Opinion ID: 63723
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Williams’s job history

Text: Williams enlisted in the Naval Reserve during his senior year in high school. He reported for active duty in July 1994. Several witnesses testified that Williams was slower in academics than other soldiers. Williams also was reluctant to do menial chores or meet the Navy’s standards for neatness. On an assignment as helmsman of a ship, Williams caused the ship to “roll” by turning the wheel too quickly. Williams’s supervisor testified that he lacked “military bearing” and was frequently late. His supervisor ranked Williams “‘towards the bottom’ in terms of understanding and carrying out his other responsibilities among the hundreds of seamen” he had supervised. Others testified that Williams was capable of hard work, but that he had a bad attitude toward authority. 12 No. 07-70006 Williams’s Navy disciplinary record recounts episodes of insubordination, failure to maintain a neat bunk area, and excessive alcohol consumption. He was counseled and punished for such behavior on numerous occasions. In March 1996, a disciplinary board recommended that Williams be separated from military service. Williams received a general discharge from the Navy in October 1996. After leaving the Navy, Williams worked briefly as a deck hand on a casino boat. Williams also worked as a stocker at a grocery store and a delivery truck driver for an auto parts store.