Chicken...
There was a stink in Seattle yesterday when the Seattle P-I ran a story that was originally titled "As brave as those who fight". Read the story of Stephan Funk who deserted and then turned himself in claiming conscientious objector status. He should no get to spend some lengthy time in a military stockade for being stupid.
If he had not deserted he'd have a case. The other problem is that all recruits have to sign a statement that they understand that joining means they may be activated, or posted to a combat environment. Funk went AWOL for 47 days before he turned himself in. I don't think the word brave needs to be anywhere near this young man.
When you join the military you take a job where you may be ordered to die. You also have a good chance to be given orders to kill. It's part of the job. Anyone not aware of that is an idiot, or hopes he/she will be lucky. Beruit, Grenada, Panama, Gulf War 1, Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia, Kosovo, Gulf War 2 (what did I miss?), all since the middle 80's. You would have to be asleep to not notice that we have killed and been killed in many lands.
My favorite line in the article: "The notion that as a Marine he would be expected to kill people somehow escaped...Stephen Funk when he...enlisted in the Reserves." I just wonder where he was when the brains got handed out. For the P-I to describe him as brave is an insult to all the men and women in combat right now. He's just nothing more then a scared young man, who failed to understand the commitment and responsibility of what it means to be in the military...mj
2:21:16 AM 
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