SLL IS ON VACATION 8/3-8/4 AND WILL RESUME POSTING 8/5.
One soldier’s explanation why he’s leaving the Army and a lot of retirement pension money on the table. From Maggie at theburningplatform.com:
A Chilling Letter From an NCO Calling It Quits
(As a veteran of the Air Force myself, with my husband retired, I am particularly moved by the sincerity I perceive in the letter posted on Ann’s page. I know the feeling in the pit of this NCO’s stomach because I experienced it myself when I stared into the soulless eyes of a former commander who’d sold us all out for a post-military career with a Big Gubment weapons manufacturer. Those in power do not care about what is legal or what is right. And if you are in their “employ”, they expect you to comply with their directives, lawful or not. Emphases Ann’s).
Ann,
I leave the Army for good in September of this year. My chain of command has been shell shocked that I am going through with it. Two years ago when I first came to grips with what was happening and resolved to no longer be a part of it, there was derision and even an officer telling me that voicing my opinions about the state of the US economy and its moral failings could be considered a violation of the UCMJ for conduct “prejudicial to good order and discipline.”
When I gave my Operations NCO a copy of the book “A Distant Mirror” by Barbara Tuchman he came to me a month later stating that if there is a civil war, he and his fellow Hispanics will “have to choose sides.”
When I told my first sergeant why I would not be re-enlisting, she said “Don’t you want to re-enlist to get your 20?”
I said that I wanted to re-enlist, but I couldn’t, that my pension was nothing compared to being prepared to sacrifice my life. Then she and I went on to discuss my (your) ideas on why there was a possible collapse of the US government in the future, she went from denying the possibility to stating “Well, it all depends on what level of collapse you’re talking about,” needless to say I was stunned.
The re-enlistment NCO refuses to talk to me, and several other mid to senior level NCOs who previously thought I was kidding have left the Active reserves for the Individual Ready Reserves.
One stated that he too was disgusted with both candidates for president and then asked me if I thought things would be so bad, why wouldn’t I stay in and try to fix things “from the inside”? I cited the example of the Yugoslav army and how there were fire fights within units and stated that I would refuse to follow unconstitutional orders. I then asked, “Don’t you think if one of the two candidates gets in power that either might order the power of the state to be used against their political enemies? That’s what would be likely to START those kinds of firefights, right?”
To continue reading: A Soldier’s Farewell to Uncle on Ann’s Page
