FORT STEWART, Ga. – A military intelligence officer pleaded guilty to strangling his girlfriend and inflicting substantial bodily injury during his court-martial April 22 at the Fort Stewart courtroom.
1st Lt. Benjamin S. Wasco, 26, assigned to Headquarters and Support Company, Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division Artillery, 3rd Infantry Division, was sentenced by the military judge to 16 months in prison and dismissed from military service.
Wasco, who lived with his now ex-girlfriend in an apartment in Savannah Ga., became intoxicated on the evening of May 4, 2025. In what started as an argument became violent when he repeatedly pushed, kicked and hit the victim. The violence culminated when he strangled her, causing her to beg for her life.
At one point she was able to escape his assault and locked herself in the bathroom. She called 911 and officers with the Savannah Police Department arrived at the scene. They found the victim battered and bruised, with injuries to her eyes, mouth, neck, midsection, legs and buttocks.
Wasco was arrested and the victim was transported to a local emergency room and treated for her injuries.
The next day she went to the police station and filed an official report. She was interviewed by officers and her injuries were photographed.
“1st Lt. Wasco was in a drunken rage when he severely beat and strangled his ex-girlfriend. The Army will not stand for officers engaging in domestic violence,” said Maj. Matthew Fields, prosecutor, Second Circuit, Army Office of Special Trial Counsel. “Serious consequences are deserved when a victim is forced to beg for their life or spend weeks covering up bruises.”
“This case is an excellent example of the Fort Stewart OSTC team’s tremendous work to hold an Army officer responsible for domestic violence. Every time an offender takes responsibility for harming someone close to them, we hope to deter that offender from committing future violence and to ensure the victim feels that the military justice process has contributed in some way to rehabilitative closure,” said Lt. Col. Kristen Fricchione, chief Second Circuit, Army OSTC. “The team certainly achieved a fantastic result in this case.”
Wasco is currently confined at the Liberty County Jail in Hinesville, Ga., and is awaiting orders to be transferred to a military corrections facility.
This case was investigated by the Savannah Police Department and prosecuted by Fields and Capt. Bob Schaaf, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, 3rd Infantry Division.
The Army Office of Special Trial Counsel is comprised of specially trained military lawyers, legal professionals and support staff responsible for the expert and independent prosecution of murder, sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, kidnapping and other serious criminal offenses. Headquartered at Fort Belvoir, Va., OSTC has eight regional headquarters that oversee 28 field offices located across the country to include Europe and Korea. For more information visit [https://www.army.mil/ostc](https://www.army.mil/ostc).
If you would like to report a crime, have information about a crime, or have been the subject or survivor of a crime, you can submit anonymous tips to Army CID at [www.p3tips.com/armycid](http://www.p3tips.com/armycid).
| Date Taken: |
04.27.2026 |
| Date Posted: |
04.27.2026 16:06 |
| Story ID: |
563701 |
| Location: |
FORT STEWART, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: |
50 |
| Downloads: |
0 |
PUBLIC DOMAIN
This work, Fort Stewart Army officer pleads guilty to domestic abuse, sentenced to prison, by Michelle McCaskill, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
