Iraq veteran throws his medals and quits the Marines.

[Garb]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jR3T5IypWX4&feature=related[/ame]

 

[45calibre]

so this guy quit the marines because he killed someone for no reason?

 

[45calibre]

i dont get it, this guy is complaining because he and some other soldiers have anger problems?

 

[ATOMonkey]

Combat will **** you up.

Too many emotional problems and not enough counseling.

Not everyone is emotionally equipped to handle the rigors of seeing their friends blown to bits and being required to kill people.

 

[ATOMonkey]

I actually don't blame anyone for not wanting their medals. More often than not, a medal is a monument to the dead.

 

[r3126]

Even the Corps needs some chlorine added to the pool once in a while. I doubt he will be missed. That having been said, everyone is entitled to their own belief system.

I might add, this video was shot in March 2008. I think there is more recent news regarding Iraq that is more relevant.

 

[monitor51]

Congressional Medal of Honor or Coffin with Metal Handles.

Seriously though, I have several friends that have been on various trips to Afgan and Iraq in various roles. So many things go on over there that are not said and I've seen what it can do to these men and women. It does appear that there isn't enough done to take care of them when they come home.

 

[Juggernaut]

Well........... BYE!

 

[radonc73]

His medals, his freedom of speech seems like he has every right to do it. I don't agree with doing it but this is a free country, somewhat. I am at work and cann't get the video but can you really just quit the USMC? PCS ETS yes quit no.

 

[Juggernaut]

HE VOLUNTEERED!~
What did he expect from the Corps? To go to prom with the enemy?
If ya can't mentally hack it, join the peace corps!
Hard men are called to do hard ****!

HTFU or STFU!

Semper Fi!

 

[threefiftyfour]

I would guess, they would let him out. He may be more of a danger to fellow Marines than the enemy.

 

[jeremy]

Those that drum the drums of war won't like this video so much and will certainly ridicule this soldier for speaking out.

Really...
WTH is that supposed to mean anyway?!

Combat will **** you up.

Too many emotional problems and not enough counseling.

Not everyone is emotionally equipped to handle the rigors of seeing their friends blown to bits and being required to kill people.

Personally, I think there is almost to much Counseling...

I also feel that there are LOTS of Veterans who are riding the I have a Problem train to VA Entitlements that could really be better used by Persons with real issues...

Because maybe he believes everyone is entitled to your sig line...maybe...

Maybe you can live my Sig line...

HE VOLUNTEERED!~
What did he expect from the Corps? To go to prom with the enemy?
If ya can't mentally hack it, join the peace corps!
Hard men are called to do hard ****!

HTFU or STFU!

Semper Fi!

GerryOwen!!!

 

[dom1104]

I am not sure why I am supposed to care one way or the other.

"Man Quits job at Gas Station, throws away 30 years of service watch"

Pretty much the same deal.

 

[HICKMAN]

Stay away from the IVAW... nothing but a liberal funded group of folks.

Remember Markos Moulitsas Zúniga (founder of liberal d-bag site Daily KOS) is a veteran as well.



Pair this guys video up with Bin Laden's "Paper Tiger" speach... more ammo for the bad guys...

 

[steveh_131]

I wonder if maybe he joined under the foolish assumption that any violence he saw or was ordered to commit would be in the service of freedom and the best interests of his fellow Americans.

I recall a couple veterans of a war a few decades back who felt the same way.

 

[ATOMonkey]

Personally, I think there is almost to much Counseling...

I also feel that there are LOTS of Veterans who are riding the I have a Problem train to VA Entitlements that could really be better used by Persons with real issues...

GerryOwen!!!

I don't know about too much counseling, but you can definitely get the wrong counseling. You don't send a combat vet with PTSD to a marriage counselor. Although, I do think that probably happens. It's also silly to think you can help someone who doesn't really want it, and is just going through the motions. Counseling is like supervised self help.

As long as there's someone handing out freebies, there will be someone trying to take advantage of it.

I addressed this in another thread as well. People who have real problems often don't like to admit they have real problems, because that means something is wrong with them, and no one wants to admit that they're broken.

 

[Booya]

I don't know this guy or what he's been through, nor did I serve with him. However, he sounds like a fairly weak individual just based on that video. "My first confirmed kill, dude was just standing there, I wasted him. Third confirmed kill, dude just riding his bike, we wasted him. (paraphrasing of course). WTF man? I know innocents die, welcome to war, but dam. In none of my tours did I ever even witness just out right blatant "hey everyone, there some people, lets kill them!".

He should have said something more like "Eat the apple, F the Corps, I have no balls, morality, or the intestinal fortitude to stand up for myself." Had I ever received an order to just smoke a random innocent person (we did some of that, but not intentionally. meaning we were convinced they were not innocent at the time) I would have told whomever was giving that order to pound sand.

Jeremy hit the nail on the head about PTSD/anger/mental issues! There are way to many guys that go over, get home, get out and start looking for handouts! Maybe if they publicize some of the stupid sh$t they did over there it'll make getting paid easier. Suck it up son, you went to war, bad sh*t happens. If you were a monster over there, you made those choices, not the Corps. Take ownership of your actions.

 

[CBR1000rr]

It sounds like (my opinion which may or may not be wrong) that everyone who's commented has missed the point of his speach in this video.What I gained from this video is that he quit not because of what he did but because of the reaction by his superiors to what he did as well as the 2 faces of war. War is not the sensless killing of innocent civillians but the way he protrayed it, that is exactly what he was doing and that was what was "encouraged". For a CO to offer a reward of 4 days leave to any soldier who's first kill is at the tip of a knife is in my mind an implication that you are to kill who you can and let God sort them out.

War, for those who've seen it first hand, carries a lot of baggage. To say that there is too much counseling or not enough is a bigoted statement. The bagge that accompanies war varies from man to man and woman to woman. It doesn't just affect those who participate but those who love those who participate. The amount of support needed will vary greatly. A man who's harder than most isn't in need of any less support than a weaker man. A weaker man simply doesn't have the ability to suppress his feelings or emotions.

If you want to know who a man really is, send him to war and observe him when he returns. Take that same man and observe him when he interacts with with another soldier who's shared in the experience. Take those two observations and form your opinion before you say you know what it's like for a returning soldier.

 

[Juggernaut]

I wonder if maybe he joined under the foolish assumption that any violence he saw or was ordered to commit would be in the service of freedom and the best interests of his fellow Americans.

I recall a couple veterans of a war a few decades back who felt the same way.

THEY were drafted... HE volunteered...

 

[fireblade]

As saying goes..... war is hell .......some have problems dealing with it .......i hope this guy gets the help he needs......and not be taken advantage of by special interest groups.......