Fort Lee Drill Sergeant Fired After Arrest in Underage Prostitution Sting Operation

A drill sergeant at Fort Lee, Virginia, has been fired from his position after being arrested in March on felony charges of soliciting prostitution with a minor as part of a police sting operation.

Staff Sgt. Cody Osmun was assigned to Alpha Company, 832nd Ordnance Battalion, and was tasked with training new soldiers coming into the Army. In addition to his drill sergeant duties, he is a Bradley Fighting Vehicle system maintainer. 

Osmun, who was assigned to Fort Lee in 2020, was fired after his arrest on March 31, according to a spokesperson for the installation. He was charged but has not been convicted of any crime. The arrest came as part of a weeks-long operation by local authorities in Chesterfield Country, Virginia, just south of the capital Richmond.

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He was one of 16 people caught by law enforcement in a series of sting operations over the last month, according to reporting from WHSV 3. The suspects converged at a location where they thought they were meeting with a minor for paid sex, but it was a trap set by authorities.  

Osmun has numerous criminal infractions, mostly traffic violations, stretching back a decade, according to court records. 

However, in May 2021, he was arrested and found to have been driving with a blood alcohol level of twice the legal limit. His license was suspended for a year, and he was sentenced to six months of unsupervised probation, according to court documents. 

-- Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon.

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