Ex-Paratrooper Finishes AWOL Sentence

[cal04]

A former paratrooper who admitted abandoning his post because he disagreed with the U.S. mission in Iraq was freed from a military prison Saturday, stopping in Raleigh to greet supporters before he headed home to Washington state.

(snip)
Clousing has said he witnessed an American soldier kill an innocent Iraqi man in Mosul, but that unit leaders dismissed his account by saying he was an inexperienced soldier.

``My decision was never personal to my command. I had to honor my own personal convictions,'' he said. ``I'm excited to finally be finished with the military. I've gotten the opportunity to learn a lot about myself and the system I fell under.''

(snip)
At a Quaker meeting house in Raleigh afterward, he told about three dozen supporters how his patriotism initially grew after he enlisted in the military in 2002 but was shaken by what he witnessed in Iraq.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6300671,00.html

[Trillo]

1. Yet, according to the ISG report,

Iraqi Army soldiers "are given leave liberally and face no penalties for absence without leave" (AWOL) and "elements of the Army have refused to carry out missions".

I doubt this Ex Paratrooper has done anything wrong, other than broken a hypocritical and arbitrary rule. Yet, he was punished. With the dishonorable discharge on his record, it's likely he will continue to be punished for the rest of his life.

[Eugene]

2. K&R - A good man did the right thing and paid a high price. n/t