Guest saleen351 Posted May 18 Report Share Posted May 18 Anti-War Soldier Faces Court-Martial Wednesday Tuesday, May 18, 2004SAVANNAH, Ga. — A U.S. soldier who left his unit in Iraq rather than fight for what he called an "oil-driven war" faces a court-martial Wednesday on a desertion (search) charge.Staff Sgt. Camilo Mejia (search), 28, of Miami Beach, Fla., could go to prison for a year and receive a bad conduct discharge if convicted by a military jury at Fort Stewart. The Florida National Guardsman left his unit in Iraq (search) in October on a two-week furlough to the United States. He was gone for five months before turning himself in to the Army in March. He said his war experience made him decide to seek conscientious objector status. The infantryman said he believes the war is unjust because it is about control of oil supplies. He also said he was upset over the death of civilians. He said he was particularly upset over an incident in which his unit was ambushed and civilians were hit in the ensuing gunfire, and another in which he said an Iraqi boy died after confusion over which military doctor should treat him. He also claimed he saw Iraqi prisoners treated "with great cruelty" when he was put in charge of processing detainees a year ago at al-Assad, an Iraqi air base occupied by U.S. forces. Mejia filed the statements March 16, before the Iraqi prisoner scandal at the Abu Ghraib prison became public. Fort Stewart officials said they have forwarded his account to the Army. In his objector application, Mejia said detainees were kept blindfolded and troops were ordered to use sleep-deprivation tactics to aid with interrogations. He said prisoners were kept awake for up to 48 hours at a time, often by yelling at them or having them sit and stand for several minutes. "When these techniques failed, we would bang on the wall with a huge sledgehammer ... or load a 9 mm pistol next to their ear," Mejia wrote. "The way we treated these men was hard even for the soldiers, especially after realizing that many of these `combatants' were no more than shepherds." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lolahotass Posted May 18 Report Share Posted May 18 Nick, STFU.This could have been anyone - no reason to target our Latin friends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmatas2277 Posted May 18 Report Share Posted May 18 just for the record....he isnt Cuban... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sobeton Posted May 18 Report Share Posted May 18 he is standing up for what he believes, calling attention to things he witnessed ,and felt uncomfortable with.. his decision to leave his unit, was clearly not one of the best judgments to make. his court-martial should be rather interesting.. since he was an eye witness to several things; which have come to the forefront in the last three weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest saleen351 Posted May 18 Report Share Posted May 18 he is standing up for what he believes, calling attention to things he witnessed ,and felt uncomfortable with.. his decision to leave his unit, was clearly not one of the best judgments to make. his court-martial should be rather interesting.. since he was an eye witness to several things; which have come to the forefront in the last three weeks.dude, you sign up for the military, of course there is gonna be shit you disagree with!!!!!!! duhhhhhhhhhh but walking out on your fellow american is just being a pussy... i hope they hang this loser. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sobeton Posted May 18 Report Share Posted May 18 dude, you sign up for the military, of course there is gonna be shit you disagree with!!!!!!! duhhhhhhhhhh but walking out on your fellow american is just being a pussy... i hope they hang this loser.that's fairly obvious ... I basically said the same thing, but with far more tact then you. hanging would be inappropriate, and actually this offense does not call for such punishment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pod Posted May 18 Report Share Posted May 18 Not for nothing, but in the military you are there to defend democracy, not practice it. He knew full well what kind of environment he was getting into when he enlisted. That's what I hate, these people who think they can get away with getting free college money from the government, and have a walk in the park. It is the military, people. You may get shot at or killed. You might come home in a bag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcodavalos Posted May 18 Report Share Posted May 18 My conclusion ... you will have in the next few years less number of minorities joining the Armed Forces to help their way into getting an education.And ... I will help you conclude: More delinquency on the streets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norahmiami Posted May 18 Report Share Posted May 18 Not for nothing, but in the military you are there to defend democracy, not practice it. He knew full well what kind of environment he was getting into when he enlisted. That's what I hate, these people who think they can get away with getting free college money from the government, and have a walk in the park. It is the military, people. You may get shot at or killed. You might come home in a bag.or worse, not come home at all.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digital7 Posted May 18 Report Share Posted May 18 this thread is so fucking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sobeton Posted May 18 Report Share Posted May 18 in the military you are obligated to follow orders. defending democracy is rather ambiguous at best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmatas2277 Posted May 18 Report Share Posted May 18 in the military you are obligated to follow orders.but not orders that are outside the realm of normality (i.e. have sex with a female detainee for intel) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digital7 Posted May 18 Report Share Posted May 18 but not orders that are outside the realm of normality (i.e. have sex with a female detainee for intel) i think tony was making a broad statement Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philippio Posted May 18 Report Share Posted May 18 Go play with your bazooka! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funketeer Posted May 18 Report Share Posted May 18 i think tony was making a broad statementyou said broad! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeygk Posted May 18 Report Share Posted May 18 dude, you sign up for the military, of course there is gonna be shit you disagree with!!!!!!! duhhhhhhhhhh but walking out on your fellow american is just being a pussy... i hope they hang this loser.I think alot of people may change their minds if they saw first hand the grim reality of war. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmatas2277 Posted May 18 Report Share Posted May 18 i think tony was making a broad statement i was just reiterating it...u can say NO to orders if they are outside the realm of "normalcy".... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candy Posted May 18 Report Share Posted May 18 It is the military, people. You may get shot at or killed. You might come home in a bag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candy Posted May 18 Report Share Posted May 18 in the military you are obligated to follow orders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdamon7278 Posted May 18 Report Share Posted May 18 What is your major malfunction numbnuts???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sobeton Posted May 18 Report Share Posted May 18 i was just reiterating it...u can say NO to orders if they are outside the realm of "normalcy"....noted! discussions concerning specifically the realm of normalcy, with regard to Iraq would be quite an interesting thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lyrik Posted May 18 Report Share Posted May 18 I think alot of people may change their minds if they saw first hand the grim reality of war.Ya but come on..its the freakin military what did this guy think he was gonna do pick daisies...maybe play a game of hop scotch or build sand castles. I have all the respect in the world for people that join our armed services...but no way in hell I was going to....because you never know....oh fine in times of peace, but if we get into a conflict then its okay to back out come on......I would say to these people DUMBASS its the FUCKIN military what the hell did you think you were signing up for? If it comes down to it draft my ass....until then I leave the fighting of wars up to the people that voluntarily join. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdamon7278 Posted May 18 Report Share Posted May 18 Maybe we should put saleen in the military and see if a racist from jersey sis a better fighter then a minority, probably with saleen, he will get scared not being around his toliet music and not able to give luis the space of shit owner head on the weekends, everyone has their needs people!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djcarlosf Posted May 18 Report Share Posted May 18 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digital7 Posted May 18 Report Share Posted May 18 Lyrik.. one thing is being in the military and having to go thru casualties of war and experience war first hand... another thing is whats going on in the Iraqi prisons and having to see the kind of bullshit that's going on behind the scenes. It's the kind of bullshit that's staining our reputation as a wholehearted country and damaging our credentials for the fight against terrorism... nothing more.. nothing less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.