British soldier, 19, 'goes AWOL' to join Kurds fighting Isil

LOL so are the KRG the good kinds of muslims?, haha.

Id advise people to do a little research on Iraq Kurdistan lol.

If ISIS thinks reporters are spies what do you think ex military will be considered?

I predict a toasty end to his life.

a reply to: Dabrazzo
There will always be some gangs who are less full of psycho torturer rapist killers than others though.
Research is one thing but being involved in any gang is likely to be the best way to find out. The guy in the OP is finding out, good luck to him, his intentions apparently seem to be good, but you or I don't know of course.

a reply to: samkent
That is probably the case so I wish him well in his choice.

a reply to: grainofsand

Like I said, do a bit of reading on Iraq Kurdistan, that is not a nice place and they are not nice people regardless of who they happen to be fighting.

originally posted by: rossacus
a reply to: Soloprotocol
I believe he joined the army to make a difference, like alot of soldiers who do have future prospects outside of the army. Fair play to him he is not jeopardising his fellow soldiers life in doing so

Make a difference in what way.? 100,000 Soldiers wont defeat this ideology. never mind one guy. we need to find another way because no matter how long you bomb them, more will just take up arms against the people doing the Bombing..ie, us.

a reply to: Dabrazzo

Anyone in the ME who might have been "nice" was massacred centuries ago.

a reply to: Dabrazzo
...I have done a fair bit of reading, and some are less nice than others, just like all societies.

originally posted by: Soloprotocol
100,000 Soldiers wont defeat this ideology. never mind one guy.

True but he made a free choice and if he kills one psycho #er and that act saves the lives of a few innocent others, or prevents the rape of a few girls then that is a result in my opinion.

a reply to: ketsuko
Wow, painting an entire region of the world as a place with no nice people.
You really believe that? No 'normal' people like us there then?

a reply to: grainofsand

If true, the dude's gone AWOL and deserted. Maybe too many movies or reading too many tabloid newspapers? Or maybe he has a respectable, personal reason for doing what he's done? We might never know.

Whatever his reasons, I guess we all hope he makes it back safely or (worst case) meets his end with head on shoulders.

The Army has always had a greater number of AWOLs/desertion than Navy and the RAF - it goes back for decades. This is probably down to more people enlisting in the Army than other services.

Here's some recent MOD stats on AWOL/desertion and the penalties:

a reply to: Kandinsky
I don't know about the RAF but RN gives harsher penalties for AWOL due to the extra pressures it causes the closed system a ships company is if some [snipped] overstays their shoreleave. Penalty fitting the crime sort of thing is the explanation.



*Edit*
I get the [snip] although it is not on the filter so I shall continue to use it on ATS as others do regularly.
It was the best word I could think of to describe someone who overstays shoreleave and causes someone else to say work the dog watch when they could have been catching Zzz's.

a reply to: grainofsand

The penalty on his return doesn't amount to much. Could be as little as a month in 'detention.'

I'm reminded of the Spanish Civil War when hundreds of Brits went over there to fight the Fascists.

Fair play to the guy. I wouldn't be 19 and idealistic again.

a reply to: Kandinsky
True, I hope he does a couple of months out there, kills a few psycho torturer/rapist/murderers and returns to a court martial, a few months PT punishment on barracks then continues his Army career.
As you say, fair play to the guy.

originally posted by: grainofsand
a reply to: ketsuko
Wow, painting an entire region of the world as a place with no nice people.
You really believe that? No 'normal' people like us there then?

"Nice" in the terms of how we think of society gets eaten alive over there. That is no reflection on individual people, but the societies on the whole are a lot less wussy and quite a bit less pre-occupied with whether or not someone's feelings are hurt.

They all operate by a whole different set of standards in many of those cultures.

originally posted by: ketsuko

originally posted by: grainofsand
a reply to: ketsuko
Wow, painting an entire region of the world as a place with no nice people.
You really believe that? No 'normal' people like us there then?

"Nice" in the terms of how we think of society gets eaten alive over there. That is no reflection on individual people, but the societies on the whole are a lot less wussy and quite a bit less pre-occupied with whether or not someone's feelings are hurt.

They all operate by a whole different set of standards in many of those cultures.

Apologies, when you stated 'anyone' I took that to mean everyone, individual folk included.
You replied to a post by Dabrazzo in which we were discussing that as in all gangs (ME or elsewhere) some are always less nice than others, and the guy in the OP is choosing to fight for a gang/group he feels is less horrible than IS (IS/IL/Whatever).
I am waiting to hear anyone say the Kurds (as an organised group) are less nice than IS.
They may well be less nice than Western standards but that is a bit of a sidetrack to be fair.