Fort Bragg soldier flees to Canada [Traitor alert!]

Independent Weekly ^ | February 11, 2004 | Patrick O'Neill

[Constitution Day]

Fort Bragg soldier flees to Canada

Jeremy Hinzman enlisted to make a difference, then learned what being a soldier is really all about

By Patrick O'Neill

(First of Two Parts)

February 11, 2004
NEWS FEATURE

On New Year's Eve, Jeremy Hinzman sat in a McDonald's on N.C. 401 in Fuquay-Varina explaining his precarious situation. On Dec. 20, Hinzman, a U.S. Army specialist stationed at Fort Bragg, got the news he had dreaded. His unit--the 504th Brigade, 2nd Battalion--would be shipping out to Iraq shortly after the new year for an indefinite deployment in the war on terrorism. Last year, Hinzman, 25, the father of a 1-year-old son, was deployed for more than eight months to Afghanistan. When he left, Hinzman's son, Liam, was just 7 months old. When Hinzman returned, Liam was walking and didn't remember his father. While he didn't see any combat in that first deployment, Hinzman said he had a bad feeling about going to Iraq.

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Hinzman, his wife, Nga Nguyen, and their son, Liam

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In Iraq, Hinzman, said he felt like he would have to do some things he'd regret. During Christmas leave, Hinzman, who is a member of the Fayetteville Friends Meeting, discussed his options with his wife, Nga Nguyen. He could go to Iraq--an option both he and Nguyen rejected. He could refuse the deployment order and face court martial and a likely prison term. Or he could follow a plan of action that thousands of young men like himself had taken during the Vietnam War--he could flee to Canada.

He chose option three. On Jan. 2, Hinzman and his family packed up their small car with a few essentials, leaving almost all of their possessions behind. They left post housing under the cover of darkness for the 17-hour drive to the U.S.-Canadian border. Quakers living in the U.S. made contacts in Ontario, and the family was set up with places to stay until they moved into a Toronto apartment on Feb. 1.

A story in the Feb. 7 edition of the Toronto Globe and Mail, says Hinzman is believed to be the first U.S. soldier to file for refugee status in Canada for refusing duty in Iraq. The report says Hinzman's case is "the first echo of the 12,000 deserters and 20,000 draft resisters who came north more than 30 years ago to escape the Vietnam War."

Before enlisting, Hinzman said he was searching for some meaning in his life, and the military--which had a "higher purpose"--was better than working just for the sake of making a buck. "I guess I just kind of sold my soul for the college money," he said. "That's probably a little too blunt. I had this notion that, "Hey, I'm going to go and get paid to exercise, shoot weapons and jump out of planes,' and that sounded real fun. It didn't matter to me at that point.

"I was just young, and I didn't feel I was really going anywhere."

Hinzman admits he got in over his head. When he joined the Army, he said he was expecting Al Gore to be elected president. The terror attacks of 9-11 were still an unimaginable horror. But the Iraq war forced him to reassess his values.

"It's a political decision, which as a soldier I'm not really entitled to have," he said. "But I feel that if I had gone to Iraq I would be in a sense putting myself into a criminal enterprise and becoming a criminal because it's a war--or an act of aggression. I don't think it can be called a war--based on false pretenses in terms of weapons of mass destruction, the links to al Qaeda and bringing democracy to Iraq.

"Because if democracy was to happen in Iraq, the Shiites would take power, and they would by no means be a friendly government towards the U.S. or its interests. So I don't want to risk my life for that, and I don't think the government should risk the lives of our country's young for that, and also to line the pockets of big corporations. I mean the obvious example is Haliburton.

"It's kind of, to me, messed up to go destroy a country's infrastructure and then have an auction to see who can rebuild it. It just smells bad to me, and I don't want to be part of it, nor do I want to kill people or be some place where I wasn't wanted. There are a lot of governments and leaders in the world that we don't necessarily like, but we're not going there. For example, Zimbabwe--we don't do anything about Robert Mugabe. I mean he's just as bad a tyrant as Saddam Hussein was, but why aren't we there? It's obviously about economics. I don't want to be a pawn in that game."

Hinzman, a native of Rapid City, S.D., admits he was not a typical soldier. A Catholic convert who also follows Buddhist teachings and enjoys the silent worship of Quakers, Hinzman was a military misfit from the get-go. His fellow soldiers were weirded out by his meditation regimen and his choice to not eat meat.

For the most part, Hinzman said he kept his political and moral views to himself, "although I won't deny I was known as the liberal, and this is in a culture where everybody watches Fox News. There aren't very many vegetarians in the Army, so that would open up a whole bag of tricks."

Hinzman's peers would ask a logical question: "Well, if you can't eat an animal or if you can't kill an animal, how can you kill a human?"

"They did ask those kind of questions, and it did raise their eyebrows," Hinzman said. "That's one of the reasons that got me thinking that I was in the wrong place. If you think logically, that makes sense. If you can't kill an animal, how can you kill a human?"

Hinzman also felt uncomfortable with the Army mindset that encouraged misogyny and violence. Particularly, he remembers the indoctrination of the troops during basic training. During exercises, the new recruits would drill using macabre chants.

"When we were marching around chanting songs like, "Train to kill. Kill we will,' or during bayonet training they'd ask, "What makes the grass grow?' and we'd say "Blood, blood, bright red blood.'

"When we would thrust [the bayonet], the drill sergeant would yell that, and we'd have to scream back. People would actually get hoarse yelling this crap. I could never really get into that stuff. Some people ate it up because I think there is an opportunity in groups to kind of let go of your inhibitions and do wanton things...

"It's all presented, at least on the surface, as, "Oh, it's just in humor, and no one's around listening to it,' but I think that really does put that mindset in a soldier that they're killers."

The atmosphere was surreal, he said. "It's what you think about when you think of a dystopian novel, just all these mindless drones walking around, and the sad thing is that they were individuals with thoughts and feelings, and, at least when they're at work, that's lost much of the time."

The military mindset also fosters a rejection of feminist/maternal values, Hinzman said.

"It's a very misogynistic place to be in," he said. "Everyday conversation, it's like a gangsta rap song the way women are referred to by people you would never suspect of talking that way. There is a lot of domestic violence in the Army, and marriages don't work and women are objectified."

The circumstances required enormous self-discipline, Hinzman said. "I would have this constant dialogue with myself," he said, "and sometimes I'd have to force it because when you're around something enough, when you're in an environment enough, you do tend to become a product of that environment.

"Like for instance, I swore all the time, and I would have to make these resolutions that I'm not going to swear because that's the first step on the road to losing yourself; your autonomy. It's almost expected that you're going to refer to women and the enemy in negative terms, objectifying the people you fight against so they no longer have humanity. I had to bite my tongue constantly."

While he would occasionally have meaningful conversations with his peers, for the most part, Hinzman kept to himself.

"When you're at work you put on your game face, especially as a lower enlisted person," he said. "You don't really talk about the moral ramifications of what you're doing. Everyday discussion is kind of stultified."

In Part 2 of this report, Hinzman tells about his failed effort to be placed in a noncombat assignment as a conscientious objector, and what the future looks like for him and his family in Canada.

[ODC-GIRL]

Unbelievable!

They need to extradite him, send him to Iraq and put him on the details that are dealing with the Mass Graves from Saddam's regime. See where that leads.....

[stylin19a]

Time to have the media ask John Kerry....
"What is your opinion on the desertion of Jeremy Hinzman ?"

Regardless of what Flippers' answer may be, the followup question should be:

"and how is Jeremy Hinzman's postition on this war any different than your position on Vietnam?

[B4Ranch]

Never insult a pussy!

If this kid was a conscientious objector, no sweat, become a MEDIC. We had two conscientious objectors in my battalion who joined, they weren't drafted, to become MEDICS.

This kid is a coward being led by the scrotum in the hands of his older wife.

[mrs tiggywinkle]

religious mutt?

[NYCVirago]

A story in the Feb. 7 edition of the Toronto Globe and Mail, says Hinzman is believed to be the first U.S. soldier to file for refugee status in Canada for refusing duty in Iraq. The report says Hinzman's case is "the first echo of the 12,000 deserters and 20,000 draft resisters who came north more than 30 years ago to escape the Vietnam War."

First echo? More like "first moron"!

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

I don't know if this still applies but while I was driving cross country back in 1988, I heard an interesting news item. It said that during any future US war, Canada would send back any draft dodgers or deserters. It seems that during our war in Vietnam, they didn't get our "best and brightest" coming up there.

[CFC__VRWC]

There could be a Democratic senatorial run on the horizon for this guy.

Maybe by 2020 or so, once Hillary decides to relinquish her throne, the Rats will run him for president with John Walker Lindh as his running mate.

[Maximum Leader]

Well I can understand Canana's anti-death penalty position, I don't agree with their policy but we wouldn't deport someone to Malaysia to face a flogging, so fair is fair.

What does BUG me is Mexico's policy of not only refusing to deport American fugitives for death penalty crimes, but also refusing if the Mexican judge think the U.S. prison term they face is too long.

[Sapper26]

To me at least, Jan 17 was the day he left for basic, not the day he actually enlisted. It depends if the author really knows the difference.

If this guy had the guts to face a court martial I'd have had a little respect for him, but he's a two time coward - doesn't have the guts to go, doesn't have the guts to face the music.

[Stultis]

CONNECT THE DOTS, AMERICA!!!

If you read what the guy actually has to say, and the basis on which he justifies his actions, he sounds exactly like -- if not more moderate than! -- the mainstream Democratic Presidential candidates, or Democrat leaders like Terry McAulife and Al Gore, or senior sitting Democrat representatives like Ted Kennedy and Nancy Pelosi.

If this guy's a nut then so are they, and if he's a traitor then they are fomenting treason.

[cupcakes]

Agreed. Wonder if we can send them a collections notice for any benefits he received while in the military as well, especially any college benefits?

[cupcakes]

Agreed. Wonder if we can send them a collections notice for any benefits he received while in the military as well, especially any college benefits? I'm sure after all they won't mind putting their money where their big giant bleeding liberal hearts are.

[cupcakes]

My one word description of this guy: pussy

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LOL, I was thinking the exact same thing as I read what this guy said.

[imintrouble]

So I understand that this Quasi-Quaker, Buddhist believing gentleman made a few erroneous decisions in that he thought his schooling would be financed for doing ??? what did he think?

Did he think bombs and guns were decorations for the pretty tanks and humvees?

If he had strong pacific beliefs, he should have signed up for medic or some other service duties which would keep him from battlefield situations.

Maybe getting married caused him to lose his mind?
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On a positive note: Think of the lives he saved by fleeing in cowardice, rather than being a member of a patrol unit, who deserts at the critical moment.

[2banana]

If you read what the guy actually has to say, and the basis on which he justifies his actions, he sounds exactly like -- if not more moderate than! -- the mainstream Democratic Presidential candidates, or Democrat leaders like Terry McAulife and Al Gore, or senior sitting Democrat representatives like Ted Kennedy and Nancy Pelosi.

The only thing different is that Terry, Al, Ted and Nancy will get a limo drive home to their million dollar mansion at the end of the day. Jeremy Hinzman is going to jail.

[cupcakes]

After high school, he decided not go to college because he was afraid of saddling himself with student debt and "starting a whole cycle of middle-class existence

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Geez, guy sounds like a nutjob from the beginning! Wonder why they had a baby if they didn't want to start a "whole cycle of middle-class existence".

[cupcakes]

The military mindset also fosters a rejection of feminist/maternal values, Hinzman said
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LOL, perhaps that's because most of the dictators and warlords our soldiers face don't really foster a maternal agenda either. What an absolute liberal idiot. His wife might as well be a lesbian since he's such a big p*ssy.

[Stultis]

I guess my question is: what is a soldier to do when he thinks that his sacrifice no longer for "God and country" but rather is used to fufil a political agenda (not necessarily saying that is the case here)? It takes a special kind of person to fight, and furthermore, most of our fighters will fight AND die for their country because they feel that they are doing their duty to God and country, but should we ask the same soldier to die for political reasons?

Of course I kind of see what you're getting at, but your question is nevertheless confusing.

Soldiers always go to war for political reasons. God and country? Well, yeah, but it's not as if military orders are handed down from heaven, or George Washingtons' opinion about Iraq can be determined by seance. It is invariably politicians, and invariably with some "agenda," who order soldiers to war.

[cupcakes]

This is pure politics. He doesn't like the administration and he doesn't like the war. Fine. However, running off to Canada seems like an incredibly stupid thing to do, considering that he had other options.
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Doesn't sound like he's thought many of his opinions or options out in life-why should this be any different?

[general_re]

In the immortal words of Sam Kinison, "I like the way you think..." ;)