'Anything Not to Go Back'

'Anything Not to Go Back'

www.newsweek.com

Such cases of self-harm are a "rising trend" that military doctors are watching closely..."There are some soldiers who will do almost anything not to go back".

So last spring when a young man, identifying himself as an Iraq-bound soldier, said he had accidentally swallowed a pen at the bus station, she believed him. That is, until she found a second pen. It read 1-800-GREYHOUND. Last summer, according to published reports, a 20-year-old Bronx soldier paid a hit man $500 to shoot him in the knee on the day he was scheduled to return to Iraq.

(visit the link for the full news article)

This is highly disturbing. The trauma that our soldiers are suffering though in the name of this unjust war.

This highlights again the poor planning and execution of this unjust war. The fact that these brave soldiers have been cycled though Iraq so many ties, their tours extended so many times, that they have been retained by Stop-Loss all demonstrates that the Bush Administration is no friend to the military.

www.newsweek.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 8-6-2008 by Animal]

Most probably it's because of the post-code lottery our soldiers are playing in places like Iraq and Afganistan.

Although of course, you don't win money or free health service for a year, you win a mortar shell through the roof.

I guess morale out there in Iraq isn't nearly as high and impressive than the Bush Administration, and those "War Analysts" want us to think..

It's not shocking they don't want to go back. I know someone who got an insanity leave and turned to selling drugs after a couple times shipped out. Such a bright future for our serviceman indeed.

My brother did two tours with 4ID. Now he his back as a contractor because he needs he money to pay the mortgage after being laid off.

[edit on 6/8/0808 by jackinthebox]

In my mind, this can also show that us Humans are finally realising the waste of time and lives that war is.

A lot of us will never know the true horrors of war and we can only imagine what all those who serve must be going through, both physically and mentally.


You would have been shot for cowardice for faking an injury to stop your return or even having shell shock during world war 1.

Shell shock wasn't recognised at the time.

Yet, here we are, nearly 100 years later and nothing seems to have changed.

The weapons are no less deadly, just more complicated, brutal and expensive and those who serve suffer the exact same stresses and strains that millions of previous serving personnel, dead and alive, have gone through.

I send blessings to any and all that may need them.

UTTER TWADDLE

there have been shirkers , and maligerers in EVERY war / conflict

during WWI - men DELIBERATLY cross infected each other with STDs

during WWII many attempted to evade thier duty - with varying degrees of sucess

in my own experience [ falklands ] an infantry man " got lost " in what could only be described as peculiar circumstances - and his subsequent failure to be found fror over 3 weeks led to a courts martial

so as for shirkers and deserters from this conflict - yes of course the will be some - its innevitable given the force size

but the VAST majority get on with thier alloted tasks - you seem to conveniently forget that fact when you attempt to protray the existance of shirkers as confirmation of your pre notion that the war is " evil "

please do not do it

as for the point of stop/loss - well boo hoo - its always been a part of the contract - its just now that government is actually using it

as they have every right

This isnt like other wars in Amercian History, now the US has an all volunteer army...

Its not like Nam where people were being drafted, and foreced to go...

This is an all-volunteer army...


All conflicts are going to have people that go AWOL... or try to escape duty...

But i am willng to bet that this Current Iraq war has some of the lowest deseration rates in the HISTORY of warfare...

Originally posted by TKainZero
This isnt like other wars in Amercian History, now the US has an all volunteer army...

As if that is why people are in the republican guards! Volunteer army my behind!

Its not like Nam where people were being drafted, and foreced to go...

This is an all-volunteer army...

They are far more akin to mercenaries than they are volunteers as volunteer implies that the reward is not significant.

All conflicts are going to have people that go AWOL... or try to escape duty...

A significant proportion signed contracts to get paid, not to get killed in a pointless war in some country that never attack the one they swore to defend...

But i am willng to bet that this Current Iraq war has some of the lowest deseration rates in the HISTORY of warfare...

As it constitutes a breach of contract which is not something those who wanted to sign the contract in the first place actually wishes to do. The reason why draft armies can be so unenthusiastic in attack is mainly because people are far more interested in protecting their countries than they are in invading those of others. For that you need to either pay them very well or gain their allegiance by allotments of property and other types of loyalty inspiring aids.

Stellar

Originally posted by TKainZero
This isnt like other wars in Amercian History, now the US has an all volunteer army...

Its not like Nam where people were being drafted, and foreced to go...

This is an all-volunteer army...

Forgive me if I'm wrong but wasn't the Vietnam conflict into it's 6th or 7th year before the draft was instituted? Pretty much where we are now with this one?

Originally posted by intrepid
Forgive me if I'm wrong but wasn't the Vietnam conflict into it's 6th or 7th year before the draft was instituted? Pretty much where we are now with this one?

I think that's about right. The draft was in 1969 and US involvement in Vietnam was in 1963-ish.

reply to post by intrepid

Originally posted by intrepid
Forgive me if I'm wrong but wasn't the Vietnam conflict into it's 6th or 7th year before the draft was instituted? Pretty much where we are now with this one?

The draft was pretty much a permanent fixture from 1940 till 1973, when it was ended and converted to an all-voluntary military.

You're thinking of the lottery system, which was instituted in 1969, iirc.

Correct me if im wrong, but haven't people always been trying to avoid going to war? Like i had 3 neighbours where i used to live who were all draft dodgers from the vietnam war.

I personally don't think this is anything new. But like i said, correct me if im wrong.

swallowing TWO pens? Paying to be shot in the knee? I remember the guy in drag on MASH but these cases seem EXTREME.

Maybe I am naive, but this seems like am sign to me.

My grandpa told me about being in WWII.

Before a fairly famous battle that i forget the name of because I am ignorant, as they were shipping his group out to fight it was discovered his papers were lost and he did not have to fight. what he did have to do was carry the frozen bodies of his friends off trucks as they came back from the fighting. he gave me no impression that even doing this made him think of running. maybe it was the man, maybe it was the legitimacy of the war and the KNOWING the sacrifice amounted to something GOOD.

That is what I think of when I read this story, but I could very well be projecting my ideals onto this story.

This is harsh. Clearly the experiences these Soldiers are having, is having an affect on them and it is causing some mental instability, possibly some kind of Psychological damage. The buddy who swallowed a pen, and the guy who was shot in the knee must have gone through something traumatic to make do these things, and believing that they would be a better alternative to war. Perhaps in their respective cases, it was a better alternative.

I personally, would not like to go war, however, I don't know that I would swallow a pen, or have someone shoot me in the knee, to avoid going - but then, I've never experienced Iraq. In a sound state of mind, I don't believe I would do these things, I suspect I would have to go through something pretty devastating, in order to inflict this kind of harm upon myself. But this is just speaking for me, Not for everyone.

War isn't glamorous, war isn't playing, war doesn't care about the Geneova Convention.. War is about killing or being killed. Whoever is last standing, wins.

I met a Soldier in Las Vegas a couple weeks ago, who had just gotten back from Iraq...I only spoke to him for about an hour or so, but the way he was talking, it didn't sound like he wanted to ever go back either. I asked him to tell me a bit of his experiences from over there, and he wouldn't. Either he didn't want to hurt my girly feelings, or perhaps, he also, experienced something quite traumatzing. I would expect that most soldiers who come home, come home changed from their experiences.

Just a thought.

Do we have any soldiers on here, who have been to Iraq?

-Carrot

On the one hand, if you join the military you are accepting the fact that if you're called to war you must go. Essentially, you have signed yourself away (even after discharge).
On the other hand, not everyone (even if they made it through basic) is suited to real war conditions.

I've seen both sides at play. My brother served and didn't go to Iraq but did go to Afghanistan and is now retired (but can be recalled).
A friend of mine was enlisted and killed himself. While I don't think the fear of going over was all of the reason but I know it was part of it.

[edit on 8-6-2008 by mysterychicken]

reply to post by CA_Orot


Well I have to agree with you completely. If something is so traumatizing that someone would risk death, and pain, and who knows what else... to avoid said thing, it must be pretty bad. I can identify.

The person I know, who now sells drugs instead of continuing to fight.. Also refused to talk about his experiences at first. But later opened up, and it was found out that while in Special Forces, he shot a little girl to death and the image still gives him nightmares.

I am willing to bet they all have a similar story to tell. Similar images stuck in their head for the rest of their life.

reply to post by LostNemesis


Strange your mention of your friend. I have a friend who was a sniper for something like 8 years until he broke his knees, had massive surgery and was discharged as he was permanently "broken". Very quickly after returning home he developed a very bad habit of using, producing, and selling meth. This lasted several years until he was arrested, he is doing MUCH better now and we are friendly again.

He told me the reason he "went off the seep end" was that he could not deal with NOT being in the military and that the drug, and it sale were the only things he could find that "made him feel alive" like he did when he was in the ,military doing what ever it was he did.

A total digression but the similarity seemed apparent so i thought I would share.

I was part of the firs tinvasion in iraq, and it isnt something I care to do again. i wouldnt go as far as injurying myself to avoid it though. When i returned I couldnt sleep due to nightmares. i mean I went weeks without sleep. I eventually returned to smoking the green stuff and eventually would get a few hours sleep here and there. my MOS was disbanded ( air defense artillary 14R) and I was giving the choice of a new job. I decieded that I wanted to try and do somthing that would give me insight to the millitary and hopefully a really good job afterward so i choose MI- Data analayst. When I finally reached my school date i was told i would have to reenlist and possible do 2 more tours in Iraq ( this is back in 05, and not part of the original contract). I turned down the job and went back to my garrison unit where I took the role of security officer and information mangement officer. This is were my plan really started. I beacme buddy buddy with the post commander and his officers. To the point the two star general interduced me to his daughter and asked that I would take her out. Once I was in good standing with the general I purposaly failed a drug test. From there I played on my PTSD and the compasion of the gerneral. I should have been given a dishonorable discharge and thrown in jail. Instead I was given 30 days restriction and extra duty. I got out 6 months later with a honoarble discharge and all my benifits. You may ask what this achieved. Well I got out with honorable discharge and a flag 3(not sure if that the right term). Basically I got out on good standing but if they try to call my back from IAR i would have miles of red tape to cross. So it wouldnt be worth there time to bring me back. I hope this impresses upon you how much i didnt want to go back and wanted out of something that I had no real idea of what i was getting into. I joined when I was 17, grad. early from HS w/ honors, and never went to my graduation cause i was in basic training. I wrote this anonymously for obvious reasons.

P.S. I still see this cute little girl in a red dress everytime I clsoe my eyes.

Watch for all the comments like "COWARDS!! They should be hanged!! They should be tracked down and shot! "

I don't know about you, but I hate those kind of comment, do people not have compassion in this world? where's the love? I find these kind of comments pathetic. And it worries me about the way some people think. Brainwashed maybe?

[edit on 9-6-2008 by _Phoenix_]