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Eh, I always thought the distinction between "ex" and "former" is pretty stupid. The meaning is identical. And believe it or not, a lot of Marines privately will admit it doesn't make any sense as well. If you really want to insult a Marine, call him ex-Army.

....that a soldier gets punished for protecting the lives of his men from fanatical death cultists....

What a load of crap. Lots of soldiers protect their men from fanatical death cultists without getting charged, so there was more to it than that. West himself said he knew when he did it that he was going to get in trouble. In any case, I think he probably did the right thing. Note that his CO didn't do anything about it when he first heard about it. He blew it off, effectively covering for him. It was only after some weaselly army Sgt. wrote a whiny letter that it hit the big time. I wish it would have gotten buried, but that didn't happen.

Once it became public, you couldn't have the army brass and government publicly condone the breach of a standing order and treaties to which we are signatory. Kind of like Iran-Contra. A neat little scheme, but you gotta bust them if it becomes public. For the sake of good order and discipline, something had to be done to LC West. I'm glad is was comparatively light. Hopefully, the next officer who thinks something like that needs to be done will do it in a time and manner where there won't be some weaselly sgt. to turn him in.

If that you makes me some sort of unpatriotic, whiny PC loser in your eyes, I could care less.

I don't know what PC BS you're selling there X, but at least the rest of us understand what is wrong with it.

Well goody for you.

*chuckle*
Yeah, right.
Okay ExArmy.
If you knew anything about fanatical death cultists, you'd know that the LTC got the info out of the guy who'd been playing dumb for several hours in a way that suddenly and quite quickly removed all doubt from his mind as to his recollections.
If you're so sure that we'd just have to ask politely to get info out of the fanatical death cultists, then YOU go over there and prove that such thinking works.

If you think that there was another way to get info out of the clown in a timely fashion, then you go and prove it.
No, that isn't a load of crap.
But I know one when I see it and hear it.

If you really could care less, then why respond?

"West himself said he knew when he did it that he was going to get in trouble."

Now read that part again carefully:
LTC West did NOT say that he knew it was wrong, he said he knew he'd get in trouble.

That's just not the same thing.

I personally think West practiced admirable restraint in not discharging his sidearm through the Iraqi's earlobe.