Army Reservist HAS HAD ENOUGH! - Will SUE ARMY to Stop FIFTH Deployment

[kpete]

MILITARY SERVICE
Reservist fighting his fifth war call-up
After serving in Afghanistan and three times in Iraq, an Army Reserve sergeant from Port St. Lucie recoiled at still another deployment.
BY AMY DRISCOLL
[e-mail]

CARL JUSTE / MIAMI HERALD STAFF
Erik Botta is an Army Reservist who has done four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is now being called for a fifth tour.


PORT ST. LUCIE -- Erik Botta believes he's done right by his country.

Days after 9/11, as a young Army reservist, he volunteered to go to war. He was soon in Afghanistan.

The next year, he was sent out again, this time to Iraq, part of a Special Operations team.

In the next two years, he was sent to Iraq again. And again.

He thought he was done. But now, the Army wants Sgt. Botta one more time.

The 26-year-old Port St. Lucie man has been ordered to report to Fort Jackson, S.C., on July 15 for his fifth deployment.
And that has compelled Botta, a first-generation American who counts himself a quiet patriot,
to do something he never thought he'd do: sue the Army.

''I'm proud of my service,'' he said. ``I never wanted it to end like this.''

read the rest at:
http://www.miamiherald.com/569/story/163895.html

[havocmom]

1. bush/cheney $ saving idea: Deploy until they die

cuts down on money spent on care for vets; makes a few dollars more available to send to their cronies.

These guys need our help.

Get yer Congress Critter on the phone tomorrow AM on this one.

[Lerkfish]

5. I"ve suggested this as their plan before: to save on VA benefits, redeploy until killed.

[aquart]

2. He volunteered.

Because that's what honest, brave young men do when their leader tells them an "act of war" has been committed.

Never mind that only nation states can commit an "act of war." Ignore the elevation of a mangy gang leader to the status of a head of state. Blindly enlist and go to war. Against...nations that sent no one against us.

And keep repeating to yourself that you have every reason to be proud of what you're doing.

He still doesn't get that he was snookered.

[Breeze54]

11. He joined the Guard in 2000!! That was way before 9-11!!

Botta joined the reserves in 2000 and asked to be activated in 2001
-- ''I felt like I had to do something'' after 9/11, he said -- and
his tours of duty have lasted up to eight months.
He left active duty at the end of 2004.

This is clearly abuse of the NG!! I hope he wins!!!! :grr:

Enough is enough!!

snip-->

"Nearly seven years into his eight-year commitment to the reserves,..."

"Botta's case may be even stronger. He has completed more years of service
and more combat tours, has a job in the defense industry while pursuing his
engineering degree, and was granted a 287-day delay already, Waple noted."

[NancyBreen]

3. I hope it becomes a class action suit and he is joined by others n/t

[murray hill farm]

7. I hope so too, NancyBreen!

And Welcome to DU.

[nolabels]

4. I don't feel sad for the fella

I served my time in uniform but have noticed when you take off the uniform you will probably, in many ways, still feel like you have it on. After that time you feel like a hero, you get to find out much of the world don't really care, nor should they, probably. The point being he gets to now see the ugly side of it.

The many of them cannot even understand what they really did till later in their life or maybe never sometimes. Defending the imperial corporatism would seem to me really nothing to be proud of or brag about. Personally i am not indignant about it and have come to understand that all things in life must be learned. Some just have more a brutal time with learning part than others.

This quote from his defense lawyer, a former military judge, told me way too much. Kind of sounded like the ignorant serving the ignorant
(snip)
''This is no peace protester,'' Waple said. ``I wouldn't have touched this case with a 10-foot pole if it was. He's put the boots on and been in combat.''
(snip)

The country they are supposed to be defending has been upended, taken over and all from right below their noses :shrug:

[Jim__]

6. Did you see Matthew Continetti, Weekly Standard Associate Editor on Washington Jounal this morning.

This guy graduated Columbia University in 2003 - i.e. he's probabaly about 25 years old. He's strongly in favor of the war. He doesn't think that US servicemen should get to come home for a year between deployments. He thinks its very important to our military strategy that we keep these people over there. It's a shame about their families and all, but this is about national security.

A caller did get through and tell him he's a coward if he thinks this war is important for our national security, but he won't go and fight it. After they cut the caller off, Matthew assured us that it was his constitutional right to advocate for the war.

That's right coward, it's your constitutional right, but since you don't have the stones to go and fight for what you believe, you ought to have the class to keep your goddamned mouth shut.

[Cha]

9. What "Constitution" ..michael

continetti? The one the assholes in our whitehouse are running through the shredder as we type?

He's still a Coward..the c-span caller had it right. They cut this caller off and let the bushits go on and on and on?

[sandnsea]

14. The one that guarantees guns

if any of the other 9 amendments in the bill of rights are enforced. You know, the con-stitution.

[LiberalFighter]

16. Here is Continetti

[nolabels]

17. It's my constitutional right to laugh at the fool, the Mr. Matthew Continetti as it were

His sounds more like the life of worm. To get up in the morning and be afraid of the sight of the sun, what a thing to be believed :shrug:

[w8liftinglady]

18. Oddly enough,I said almost that same thing in my latest ltte

http://www.thedailylight.com/articles/2007/07/06/dailylight/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/letter-dawson-07-06.txt

[Middle finga]

8. These guys and gals are getting used

for imperialism nothing more nothing less. You don't deploy your military to chase down a network of terrorist cells that's a mission for intelligence agencies and special ops. You don't go occupy countries because of a terrorist act in your country. All I can say to young folks who are thinking about joining the military you better do your homework because once you sign up, you're property of the US government to be used how ever they wish.

[Fire Walk With Me]

10. Perspective is everything.

"In commuting Libby's sentence, President Bush said that the former vice presidential aide had suffered enough and that the 30-month prison term ordered up by a federal judge was 'excessive.'"

[Breeze54]

12. No shit. Good point!

:grr:

[caligirl]

13. Port st lucie is in staunch repub Bay County, solidly red Panama City .

Home tpo tyndall Air force Base and a sub base.

[LiberalFighter]

15. I bet none of the regular militias during the Revolutionary War served

as many tours as this guy.