Navy Reservist With 11 Kids Headed to Iraq

[u2spirit]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=4&u=/ap/20050212/ap_on_re_us/navy_father_of11


Johnnie Chennault has no regrets about joining the Navy Reserve, even though it means he's going to Iraq later this month. But he does worry about not being around to help take care of his house full of 11 kids.



"Leaving my children, leaving my wife for so long — you're going to miss all the little things as the kids grow up," he said.


snip


"Yeah, I have more kids than most people, but I don't think my kids are any more important to me than somebody who has two kids. His kids are important to him, too. I just have more to miss."


snip

Chennault's wife is supportive.


"We go to a really good church, and they talk in there a lot about the husband's and the wife's role, what the Bible says is the husband's and wife's role," she explains. "And my role is to support my husband. My mother told me when I got married, 'Your life is about him, and you need to be there for him.'"

snip

[efhmc]

1. Sickening beyond belief on so, so many levels.

[mike_c]

2. yeah, MULTIPLE levels....

eom

[idiosyncratic]

3. After reading that last paragraph, excuse me while I go puke

:puke:

[MADem]

4. I see that he is a SEABEE

Poor bastard. He could be doing anything from leveling areas for prefab base construction, to runway repair, to pipeline repair, to infrastructure work, which could get very hairy...

USN assets being deployed to Iraq now are mostly corpsmen, dental techs, seabees, chaplains and intel types. It's only a matter of time, though, before they start getting creative. If I were a master at arms, I'd be a little nervous.

[cornermouse]

5. They are politically correct.

Military - check
Church - check
Submissive wife role - check

That's why they're considered news worthy.

[O.M.B.inOhio]

6. so illiberal ideas are OK here, not abroad.

Maybe he'll learn about birth control over there.

The rotating reasons for the war seem to have eventually settled on something about freedom, right? Then what are we to make of the wife's statement, "Your life is about him, and you need to be there for him."
Jeez.

[VegasWolf]

12. Nah, their RELIGION probably forbids birth control. n/t

[O.M.B.inOhio]

40. and if their religion required women's faces covered, Repugs would

use that to imply that they'll be freer after we've killed a hundred thousand of them and plunged ourselves into crippling debt. You could almost hear Cheney or some other thug quoting that soldier's wife if she were in a country they wanted to invade: "See how a woman's identity is sublimated; she exists for him." and how we gave up coverture and we respect autonomous human beings and how if you're against this war you're really for oppression of women. Yup, I could see that... except to the reference to coverture... and the use of a semicolon.

[flygal]

58. Excellent Point!

Why didn't I think of that when I hear repugs go off on abortion and in the same breath mention the "freedoms" we've brought to so many oppressed women.

My new line "honey, if you keep touting the pro-life line, you'll be there soon enough"

[uppityperson]

7. I am almost at a loss for words here.

11 kids? Biblically supportive wife whose role is to be pregnant all the time? I hate for anyone to have to be involved with this idiodic invasion, but, well, good luck. At least she'll have a break for a while though she says ""I have trouble sleeping when he's not here. That's one of the hardest things," she said. "

Hey, 2 of his step-kids are almost old enough to be drafted. She had her first baby at age 18 and the last at age 35.

[koopie57]

36. She has trouble sleeping when he is not there?

Good grief, it sounds like she doesn't get much sleep when he is there. 11 kids and all must have cut in on some sleep?

[deadparrot]

8. That's just sad.

Like other people have said, sick on so many levels.

And the quote from the wife's mother: Yes, when a couple gets married, a wife's life is about her husband's. But isn't a husband's life about his wife's?

Blah.

[SammyWinstonJack]

9. Nice priorities this guy has. n/t

[Redstone]

10. Eleven kids?

He's probably looking forward to the relative peace and quiet of Baghdad.

Redstone

[Solly Mack]

11. "Your life is about him" (retch,gurgle...choke...hurling)

Ya know, maybe, just maybe, if that lady had a better sense of self and her own worth, there'd be a few less kids...and a heck of lot more opportunities for her.

I don't care how many kids they have really....but I sure wish her words indicated a choice made with a solid sense of her own self worth and not because she was raised to believe her life belonged to a man....because her momma and the bible told her so...

too bad no one bothered telling her she wasn't locked into a mandated role simply because someone and some book said it was the only way...

gawds...

Such a concept is beyond alien to me

I wish them all the luck in the world. Especially any female children they have...

[uppityperson]

15. His own personal slave. Do the girls get to wear pants in public?

Hey honey, oh never mind.

[THUNDER HANDS]

13. do they live in a shoe?

[mitchum]

20. LOL!!!

nice one :)

[applegrove]

14. What was that movie Private Ryan about? Making sure that no

What was that movie Private Ryan about? Making sure that no family gave too much to any war? Ahhhhhhhhhhh! Hollywood bullshit.


:grouphug: :grouphug: :cry:

This is what the number 11 looks like Mr. Bush!!

[leftchick]

16. guess what mrs. Chennault

when your hubby comes back dead or mamimed see how much support you get from your wonderful pretzeldent... ZERO!


and please take note of my sig....

[alwynsw]

19. About $400,000.00 in total death benefits plus SS for the kids until

majority or possibly later if they're in school - from Uncle and SGLI.

Sip, nada, zilch from the current regieme.

[leftchick]

21. He is in the reserve....

I don't believe they have the same benefits as active duty Military. I could be wrong but my Army Reserve cousin told me that is so.

[alwynsw]

23. SGLI (servicemen's Group Life Insurance) is available to all military,

active or reserve. Also, when calledfor extended duty, reservists and NG are placed on active duty, so the benefits are all the same. mom gets to go to the commissary every day now, she and the kids get dependent medical care, the works as long as he's on active duty.

The SGLI, if he took or takes advantage of it all is currently 250K, there's an additional 150K that's paid if he's killed in Iraq by hostile action, plus about 12.5K for miltary expenses, then the family get the survivors pension plus the above-mentioned SS benefits for minors.

All that isn't squat compared to having Dad home.

His "just in case" clause is about to kick in.

[dflprincess]

43. Survivor benefits cut off when the kid hits 18

(maybe 17, I'm not sure). They used go on until age 22 if the child stayed in school, but Reagan changed that. There's also a maximum amount a family can receive per month. I know the statement I received last year listed the survivor benefits per child but also had a line that said the maximium family benefit per month was around $2,000 regardless of how many survivors there were.

[spotbird]

45. They'll hit that jackpot if he comes home in a coffin.

If he comes home with half his body and brain gone his deductible for VA medical care has increased.

[alwynsw]

17. I gotta rant.

Allow me to begin with this thought: I have no desire to hold this guy and his family up as role models. Too many kids, IMO. Too restrictive and narrow in their religious beliefs, IMO, etc. etc. etc.

Here's my rub. I see a number of insults in this thread hurled at this guy and his family for their religious beliefs. I see insults for their family size. My question?

What in the living hell has gotten into the left? Am I mistaken? Isn't the left the group that supports individual freedoms of religion, speech, reproduction, etc?

Why am I seeing people who claim to be solid progressives bashing someone for choosing to follow their religious and family beliefs. I damn sure don't agree with most of what is stated in the story. I damn sure agree less with those who vilify anyone for having or not having such beliefs. This guy isn't in public office forcing his beliefs down our throats. So what if the media decided to do a story on him and his family?

Where's the big tent?

[spotbird]

26. The family is pious in their religion.

They are also using it as a means to make incredibly poor decisions. Their faith is obviously misogynistic. There is a religious extreme which defies reason and common sense, theirs is that extreme.

Not all sincerely held religious beliefs are worthy of tolerance. I for one don’t admire the faith of the 9/11 hijackers, despite considering myself a liberal.

[alwynsw]

27. I disagree, but

you certainly have the right to your opinion.

I suppose I didn't state it too well. My point is this: Several comments in this thread provide a perfect opportunity for those who would call progressives nutcases and intolerant to point to for "proof".

[DoNotRefill]

46. But isn't that their right?

to make poor decisions based upon religion? Isn't that what we're supposed to be about? No matter how strange it is (and 11 kids is pretty fuckin strange), as long as it's not illegal, it's supposed to be OK.

I DO admire the faith of the 9/11 hijackers. Now before you go ballistic, hear me out. They had religious beliefs that they obviously really, really believed in. That doesn't mean that what they did was any less wrong, of course, but they sure as shit had a STRONG sense of faith.

They weren't cowards. They put their asses on the line for what they believed in, KNOWING that they would die. They were brave, if misguided, people.

[spotbird]

48. See, I'm of a mind that if

someone's faith dictates they kill thousands of innocents, that faith is looney.

[DoNotRefill]

56. Of course it's loony.....

but that doesn't mean it's any less deeply held, right?

Those Heaven's gate people were completely, totally nuts, right? But they had FAITH.

[DrZeeLit]

28. Thank you. Intolerance wears many faces. Some are in the mirror.

I come from a big family. It's not easy. My parents weren't the least bit religious. They loved kids. This love shows today as productive members of society who have contributed as teachers, fire personnel, nurses, and entrepreneurs. We didn't have much, but we did have each other.

If a liberal philosophy is going to survive, tolerance can't just be a word.

My mom used to say "if everybody was the same, it sure would be a dull world."

I honor the rights of these Americans to have and raise children, and do so in any belief system they desire. I honor this soldier's sacrifice. I can hear his pain and his duty colliding. I honor his wife for her committment to their marriage and their children.

They aren't asking for this war or this spotlight. They aren't apologizing or asking anyone to validate their lives.

We, the party of the people, have to include them, fight for them, hold them -- or we are just the intolerant beings we shake a fist at every day when we read/see the news.

[alwynsw]

29. If only I were so eloquent!

Many thanks for your post.

[spotbird]

31. You have got to be kidding.

People with their world view do not think as Democrats and will never be Democrats. They are waaay outside the tent. If they want to use their religious faith to anesthetize themselves from the real world so be it, but it is perfectly reasonable to point out the destructive nature of their faith, even in jokes.

Where ever did you get the idea that we were tolerant of every absurd, damaging religious belief someone can hold? I don’t know any Democrats that are universally tolerant of extremist misogynistic faith. These people’s thinking isn’t all that different from that of the Taliban, and the Taliban is completely wacko to me.

[Lars39]

35. They consented to the interview.

That could be considered asking for this spotlight.

[spotbird]

18. Navy reservist?

What's up with that?

[mitchum]

22. He and his wife needs to take up a freakin' hobby...

if he returns

[DoNotRefill]

47. Umm....no offense intended....

but I'm personally kind of fond of sex as a hobby. Of course, we use birth control, but still...Sex as a hobby is far better than say boxing as a hobby or torturing small animals as a hobby.

[DS1]

50. what an amazingly useless point!

Consider me gobsmacked!

[mitchum]

51. No offense taken

:)
Recreational sex is certainly one of my hobbies. Recreational.

[spotbird]

24. One of those little ones

Doesn't look like the rest of the family.

[not systems]

25. Thanks god it not Jonah Goldberg...

now that would be tragic.


http://www.juancole.com/2005/02/jonah-goldberg-embarrasses-himself.html

...


Jonah Goldberg was a cheerleader for the unprovoked, unilateral US attack on Iraq. The reason he repeatedly gave was that Iraq was close to having a nuclear weapon.


Jonah Goldberg: We've just seen this last week what a problem North Korea is once it has a nuclear weapon. Once a county has a nuclear weapon, it becomes almost impossible to deal with it using military force. And then that country can basically blackmail the world for whatever it wants, and that's what North Korea is doing today.

. . . we do not want to take -- to ignore problems in the world before they become insurmountable, and that's why it is a proactive approach to try to keep Saddam Hussein from becoming the North Korea of the Middle East, and he would be extremely dangerous if he did that.

CNN SHOWDOWN: IRAQ 12:00
December 17, 2002 Tuesday



Extremist rightwing hawks like Jonah Goldberg used their privileged position as pundits to terrify the US public that Iraq was a threat to the US. He repeatedly said in the buildup to the war that Iraq was a menace to the US, and he repeatedly brought up North Korea's nuclear weapons as a reason for a preemptive attack on Iraq.


...

[wildmanj]

30. support

my question would be--is the family totally self sufficient or do they depend upon a few FREE LUNCHES from the american public at large

[Horse with no Name]

32. Of course without knowing

My guess would be that they at least attempt at being self sufficient, which is the reason he works a job AND is a reservist.
I agree with the above poster...tolerance has to begin with us. Even if it means protecting the ones too ignorant to protect themselves.
However, I do have to point out. She said she would have trouble sleeping with him gone...my point...with 11 kids, doesn't seem like she gets much sleep as it is.:)

[laylah]

33. Well,

there goes the chance for a "cheaper by the dozen" scenerio :silly:

"And my role is to support my husband. My mother told me when I got married, 'Your life is about him, and you need to be there for him.'" :puke: :puke: :puke:

Jenn

[0007]

34. Eleven kids? What does this women do in her spare time?

[bahrbearian]

37. Aren't any of them Draft age.

[Catchawave]

38. Sears is going to make up the difference in his salary...

...yay for Sears.

[Blue_Tires]

39. wow...why is he so hard up to get over there??

he was already REJECTED by ALL four branches of the military for active duty...he had a steady job as a mechanic, and making probably decent $$$$ (ASC certified)...

i just don't get it...does he realize that there are real bullets and real explosives being tossed around out there??

[Toucano]

41. Completely foolish.

There are too many people relying on this man for more than just money.

His FIRST obligation is to them.
Then to GOD.
Then to COUNTRY.

Isn't that what American VALUES are supposed to be?

He should never have allowed himself to be put in this position.

[Ilsa]

42. So all of his 11 kids are headed to Iraq?

I'd work really hard not to send all my kids to Iraq.

(I supposed the title could be read either way. Couldn't help myself.)

[Dervill Crow]

44. It just makes me crazy

the way the religious right leaders (who are neither) manipulate people like the Chennaults. I know far too many people who still think that believing in the lies of that stupidass piece of shit in the White House is a benchmark of being a good Christian.

[DS1]

49. Yet another chump buys into the whole "9/11 changed everything" story

:eyes:

I don't care any more about him and his eleven kids than I do everyone else sent over there for this bullshit war.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

52. While it's honorable to serve, I wish he would consider his...

kids first. Also, I'm sorry to see he bought Bush's LIES about Iraq!

[sr_pacifica]

55. That was my overriding thought

...how irresponsible. Can the guy so badly want to escape his home life. With 11 kids, maybe. And SHE gets stuck with taking care of them all.

[DemBones DemBones]

53. It's sickening to me to read DUers' attacks on this family for

having eleven children and because the wife talked about the Biblical roles of husband and wife. Have you people ever heard of religious freedom? It doesn't just mean people can be atheists, you know, it means people can hold all sorts of religious beliefs without asking DU's permission.

[sr_pacifica]

54. Uh...

THis is a forum where people express opinions. Nobody's preventing this family from having their beliefs.

:eyes:

[Behind the Aegis]

59. What's sicking to me is that women are willing to be subservient.

While the thought that this woman's role in life is "to serve her husband and his life," it is her choice. And while there is religious freedom in this country, it doesn't mean that anyone has to agree with what she said. I find it sad she finds her identity in her husband, but that is her choice. I disagree and stating that I do so is my choice, it is called freedom of speech.

On edit: I think what I find most disturbing is that yet another person is being sent to fight this illegal war.

[DoNotRefill]

60. My wife finds a lot of her identity in me....

and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that from what I can see.

Of course, I get a lot of my identity from her, too.

Gawd, I LOVE my wife!!! :)

[Behind the Aegis]

61. And there is the point!

You both 'give and take' from one another. It is not a "one-way" street! Marriage is about a coming together and sharing, not giving up yourself to another and losing yourself. Sounds like you two compliment one another, and, that, to me, is a great thing!

[fortyfeetunder]

57. Um, why is this news?

Like, he is not the first nor the last reservist to leave. Other than the procreation part, what is the big deal?