- A soldier who fled before his second deployment to Iraq pleaded guilty Thursday to desertion under a plea deal that will send him to military prison for less than a year.
“I quit the Army, I quit my unit, and I did not show up when I needed to,” Spc. Mark Wilkerson told a military judge during his sentencing hearing.
Wilkerson, 23, surrendered at Fort Hood in August — about a year and a half after failing to return from an approved two-week leave — saying he was tired of running and wanted to move forward with his life.
What do you think? Should soldiers be able to pick and choose their battles?
As a veteran of the bosnian conflict I feel very strongly about this. When you enlist in the military you take an oath to "support and defend the constitution of the united states" and follow the orders of those appointed above you. If you enlisted and did not realize that you could be sent to fight, then perhaps you are not smart enough to wear that uniform.
Posted on 02/26/07 04:18:20
Kim wrote:
You don't get to pick and choose your battles while in the military. Why would someone enlist if they didn't believe in the military and its processes? He needs to go to jail.
Posted on 02/26/07 15:04:59
darlenejackson wrote:
he needstogotojail.
Posted on 02/26/07 18:20:04
J. Gray wrote:
Enlistment and drafting are certainly apples and oranges. When enlisting, one needs to be made accountable for their actions, since they exercised their freedom to join. When it comes to the draft it is society and our elected officials that need to be held accountable and not solely placed on the drafted. So yes, prison is most certainly warranted for enlisted personel that go AWOL. Only in this way can we ensure sound judgements both in and out of the military.
Posted on 02/27/07 15:23:01
Andrew wrote:
I feel strongly that the liberties and freedoms that we are given in this great country should not be taken away. Therefore, if our army attempts to restrict our liberties by forcing our boys to fight I think that this is against our great constitution. So yes, I do think that U.S troops should be able to pick and choose their battle, not to do so would be an infringement on our liberties and freedoms.
Posted on 03/01/07 15:34:45
Theresa H wrote:
I'm wondering if there is more to the story not being told as to why this young man went AWOL - after coming home from a sick country, was he in mental distress? I think there is always more to the story that the "public" is being told.
Posted on 03/04/07 06:54:18
taylor wrote:
get the hell over your fear's the country is hell you go to shit infested battles bad quarters and when you signed up for the u.s army you new that.
Posted on 03/04/07 18:34:08
Ana wrote:
17 year olds are not old enough to drink, Not old enough to vote. How can the Government and supposedly highly educated individual hold them responsible for making a choice that is wrong. He was forced to go AWOL, his request for conscientious objector was denied. Why?
"HE SHOULD NOT GO TO JAIL."
Posted on 03/08/07 11:54:44
guillermo wrote:
fuck that shit.george bush. fuck that puto.ftp.
Posted on 03/23/07 09:05:34
Amanda wrote:
Let him go. He is in the wrong for going awol yes, but he stood up like a man and turned himself in. Let him go home to his family, thats where Bush is and I don't see him in Iraq fighting for his country!
Posted on 03/29/07 00:13:53
DTC wrote:
The whole Military process is bullshit. I hear all this gunhoe stuff from military personnel and people such as "They choose to sign a contract and take an oath. They should do their moral obligation." That's total bullshit to me. The fact is a lot of people in the military are pretty much tricked into joining(misled) or go in there not fully informed. Just look at the target recruits; mostly people that don't have much going on in their lives. So, they get desparate, get told a tale of grandeur, and enlist not knowing what to expect. Then next thing they know, they are basically hostages and prisoners of the government, forced to do whatever the government pleases with them. And unless they are mentally unfit, in which case they still must get a discharge that takes time and might hurt them their entire life finding a job, or have an unrepairable injury, they are at the government's disposal. It's really quite sickening. They don't enjoy really any rights. It's really quietly one of the biggest injustice.
Posted on 04/05/07 13:01:54
DTC wrote:
If the Military is actually voluntary like they say and comprised of willing members("Coalition of the willing"), the government should practice what they preach and allow soldiers to quit instead of holding them against their will. It also becomes a safeguard so that the leaders of the military must make decisions that consider the safety of said soldiers, instead of just doing whatever they want with them and letting them die.
Posted on 04/05/07 13:05:22
RX-7 wrote:
Did George W. Bush get any jail time when he went AWOL??? No, he didn't, why because his rich mommy and daddy and connections to the US Government got his pussy ass out of his "commitment".
Posted on 07/06/07 02:13:21
Vilyamqc wrote:
Hello! great idea of color of this siyte!
Posted on 08/02/07 23:44:39
Alexvst wrote:
If you want do delete your site from our spam bases - just email us with domain of your site:
abuse-here@inbox.ru
thank you!
Posted on 10/02/07 21:13:03
Special K. wrote:
I think after basic training a soldier should b able to choose whether to stay or not because once u get n there and they strip u of ur dignity call u out ur name make u do push-ups till u throw up, make u run n 100 degree weather or 20 below weather, make u eat a whole meal n 60 seconds make u run in room full of gas that makes u snot all over ur self make u sleep n the woods for days with no food just that shit n the pouch, o i think i changed my mind already. and for those who want to stay after that well it is what it is.......hell yeah let them out if they want out there are plenty of people who really like that shit but for those who dont let them go!
Posted on 11/15/07 12:14:57
KMAN wrote:
I am a foot soldier in the US Navy...I myself am thinking of going UA or AWOL...I do not have orders to go to Iraq but I have already been there and see that this war is all wrong. I have watched my friends die for liberty that can not be instilled in these people....Its not a choice of whether Im honorable enough its a simple right or wrong...By the way the my oath that I took said to "Defend this country against enemys for or domestic" That means dictator and I think we are already there....The military is not made for everyone...Its not for me. I can not do it...I am not capable of being brainwashed
people sign up to serve there country and when they do they are told what they have signed up for and when the military does not do there part of the deal thats when people stand up and do what they have too
Posted on 01/21/08 19:08:09
uncle sam wrote:
our counrty is soo proud of standing up for what it believes in like freedom and taking care of our counrty men and always being there for its troops i believe that the troops stand up for the people they see everyday and care about not for the person behind the desk that sends them off too war the goverment does not take care of its people they take care of the mission
Posted on 01/21/08 19:12:47
uncle sam wrote:
i think that if someone decides that they dont want to serve anymore they should be free to go why does the military want to pay someone that could careless about what they are doing and that most likely is not going to do thier job very well (because they just want to fill in the ranks)
