National Guard soldier charged with desertion - CNN

[TacticalPeek]

National Guard soldier charged with desertion

Saturday, March 27, 2004 Posted: 1852 GMT (0252 HKT)

(CNN) -- The U.S. Army charged a
Florida National Guard soldier, who went
absent without leave while on a two-week
break from duty in Iraq, with desertion,
an Army spokesman said Saturday.

Staff Sgt. Camilo Mejia, of North
Miami, Florida, will face a court
martial, Staff Sgt. Brian Sipp, of Fort
Stewart/Hunter Army Airfield, said.

Sipp said he did not know the
maximum penalty Mejia, 28, could
face if convicted. He also said he did
not know when the hearing would be
held.

more
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/US/03/27/court.martial/

[lazarus]

1. Well,

No, wait...


Umm...

Damn, there's just too many things too say, I can't get them out.

I swear these people make my head want to explode.


Okay, I got it now.

Fuck them all.

Are we sure he can't just make it up later, like Bush did?

[yardwork]

4. When did Bush make it up later?

[lazarus]

5. That's the claim

I'm not accepting it, just quoting their claim. That should be this soldier's defense.

[Mikimouse]

2. I admit my ignorance of UCMJ...

but I thought that desertion, per se, was defined in terms of war. To the best of my knowledge, no war has been formally declared, and thus the argument for such a charge would be invalid. Vietnam was never a declared war either, or there would have been any number of such charges filed and pursued. Please inform me if I am incorrect.

[jamesinca]

6. I think, so it is not anywhere near the truth

but I think the difference between AWOL and desertion is this: AWOL is Absent With Out Leave for up to 6 months. Desertion is AWOL with no intention of returning. Desertion in times of war is an act of treason with no time limit to prosecute and a maximum sentence of death. Either act can be committed in times of war or peace.

[Just Me]

9. If desertion in times of war is an act of treason,...

,...oh, freak!!! Never mind. Equality is, as all things in this country, a relative monetary term.

[Mari333]

3. Hes a hero....his whole unit backs him up. so do many Vets.

Lets hope this catches on.
The Vets are putting out the word boys..this war is a scam and a fraud. See link below.


http://www.calltoconscience.net

[KeepItReal]

7. He can be a hero *after* his service is complete

...as Senator Kerry did.

You do not have the option of just deciding not to report for duty. (Don't get me started on AWOL Bush, he should have been tried for desertion too, IMHO)

I'd have sympathy for this soldier if he had a medical condition that would prevent him from serving in a hostile environment. Just deciding that this invasion of Iraq is B.S. and he doesn't want to go back will not suffice.

[Mari333]

10. Horseshite. and if you had a kid over there you would think twice.

or even a kid being called up to go over. You would think twice. In fact, you will think twice, because the draft is coming back.
PS..Many Vets disagree with you.

http://www.calltoconscience.net


Statement to the Troops
We are veterans of the United States armed forces. We stand with the majority of humanity, including millions in our own country, in opposition to the United States' all out war on Iraq. We span many wars and eras, have many political views and we all agree that this war is wrong. Many of us believed serving in the military was our duty, and our job was to defend this country. Our experiences in the military caused us to question much of what we were taught. Now we see our REAL duty is to encourage you as members of the U.S. armed forces to find out what you are being sent to fight and die for and what the consequences of your actions will be for humanity. We call upon you, the active duty and reservists, to follow your conscience and do the right thing.
In the last Gulf War, as troops, we were ordered to murder from a safe distance. We destroyed much of Iraq from the air, killing hundreds of thousands, including civilians. We remember the road to Basra -- the Highway of Death -- where we were ordered to kill fleeing Iraqis. We bulldozed trenches, burying people alive. The use of depleted uranium weapons left the battlefields radioactive. Massive use of pesticides, experimental drugs, burning chemical weapons depots and oil fires combined to create a toxic cocktail affecting both the Iraqi people and Gulf War veterans today. One in four Gulf War veterans is disabled.

[KeepItReal]

15. Has he filed as a conscientious objector?

From your site:

"To join, each GI signs an enlistment contract affirming that he or she is not a CO. However, personal philosophies sometimes evolve and change as soldiers directly experience training to commit violence)

Regulations also require that once a GI has made his beliefs about being a CO known, he or she must be assigned to duties "which minimally conflict with (their) stated beliefs" until the CO review process is completed."

There is a process that may be able to help this Guardsman.

As for the "Horseshite" comment:

When I was in Army ROTC, my classmates in the LA Guard got called up for Desert Storm I. They ended up spending the war in Ft. Hood (luckily). Not going never came outta their mouths. I knew it was a war for oil even then, but if they asked me to go, I would have went.

When you sign your name on the dotted line and take that oath of enlistment, you really do lose you your right to decide certain things. Unless that Guardsman is given an unlawful order, he's gotta do as he's told.

As for drafts coming back and stuff like that...there are over five hundred people in Congress that have the right to call "Horsehite" on that and all the B.S. this pResident has been able to get away with. Let's try to get them to do that.

I had hoped Howard Dean would be the man to turn this mess around, now I gotta put my faith in Sen. Kerry.

[mobuto]

13. He's no hero

Soldiers aren't the ones who decide whether a war is worth fighting. When you enlist in the US Army, you commit yourself to serve your country in any capacity ordered. I can sympathize with this guy's desire not to go to Iraq, but he's already commited himself to doing it. In an all-volunteer army there just is no excuse. You can't opt-out.

[Mari333]

14. again Horseshit.

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=dover+military+families

the military families and the soldiers and vets themselves are coming out against this bloodbath.
Iraqnam. Burn it into your brain.
Its time the kids started saying NO. we wont be a part of this illegal bloodbath.
http://www.calltoconscience.net
No more. Not one more dead.
http://www.bringthemhomenow.com
http://www.mfso.org
MILITARY FAMILIES SAY NO TO WAR.
MILITARY FAMILIES SAY NO TO THE OCCUPATION OF IRAQ
http://www.vaiw.org
VETS SAY NO TO IRAQ WAR

[mobuto]

18. Again I don't understand

I can understand why he would be opposed to the war, but where, when he swore the following:

"I , _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God."

did he reserve the right to refuse to fight in wars he disagreed with? This sets up a very dangerous precedent. I'm sure there are a lot of right-wing officers who will hate John Kerry with every bone in their bodies. But when he becomes President, they will obey his orders just like they obeyed Bill Clinton. Because you can't mix politics with duty. This young man volunteered to serve. Nobody forced him. And he has to live with the consequences.

[Tommy]

8. geez

the kid s going to jail, when americans should be cheering him. the one that should be going to jail is bush and also his sycophant creepsters. wonder if we could ask the 13000 died iraqs whom should be locked up. did i spell sycophant right?

[KeepItReal]

11. Welcome to DU Tommy

I have mixed emotions on this National Guardsman. The military ain't the real world where you can just opt out of doing what is asked of you (even though folks like Bush managed to pull it off).

I agree 100% that Bush & Co. are the real traitors who looked the other way, and low and behold 9/11 happens...

[Mari333]

12. Bush and the rest of the illegal thugs should be in jail now.

Give it time.
The Military families are on a rampage. We are furious.
http://www.mfso.org
we will stop Bush. More and More people are joining up amongst military families to stop those lying illegal thugs from using our kids as cannon fodder for their $$$ wars.
They will be brought down. and thank god this kid chose jail over death and being maimed for a war of lies
or, as Sue Niederer whose son was killed in Iraq said

'GEORGE W BUSH KILLED MY SON'

and shes right. she marches against this war.

[KeepItReal]

17. I totally agree with you on this

It up to those of us *outside* of the military to stand up for the ones still in.

Bush & Co. doing their misdeed hide behind the soldiers and say "Support the Troops", as if the civilian politicians running the show are in uniform, too. And the "media" lets them. Disgusting.

[AspenRose]

16. A plus for spelling

yep :) and welcome!

[Moderator]

19. oops

Dupe

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x447808