Reply #10: I feel sorry for these soldiers [View All]

[Rage for Order]

What they did was wrong and they deserve any punishment they get, but these were kids, fresh out of high school, who joined the military and were trained to kill. They were then sent to very hostile lands without a clearly-defined enemy (the Taliban don't wear uniforms and carry flags) who blends in with the civilian population. It's an incredibly stressful environment where our soldiers are exposed to heinous visuals nearly every day...dismembered bodies, rotting corpses, the constant stench of death, having buddies blown up by IEDs, being fired on constantly...I'm surprised more of them don't snap, truthfully. Here's part of what Morlock said in court:

"Morlock, his voice shaking at times, told the judge has had a lot of time to reflect on his actions in Afghanistan and ask himself "how I could become so insensitive and how I lost my moral compass."

"I don't know if I will ever be able to answer those questions," he said, adding that he believes he "wasn't fully prepared for the reality of war as it was being fought in Afghanistan."



It's time to bring these men home. Now.