Lt. Col. West

myself | kerri balo

[kbalo]

I felt it necessary to write this after a conversation with my father who is retired military. He explained to me that this Col. West was facing a court martial in regards to an incident in which he fired a weapon near an Iraq soldiers head. And that it was likely he would lose his pension after years of service to our great nation.

This truly disturbs me in light of the events which have taken place over the last several years. I never believed I would in my lifetime witness the kind of destruction I did on Sept. 11. The loss to innocent life was catastrophic to say the least. I still cry at the thought of my fellow Americans and their suffering that day and those who will continue to suffer the loss of fathers, brothers, mothers and life time friends. Yet we have a brave man who was willing to do what needed to be done in order find out information from this "solider" and he faces yet another lose at the hands of these terrorist. Why should this man suffer the loss of the American Dream of working hard his whole life and being able to retire and live comfortably, because some wanna be human rights activist feels this "soldier" was tortured.

I would like to know if it is that easy to forget the torture I witnessed on that fateful day in Sept. This man should be given a promotion not a court martial. This is a war not some backyard paintball game and just maybe the rules of engagement need to reflect that more clearly. Let me finish in saying that I take great pride in being an American and feel our military deserves tremendous respect, because they are after all the ones who will and have laid their lives down to protect the freedoms we all take for granted all to often. Please don't allow this man to suffer at the hands of these terrorists. Please e-mail or write our President and congressmen concerning this situation.

[Ispy4u]

What you need to understand is that he is not being prosecuted by some human rights activist, LTC West admitted to committing a crime under the UCMJ.

If you want to throw out violations of the UCMJ when you "agree" with the crime go right ahead and believe that Clinton's impeachment was "just about sex".

Detach yourself from the emotional response to this action and remember that a military leader's highest responsibility is to be a role model to his men.

The result, court martial, would be the same if he had admitted to adultry and chose court martial for punishment over leaving the service, the same choice he was given here.

Our soldiers are professionals who know their duty and their resoponsibility. The UCMJ is a document that serves as a bitter reminder when one fails to live up to the standard.

Pinging interested parties.