way unbecoming an officer to bring home the baby girl, but it did not warrant his separation from the military, a panel ruled.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2024\/10\/09\/marine-who-adopted-afghan-orphan-will-stay-in-service\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Marine who adopted Afghan orphan will stay in service\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Maj. Joshua Mast acted in a way unbecoming an officer to bring home the baby girl, but it did not warrant his separation from the military, a panel ruled.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2024\/10\/09\/marine-who-adopted-afghan-orphan-will-stay-in-service\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Marine Corps Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-10-09T20:04:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T16:33:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Juliet Linderman, Claire Galofaro and Martha Mendoza, The Associated Press\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Juliet Linderman, Claire Galofaro and Martha Mendoza, The Associated Press\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/09\\\/marine-who-adopted-afghan-orphan-will-stay-in-service\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/09\\\/marine-who-adopted-afghan-orphan-will-stay-in-service\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Marine who adopted Afghan orphan will stay in service\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2024-10-09T20:04:00+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T16:33:04+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/09\\\/marine-who-adopted-afghan-orphan-will-stay-in-service\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 835,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/09\\\/marine-who-adopted-afghan-orphan-will-stay-in-service\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Afghan_Baby-Adoption-Marine_84656.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"News\",\n\t                \"Your Marine Corps\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/09\\\/marine-who-adopted-afghan-orphan-will-stay-in-service\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/09\\\/marine-who-adopted-afghan-orphan-will-stay-in-service\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/09\\\/marine-who-adopted-afghan-orphan-will-stay-in-service\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Marine who adopted Afghan orphan will stay in service - Marine Corps Times\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/09\\\/marine-who-adopted-afghan-orphan-will-stay-in-service\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/09\\\/marine-who-adopted-afghan-orphan-will-stay-in-service\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Afghan_Baby-Adoption-Marine_84656.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2024-10-09T20:04:00+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T16:33:04+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Maj. Joshua Mast acted in a way unbecoming an officer to bring home the baby girl, but it did not warrant his separation from the military, a panel ruled.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/09\\\/marine-who-adopted-afghan-orphan-will-stay-in-service\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/09\\\/marine-who-adopted-afghan-orphan-will-stay-in-service\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/09\\\/marine-who-adopted-afghan-orphan-will-stay-in-service\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Afghan_Baby-Adoption-Marine_84656.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Afghan_Baby-Adoption-Marine_84656.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/09\\\/marine-who-adopted-afghan-orphan-will-stay-in-service\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Your Marine Corps\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"your-marine-corps\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Marine who adopted Afghan orphan will stay in service\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Marine Corps Times\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Marine Corps - Independent News For Marines | Marine Corps Times\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Marine Corps Times\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/marine-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/marine-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Marine Corps Times\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Marine who adopted Afghan orphan will stay in service - Marine Corps Times","description":"Maj. Joshua Mast acted in a way unbecoming an officer to bring home the baby girl, but it did not warrant his separation from the military, a panel ruled.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2024\/10\/09\/marine-who-adopted-afghan-orphan-will-stay-in-service\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Marine who adopted Afghan orphan will stay in service","og_description":"Maj. Joshua Mast acted in a way unbecoming an officer to bring home the baby girl, but it did not warrant his separation from the military, a panel ruled.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2024\/10\/09\/marine-who-adopted-afghan-orphan-will-stay-in-service\/","og_site_name":"Marine Corps Times","article_published_time":"2024-10-09T20:04:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T16:33:04+00:00","author":"Juliet Linderman, Claire Galofaro and Martha Mendoza, The Associated Press","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Juliet Linderman, Claire Galofaro and Martha Mendoza, The Associated Press","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2024\/10\/09\/marine-who-adopted-afghan-orphan-will-stay-in-service\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2024\/10\/09\/marine-who-adopted-afghan-orphan-will-stay-in-service\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Marine who adopted Afghan orphan will stay in service","datePublished":"2024-10-09T20:04:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T16:33:04+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2024\/10\/09\/marine-who-adopted-afghan-orphan-will-stay-in-service\/"},"wordCount":835,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2024\/10\/09\/marine-who-adopted-afghan-orphan-will-stay-in-service\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Afghan_Baby-Adoption-Marine_84656.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["News","Your Marine Corps"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2024\/10\/09\/marine-who-adopted-afghan-orphan-will-stay-in-service\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2024\/10\/09\/marine-who-adopted-afghan-orphan-will-stay-in-service\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2024\/10\/09\/marine-who-adopted-afghan-orphan-will-stay-in-service\/","name":"Marine who adopted Afghan orphan will stay in service - Marine Corps Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2024\/10\/09\/marine-who-adopted-afghan-orphan-will-stay-in-service\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2024\/10\/09\/marine-who-adopted-afghan-orphan-will-stay-in-service\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Afghan_Baby-Adoption-Marine_84656.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2024-10-09T20:04:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T16:33:04+00:00","description":"Maj. Joshua Mast acted in a way unbecoming an officer to bring home the baby girl, but it did not warrant his separation from the military, a panel ruled.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2024\/10\/09\/marine-who-adopted-afghan-orphan-will-stay-in-service\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2024\/10\/09\/marine-who-adopted-afghan-orphan-will-stay-in-service\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2024\/10\/09\/marine-who-adopted-afghan-orphan-will-stay-in-service\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Afghan_Baby-Adoption-Marine_84656.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Afghan_Baby-Adoption-Marine_84656.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2024\/10\/09\/marine-who-adopted-afghan-orphan-will-stay-in-service\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Your Marine Corps","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/","ad_zone":"your-marine-corps"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Marine who adopted Afghan orphan will stay in service"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/","name":"Marine Corps Times","description":"Marine Corps - Independent News For Marines | Marine Corps Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#organization","name":"Marine Corps Times","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/marine-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/marine-logo-white.png","caption":"Marine Corps Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Afghan_Baby-Adoption-Marine_84656.jpg.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Marine Corps Times","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74400"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74400\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74406,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74400\/revisions\/74406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74400"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=74400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}