Army Asks Reservists to Deliver Gas, Using 18-Wheeler, Black Trans Am, and CB Radios. Reservists, Though Flattered, Say They're Busy That Day
My dad was a Green Beret. My oldest brother is a Marine. The Twins were in the Air Force and the Army. This story is probably causing them fits.
Me? The closest I ever came to serving was playing with my GI Joe, and even then, my role playing had Joe serving to earn money for college and, in times of war, flirting with his commander to get a discharge. So, admittedly, my perspective is a little different than theirs.
But only a little. Like them, I believe that in the armed services, when a command is given, everyone &mdash everyone, from the grunts involved to the grunts depending on them &mdash have to know that that command is going to be carried out. Where we disagree is on how absolute the obligation to follow is.
For instance, I believe that if you're going to issue an order to someone to carry out a mission, if you want them to follow it, you've got to give them the equipment to do so.
So I'm with these guys. If you want them to drive through hostile territory, you've got to arm them and you've got to armor them, two things, apparently, that were not done, here.
Me? The closest I ever came to serving was playing with my GI Joe, and even then, my role playing had Joe serving to earn money for college and, in times of war, flirting with his commander to get a discharge. So, admittedly, my perspective is a little different than theirs.
But only a little. Like them, I believe that in the armed services, when a command is given, everyone &mdash everyone, from the grunts involved to the grunts depending on them &mdash have to know that that command is going to be carried out. Where we disagree is on how absolute the obligation to follow is.
For instance, I believe that if you're going to issue an order to someone to carry out a mission, if you want them to follow it, you've got to give them the equipment to do so.
So I'm with these guys. If you want them to drive through hostile territory, you've got to arm them and you've got to armor them, two things, apparently, that were not done, here.
posted by Biff Loman at 5:25 PM
2 Comments:
While I agree that, if the soldier's statements are true, that it was an unreasonable mission to send them on with broken down equipment, contaminated fuel to deliver and lack of armor and weaponry, it is inexcusable to call mommy and tell her to raise holy hell with the media, anyone.
Amber should be dishonorably discharged just for that alone. Maybe even a prison sentence. That is a serious breach of security in a wartime situation and tantamount to treason or spying.
Calling home to ask family members to intercede on one's behalf strikes me more as the act of a reservist, than that of a spy or traitor. The goal, here, was to stay alive and come home in one piece one day, not betray the country or weaken the army. The calls home they placed afterwards were to ensure that the repercussions they faced occurred in the public view, not behind a veil of secrecy. They may be discharged, and their discharges may be dishonorable, but I hope that the charge won't be treason, because from what I've read, their actions don't support it.
If they were regular army, I might feel more strongly about this--still wouldn't call it treason--but, right now, I'm not that alarmed.
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