Former Army Lt. Col. Bernard West III, right, poses with his uncle, retired Army Lt. Col. Allen B. West, in this undated photo. (Instagram)

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. — Lewd jokes, unwanted touches and partial undressing were a methodical campaign of sexual harassment by a former battalion commander at this base shared by the Army and Air Force, prosecutors said Tuesday during the first day of Lt. Col. Bernard West III’s court-martial.

“Step by step, he pushed the boundaries,” Maj. Ryan Keeter, the lead prosecutor, said as he laid out a series of accusations that included West demanding a subordinate to do her physical training only with him, barged into the women’s room when female officers were covered only with towels, and twice partially disrobed in front of the women while on duty.

Yet Jason Wareham, a former military lawyer representing West, said the career officer, a Black man, is the target of “selective prosecution” because of his race and gender.

“I am convinced that the only reason my client faces general court-martial is because he is a Black man,” Wareham said outside the courtroom.

West, 43, was removed in October from command of the 1st Battalion, 94th Field Artillery Regiment, 17th Field Artillery Brigade at Lewis-McChord, which is about 40 miles south of Seattle. He had taken command the previous June.

The officer faces charges of sexual harassment, abusing his command authority by “cruel maltreatment” of a subordinate, conduct unbecoming an officer, and dereliction of duty. The charges stem from accusations from three female junior officers with I Corps, the main command at Lewis-McChord.

West has pleaded not guilty to the charges that carry combined penalties of more than 10 years in confinement. He spoke only briefly Tuesday in court when he requested a trial with only a judge, no jury.

Wareham had made an earlier motion to the judge — Lt. Col. Robert Murdough — asking the court-martial to be set aside because West was being targeted as a Black, male officer. He said he made the request after learning a white female officer and an Asian male officer had been accused in similar incidents and were allowed to receive non-judicial punishment.

Defense attorneys, which includes Army Capt. Caitlin Quvus, also cited a 2022 Government Accountability Office report showing racial bias in courts-martial.

“The impact of race in this case is undeniable,” Wareham said.

Murdough denied the motion and allowed the trial to proceed Tuesday.

The first witness was a female officer who testified that while serving as a key aide to West, she was subjected to unwanted touching of her hair and ear, questions about her personal dating life, lewd jokes and innuendos, and demands that led her to be alone with her boss more than she was comfortable.

“I was on high alert,” the female officer said.

She testified West once barged into the women’s restroom and showers at Lewis-McChord’s battalion building while she was wearing only a towel and sandals after a shower. Another undressed female officer was in a nearby stall. The female officer said West loudly banged the door against the wall and shouted in a “playfully stern” voice that she and another female officer should stop laughing so loudly.

“He’s a battalion commander and a lieutenant colonel — he should not be flinging open the door of the women’s bathroom,” the female officer said.

Prior to command of the artillery battalion, West served as the deputy commander of the 2nd Infantry Division’s 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team.

West comes from a military family that is politically prominent in the South. His father, Bernard West Jr., is a former Marine and Atlanta police officer who ran unsuccessfully for Congress from Georgia in 2018 and 2024.

An uncle, Allen B. West, was an Army colonel who served in Operation Desert Storm and the post-9/11 invasion of Iraq. He was relieved of command and accepted retirement at the reduced rank of lieutenant colonel after accusations he abused an Iraqi prisoner in 2003. West said at the time that he believed the man had information about terrorist plans to assassinate him and other military personnel.

After leaving the Army, Allen West became a conservative activist and author and was elected to Congress from Florida. After one term, he moved to Texas, where he was the state GOP chairman in 2020-21. He is now chairman of the Dallas County Republican Party in Texas.

The trial is scheduled to last until Friday.