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...you bust him back a pay grade or two, re-assign him or retire him. You don't force him to leave the service as though the last twenty years meant nothing to him or the service.

Officers in our military are held to a higher standard, once they are found to have breached the awesome trust granted to them their career is over. There have been cases where favors were called in to preserve a career or two but many more officers have lost their careers for far less than what LTC West has done. Busting a rank or two and being allowed to continue service is extremely rare for officers.

One of the reasons a "gentlemans way out" is offered in many cases is because their years of honorable service has been considered. If his commander felt that he would endanger other people, his only option would have been court martial. Retirement wasn't offered then because he wasn't eligible to retire. Although he is now.

I'm not about to throw a pity party for his predicament surrounding his wife and children. He disregarded their plight as soon as he made his decision to fire that weapon. It's his responsibility and not mine or yours. He had many other options, he has to live with the consequences for the one he chose. I have stated in previous threads that I hope he won't lose his benefits over this, but if he does, it is his own damn fault.

Just curious, do you think that military theory and discipline as it is being taught to our officers can cope with the 7th century barbarism coupled with 21st century weapons? You've heard about the two soldiers who had their throats cut while sitting in traffic in Iraq the other day.I meant no disrespect when I thought that the officer corps may not fully briefed on the psychology of islamic fascists. If they weren't before, they certainly are now. Shooting with guns and missiles are one thing....so is a fist fight to bring a man to submission. Throat cutting arises from an amazingly personal animus(I not talking about quiet special ops when you have to blow up something and you don't want the guards to alert anyone.)

On the one hand...you have me, a civilian, feeling as though we should applaud a colonel who employs the same types of tactics as these islamofascists are using with us, only with more devestating force and then there is this notion of duty and discipline that only those in the military would really fully know. I agree you just can't go out willy nilly and slaughter and maim everybody who looks at you funny. It's probably too bad, I the civilian will never know the full details of the trial facing Colonel West...It is hard to fully cut thru the spin of charges and counter charge.

The ones I want to see bashed are the terrorists who are laughing their asses off right now over this case or are washing the blood off their hands from those exsanguinated soldiers.