American soldiers, seeking refugee status in Canada

[ttrammell]

send the cowards back

 

[oldrooster]

Quote:
You can be released "for the good of the service" if they think you'll be to much trouble.

not what i was referring to sir,as I stated they had a "get out of jail free card" of some sort if you where smart enough to ask for it at the right times, the pre-boot camp one was a free pass, but the tail end of the boot camp one had some sort of hitch to it, but it was still effective to help out those who realized they made a mistake of joining up, it wasn't a "don't call us we'll call you" discharge, like you are referring to, it is a different discharge....

Well they also have one that they give in or at the end of boot camp that makes it like you never signed up and were never there. I don't remember what it was called though.
that is the one I was talking about, but for some reason it sticks in my mind there is a penelty of some sort connected to it, no criminal record type of stuff, but some sort of penelty. the one pre-boot camp was if you never signed up at all, but it seems to me I heard a person had a limit of times to say no before they said, nope you changed your mind too often and we will not ever accept you.

 

[yinepu]

So far we have 11, Americans who went AWOL, claiming refugee status. This status is generally for people from war torn countries.

The latest, says he will be "court martailed" sp? sorry
So he wants our governent to grant him a refugee status, which has many perks. that we Canadians pay for.
I'm trying to understand, why anyone would join the army, if they didn't want to go to war? So they took from the USA, all the perks that come with military status. Now want to come here and take from us.. Nobody forced them to join the military.

What happens if you get "court martialed?"
What are your thoughts on this?

I really take offense to that statement. My husband is serving in the Army deployed to Afghanistan right now. He didn't join because "he wanted to go to war". That statement makes it sound as if guys who join the military are a bunch of blood thirsty war mongers. This is his fourth deployment. Three times to Iraq and now to Afghanistan.. and trust me.. he does NOT want to be there.. however he signed the contract and made an oath. He has also reenlisted..NOT because he enjoys going to war. But because there are some perks to serving his country. A steady job, decent pay,, health benefits as well as the training he has received. He has become a leader and has gained skills that will be useful when he does decide to retire. And because of his job choice he was about to buy a house at the ripe old age of 21. I don't think he would have been able to do that if his line of work included asking "do you want fries with that"..
Sure he could be flipping burgers for minimum wage or a dozen other dead end jobs and be sitting here "safe" in the good ol USA... . But instead he decided to serve his country. To make it sound like the guys and gals who join the military are just doing it because they "want to go to war" is an insult to a lot of fine people.

 

[Kilsharion]

I really take offense to that statement. My husband is serving in the Army deployed to Afghanistan right now. He didn't join because "he wanted to go to war". That statement makes it sound as if guys who join the military are a bunch of blood thirsty war mongers. This is his fourth deployment. Three times to Iraq and now to Afghanistan.. and trust me.. he does NOT want to be there.. however he signed the contract and made an oath. He has also reenlisted..NOT because he enjoys going to war. But because there are some perks to serving his country. A steady job, decent pay,, health benefits as well as the training he has received. He has become a leader and has gained skills that will be useful when he does decide to retire. And because of his job choice he was about to buy a house at the ripe old age of 21. I don't think he would have been able to do that if his line of work included asking "do you want fries with that"..
Sure he could be flipping burgers for minimum wage or a dozen other dead end jobs and be sitting here "safe" in the good ol USA... . But instead he decided to serve his country. To make it sound like the guys and gals who join the military are just doing it because they "want to go to war" is an insult to a lot of fine people.

As a disabled vet having served in a few wars that were absolutely none of my desire to serve in...I more than take offense at it. I joined because my grandfather and father were military; and, I grew up in the military. When I was a whole 16 years old, graduated high school and eager for life, I had no thought of anything else except joining the military. It certainly wasn't so I could go to war...we had been at peace all my life. There were no noises of war on the horizon. Life was grand, and the military was what I knew. I joined. Three years later, we were at war and I was in a warzone....losing friends near and dear to me because of a bomb that had no business being where it was. Sending out companions that I knew would possibly not return, day in and day out. Being in the air over enemy troops knowing that at any second it could be my last. It sure as bloody heck wasn't because I wanted to bloody well be there. I hated every moment of those wars. I despised ever second of it. I didn't agree with my governments decision on any of it. But, I was there. Why? Because I made an oath to be there. Because I said I would serve and serve I did. Understanding or not. Agreeing or not. Liking or not.

They don't sit you down and say, "Oh, by the way, dear...we realize you may have issues with what you are told to do, and that's ok. If you do, just disregard your orders. We'll understand." They don't understand. And, do you know what the cost of desertion is in a time of war? Literally? No? Go look it up.

There are some people who have no bloody alternative. It's either join the military or nothing. People from small towns where there is literally 0 employment opportunities. People with zero skills that have to have some way to support a family that maybe they weren't exactly planning on having to support. Even in this day and age, surprises happen.

There are more reasons than there are grains on the sand for why someone might join the military - and, yes, some may do so for the thrill of the kill. Just like some people might post lambasting and slanderous and vicious posts for the thrill of it, while others may post it just because they didn't think through what they were saying, and others might do it just because the worded themselves poorly.

Regardless of why a few might do something, it is never wise to decide that all do it for that reason. Stop and think, from time to time, about what it would be like to be somewhere you hated. Somewhere that tore you apart heart and soul every day. And, to know that while you were there in hell - people were sitting on their high horse of indignant self-righteousness in their cozy houses with their cozy lives telling others what a rat you were for being there...never knowing if your next breath would bring about the loss of a comrade, the loss of a limb, the loss of another piece of your heart and soul, or - more preferable - the loss of your own life.

Yes, I absolutely took offense. And, I believe it to be fully justified.

{edited to answer one of the questions in the post}
BTW - to answer the question....to go AWOL in a time of war carries a maximum sentence of death. A minimum sentence of time in a federal penitintiary.

 

[chickened]

Well they also have one that they give in or at the end of boot camp that makes it like you never signed up and were never there. I don't remember what it was called though.

It used to be called a "general discharge" which meant you were not army material.

 

[hemet dennis]

Quote:
Well I don't think they meant it as an insult. People don't become firefighters to go in to burning buildings and people don't join law enforcement to get in to shootouts.

 

[chickened]

As a disabled vet having served in a few wars that were absolutely none of my desire to serve in...I more than take offense at it. I joined because my grandfather and father were military; and, I grew up in the military. When I was a whole 16 years old, graduated high school and eager for life, I had no thought of anything else except joining the military. It certainly wasn't so I could go to war...we had been at peace all my life. There were no noises of war on the horizon. Life was grand, and the military was what I knew. I joined. Three years later, we were at war and I was in a warzone....losing friends near and dear to me because of a bomb that had no business being where it was. Sending out companions that I knew would possibly not return, day in and day out. Being in the air over enemy troops knowing that at any second it could be my last. It sure as bloody heck wasn't because I wanted to bloody well be there. I hated every moment of those wars. I despised ever second of it. I didn't agree with my governments decision on any of it. But, I was there. Why? Because I made an oath to be there. Because I said I would serve and serve I did. Understanding or not. Agreeing or not. Liking or not.

They don't sit you down and say, "Oh, by the way, dear...we realize you may have issues with what you are told to do, and that's ok. If you do, just disregard your orders. We'll understand." They don't understand. And, do you know what the cost of desertion is in a time of war? Literally? No? Go look it up.

There are some people who have no bloody alternative. It's either join the military or nothing. People from small towns where there is literally 0 employment opportunities. People with zero skills that have to have some way to support a family that maybe they weren't exactly planning on having to support. Even in this day and age, surprises happen.

There are more reasons than there are grains on the sand for why someone might join the military - and, yes, some may do so for the thrill of the kill. Just like some people might post lambasting and slanderous and vicious posts for the thrill of it, while others may post it just because they didn't think through what they were saying, and others might do it just because the worded themselves poorly.

Regardless of why a few might do something, it is never wise to decide that all do it for that reason. Stop and think, from time to time, about what it would be like to be somewhere you hated. Somewhere that tore you apart heart and soul every day. And, to know that while you were there in hell - people were sitting on their high horse of indignant self-righteousness in their cozy houses with their cozy lives telling others what a rat you were for being there...never knowing if your next breath would bring about the loss of a comrade, the loss of a limb, the loss of another piece of your heart and soul, or - more preferable - the loss of your own life.

Yes, I absolutely took offense. And, I believe it to be fully justified.

{edited to answer one of the questions in the post}
BTW - to answer the question....to go AWOL in a time of war carries a maximum sentence of death. A minimum sentence of time in a federal penitintiary.

Thanks for your service. My grandfather served under a french colonel in the trenches in France. He can tell you plenty about being where he did not want to be also.

 

[Kilsharion]

Thanks for your service. My grandfather served under a french colonel in the trenches in France. He can tell you plenty about being where he did not want to be also.

I bet he can. Those were even more vicious times than we have now. I tip my hat to him.

 

[chickened]

My wife's uncle Roy French. Not sure of the plane type( P51?) but it is on the wooden deck of an American aircraft carrier in WWII.

 

[Kilsharion]

My wife's uncle Roy French. Not sure of the plane type( P51?) but it is on the wooden deck of an American aircraft carrier in WWII.

My BIL David and his mother, Peggy (1966)....just before he shipped off for his final tour.

He was so full of life and had joined the bloody COAST GUARD RESERVES to avoid being sent to Vietnam...




He never thought this would be where he drew his last breath on the 14th of Jan 1969 - at the age of 19.

He didn't want to be there. He did what he thought he could do - enrolling in college, joining the reserves - to avoid being drafted and to avoid bailing on his family. Only to have his unit be sent over there for river duty.

So many more, lost. On every side.

War is an atrocity, as far as I'm concerned.

But, those in the service do not deserve disregard just for being in the service.

Those who revel in the death, in the killing - those who defile others for the sake of doing so...whether in the military or not....those earn my disregard.