Army deserters. What is your opinion?t

[hannamaren]

There is a petition going around some Moms groups about an American woman that was a member of the army that fled to Canada with her family because she didnt want to go back to Iraq. The Canadian government is sending her back (legally they have to, I think) to face her Army punishment,etc.
The petition is to tell the Canadian government to let her stay as a refugee. She has kids and a husband here (all American too, I think)

What say you?
I think she made her commitment and she should face her punishment.it sucks but, she made that choice.

[Deleted]

I think Canada should send her back. As for what happens when she gets back, I would need to know more details.

[casmgn]

While I think it's insane how many deployments soldiers are being sent on to Iraq & Afghanistan, the military survives by people following their orders. If everyone could just decide "oh I don't feel like doing that", then our military would be a complete sh!tshow.

[hannamaren]

Sept 17, 2012 14:13:30 GMT -5 @notquiteblushing said:

I think Canada should send her back. As for what happens when she gets back, I would need to know more details.

Yeah, I have no idea if her punishment will be appropriate, but I feel she should face it.

[Deleted]

Sept 17, 2012 14:14:21 GMT -5 casmgn said:

While I think it's insane how many deployments soldiers are being sent on to Iraq & Afghanistan, the military survives by people following their orders. If everyone could just decide "oh I don't feel like doing that", then our military would be a complete sh!tshow.

This. She signed up for it.

[hannamaren]

Sept 17, 2012 14:19:12 GMT -5 carrotsmakemefat said:

How is the punishment not fair? She signed up for the military. You volunteered to follow the rules.

That said, if there was a bigger issue of her having an illness or PTSD or something (could claim insanity or something like that), then I would have more sympathy. Otherwise, send her through the military justice system like everyone else

Do you know her rank by chance?

I know nothing.
I think the petition talked more about her family than her military resume. Trying to evoke sympathy, I assume.

[mbcdefg]

Is this her? www.stltoday.com/news/national/canada-to-deport-u-s-woman-soldier-who-fled-to/article_eb166ad2-8b4d-5143-bc8a-f31a46be01a1.html

She signed up for the military, so she should be returned to the U.S. and face appropriate punishment.

Maybe she changed her mind once she got over there and saw what was going on, which sucks, but she can't just bail out in the middle of service like that. Honor your commitment.

[audette]

According to an article I read, one of her kids was born in Canada, so one child is Canadian.


When the draft was being used, I could see someone arguing for refugee status or some type of compassionate allowance. But it's an all-volunteer force now.

Yes, she should be sent back to the US. And, yes, the US military system should put her thru the military justice system to determine punishment.

[ejpint]

Yeah, sorry. I hate war, I wish the military didn't have to exist, but it's not like she was drafted. What did she think she was enlisting for? She signed up, she needs to honor that commitment and face the music. If there's something going on beyond just not wanting to go back to a war zone, like mental or physical ailments or being harassed, she should go through the proper channels, not skip the country.

Were she drafted, I would probably have a completely different answer.

[mrsjuleshs]

Send her back. She signed the commitment with the government and needs to honor it.

[casmgn]

Sept 17, 2012 14:27:22 GMT -5 mbcdefg said:

Is this her? www.stltoday.com/news/national/canada-to-deport-u-s-woman-soldier-who-fled-to/article_eb166ad2-8b4d-5143-bc8a-f31a46be01a1.html

She signed up for the military, so she should be returned to the U.S. and face appropriate punishment.

Maybe she changed her mind once she got over there and saw what was going on, which sucks, but she can't just bail out in the middle of service like that. Honor your commitment.

The fact that she joined in 2006 makes me completely unsympathetic. She decided to join during wartime, what did she think was going to happen? And I have to wonder if she even talked to her commanding officer about other options.

[soleil]

This might be unpopular, but I don't think she should face punishment. Its easy to say that's what she signed up for, but there are many, many soldiers that don't have a clue (I grew up in Colorado Springs, pretty much a military/airforce/etc. capital) what they're getting in for, and there's not much in the way of getting out once you get in--plus, even if you get to the end of you contract you can be stop-lossed.

Where I grew up there was heavy, heavy propaganda for enlisting...free college! Great pay! Be a hero!!! Drive a tank! Be patriotic! Love your country!!! Its very glorified, not much mention of the realities of enlisting. Not just the realities of war, but even institutional problems within the military itself, like the rape/assault issues with women, the way veterans are treated, how mental issues/trauma are dealt with, etc. One guy I knew was especially excited to enlist for the whole tank thing "I can't wait! I get to drive a tank, it will be soooo cool!".

This kind of goes into my critiques of the whole institution--needing to properly inform people of the realities of enlisting, starting off with short-term contracts to test for fit, etc.

She should probably go back and honor her commitment, but I don't fault her at all for high tailing it once she saw what it was really like.

[Deleted]

I'm with soleil, even if that's the wrong answer.

Even post-9/11, I don't think that people really know what they signed up for. Particularly when you're looking at 18 year old kids who need the money. Also, I kind of get the impression that none of us who are civilians really can put ourselves in the shoes of someone who has been through it. I get the impression that it is a lot worse than it sounds, even when it sounds really bad. So at the very least, I can't blame the woman.

[cjeanette]

Refugee is a bit extreme. She does need to come home and face her punishment. Still, I side-eye everyone who says she knew what she was signing up for. I am going to go out on a limb and say she had no way of fully knowing until she was living it.

[kmmssg]

She should be sent home just like any guy would be. She should be treated like any other Soldier who deserted to Canada would be. Being a female and having kids makes no difference. The consequences have to be the same across the board.

[egishere]

Team Army. She signed up for it and can't use having a family as an excuse.

[315bride]

I agree with soleil to some degree. The propaganda for recruits is nauseating. I know the shit that really goes down in the military is not at all how they portray it.

That said, there is no way I can say that it warrants refugee status. Canada no doubt won't even touch that. She'll have to face the consequences in the U.S.

[niki]

I say that if she wants to stay in Canada permanently, let her, but at a loss of her citizenship. I think there should be a way for people to get out of service. Too many people get into it without being able to understand what the commitment means.

[KaraOrNot]

I don't believe anyone can really know what it will be like, until they are actually there. However, I agree that she needs to come home and face her punishment.