Captain gets reprieve: Army captain from Manhattan

[cal04]

The Army captain from Manhattan who is defying deployment to Iraq has won the first round of his fight not to fight.Capt. Jay Ferriola, who was supposed to report for 18 months of military police duty at 7 a.m. today, was granted an 11th hour reprieve yesterday while the Army reviews his retirement request.

Ferriola, 31, took the Army and U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to federal court on Friday, claiming the mobilization orders amounted to "illegal servitude" because he'd submitted retirement papers on June 7.The Army agreed to temporarily suspend his orders pending a review, for the moment averting a legal battle with possible implications for reservists caught in the so-called backdoor draft.

"We're very pleased. ... I'm extremely optimistic that the Army will rule in our favor," said Ferriola's attorney Barry Slotnick, standing outside federal court in Manhattan yesterday with his stone-faced client, whom he referred to as the "former captain."

Ferriola, wearing a gray suit and red tie and accompanied by his girlfriend and several Army buddies, declined to answer reporters' questions, saying his lawyer would comment for him.Although Ferriola's resignation was approved by his direct superior, Slotnick said the captain has "nothing in writing acknowledging his resignation" and "nothing in writing rejecting his resignation" from higher-ranked officials.

http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/manhattan/nyc-nycapt254018811oct25,0,1161340.story?coll=nyc-homepage-headlines

[RivetJoint]

1. "Retirement papers?"

WTF? Did he enter the Army at 11?

[cal04]

4. The story of Ferriola

Ferriola had voluntarily enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve in 1993 for an eight-year period in exchange for an ROTC scholarship at the Virginia Military Institute.

After graduating, he served in various Army positions and was promoted to the rank of captain. In February 2000 he was separated from active duty and placed in the reserves.

Last year he was ordered back to active duty and was released to the reserves in June, 2003. He completed the eight years of service with the Army in February of this year.

He submitted his written resignation as a reserve officer on June 7, and his commanding officer then recommended the resignation be approved. The suit said, however, that Ferriola never received an official response to his resignation request.

The suit charges that Ferriola's rights were violated because the military wrongfully failed to process his resignation in a timely manner.

[RivetJoint]

5. So, it's separation

paper, not retirement papers then.

Sounds like he might have a case, since the military failed to act on his request. Of course, EVERYONE in the military knows that nothing is official until you "see it in writing."

[sam sarrha]

2. you mean like Bush how many years younger..???

[wolfgirl]

3. If he succeeds in this it will only be because

they want to keep it out of the media. We can't have the media actually showing how our military is not 100% behind the President!