Soldier from San Angelo goes AWOL, cites morals (total and complete barf)

San Angelo Standard-Times ^ | April 17, 2004 | Rick Smith

[76834]

Soldier from San Angelo goes AWOL, cites morals By Rick Smith / San Angelo Standard-Times April 17, 2004

SAN ANGELO — Brandon Hughey knows why he made his decision and the penalty he faces.

Hughey, a San Angelo native and 2003 Central High School graduate, fled his Army unit before it shipped out to Iraq in March. It was, he says, his obligation to leave.

"I feel that if a soldier is given an order that he knows to not only be illegal, but immoral as well, then it his responsibility to refuse that order," he wrote in response to e-mailed questions from the San Angelo Standard-Times. "It is also my belief that if a soldier is refusing an order he knows to be wrong, it is not right for him to face persecution for it."

While he is seeking asylum as a refugee in Canada, Hughey is not keeping a low profile. His story has appeared in a number of international newspapers, and his Web site, www.brandonhughey.org, is updated regularly.

Hughey, 18, enlisted in the Army in 2003 and, after basic training, learned to drive a tank. He was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood in Killeen.

On his Web page, Hughey has written that he believes the war against Iraq was "based solely on lies" and that the war is illegal under international law.

"If you were given an order to participate in an unlawful occupation that is resulting in the deaths of thousands of innocent people with no justifiable cause, would you be able to live with yourself if you carried out that order?" he wrote in his e-mail to the Standard-Times.

He also wrote that he is surprised by the support he has received from Americans and Canadians. He said he has received letters from well-wishers and donations to help with his legal fees.

On his Web site, he wrote he is optimistic about gaining refugee status. While he could face the death penalty for desertion during wartime if he returned to the United States, he said he believes such severe punishment is unlikely.

"I would most likely go to prison for a few years," he wrote.

Search for his son

Brandon Hughey had always been the son who caused David Hughey no trouble. The youngster made good grades, stayed out of trouble and played trumpet in the Central band.

"He’s a quiet kid," his father said. "He always has been."

Brandon Hughey decided to enlist in the Army while he was in school. The summer after graduation, he left for active duty.

The young recruit excelled during basic training, boosting his confidence, David Hughey said.

"I thought he was doing great," he said.

Hughey flew to Kentucky in November for his son’s military graduation ceremony.

"I was proud of him," he said. "He had accomplished something a lot of people are afraid to attempt.

"And he was proud of himself."

After basic training, Brandon Hughey trained as an M1 tank driver. His father thought "everything was coming together for him."

Then, in early March, the Army contacted David Hughey to tell him his son was absent without leave. He had left the base just before his unit deployed to Iraq.

"They said he was gone," Hughey said. "And I didn’t know where the heck he was."

David Hughey learned his son had deserted his unit after receiving a mysterious phone call from a car salesman in Indianapolis.

The salesman had sold Brandon Hughey a Mustang last summer. He told David Hughey that "some guy in Indianapolis had found Brandon’s car, without Brandon," David Hughey said. The salesman told David Hughey he didn’t know what happened to his son, but gave him the name and number of the Indianapolis contact.

"I thought maybe the kid was dead," David Hughey said. "I was incredibly worried that this kid was wandering around and would meet some people that aren’t any good."

David Hughey called the man in Indianapolis. Yes, the man told him, he had the car.

What about his son?

Come and get the car, the man told him.

David Hughey took a 6 a.m. flight to Indianapolis to meet the man, having "no idea who the hell he was. And I still didn’t know where my son was."

From a hotel near the Indianapolis airport, he called the man, who came with the car. Hughey asked about his son.

"He’s with good people," the man told him. "He’s in Canada."

David Hughey sighed, recalling the moment. "I just thought to myself, ‘Canada? Oh boy. Canada.’"

The Indianapolis man, an anti-war activist named Carl Rising-Moore, told David Hughey his son contacted him through the Internet. The soldier told him he did not want to deploy to Iraq. He asked for help reaching Canada. Rising-Moore met the soldier in Indianapolis and drove him across the Canadian border.

David Hughey said he wishes his son had not gone to Canada.

"I wanted him to honor his commitment," he said. "But he feels strongly enough about it that he took off. He didn’t want to go to Iraq. Whether he was opposed to the war, or scared, or both, he didn’t want to go."

He said he is still hopeful his son can return to the United States.

"Maybe things will still work out," he said. "That’s always a possibility, and I’m not going to give up on that.

"I worry about him. I don’t know what’s going to happen. But at least Brandon is safe."

Contact San Angelo Standard-Times staff writer Rick Smith at rsmith@sastandardtimes.com or (325) 659-8248.

[hispanarepublicana]

I wonder if Natalie Maines will say she's embarassed he's from Texas?
Oh yeah, PING.

[MEG33]

I will.

[hispanarepublicana]

If there's any FReepers out there with cheap long distance rates to Canada, the website registrant's FAX number is listed in my post above. You know how to do it, don't you? You just tape several sheets of black paper together in a loop and let it run through your fax machine over and over and over and over and......

[little jeremiah]

"I feel that if a soldier is given an order that he knows to not only be illegal, but immoral as well, then it his responsibility to refuse that order," he wrote in response to e-mailed questions from the San Angelo Standard-Times. "It is also my belief that if a soldier is refusing an order he knows to be wrong, it is not right for him to face persecution for it."


So why didn't he go fight for Saddam, then, if the US is so evil?

Answer: The a**hole is just plain chicken/scared. Now brainwashed by idiot traitor leftists.

[GeronL]

He signed up AFTER the war started?? and is running away??

Idiot

[Bonaparte]

Isn't he a piece of work? Tries to dignify his own cowardice by calling a lawful military action "illegal," then breaks the law again by fleeing to Canada to avoid taking his medicine as the law requires. What trash. He'd make a perfect staffer for the Kerry campaign.

[BlkConserv]

I agree that Brandon should be punished. Look, I served in the Navy back in 1990 at Great Lakes and there were kids then who tried to weasel out of their service because their recruiter reassured them that they wouldn't be going to Iraq (in the first Persian Gulf War). You probably remember the story of that Marine who became a conscientious objector that was replayed ad nauseum on the network evening news. Kids enlist in the service dreaming about the places they may travel to without realizing the possibility of combat and dying or being injured in a war. I'm just saying the military needs to do a better job addressing these facts to those considering military service.

[af_vet_1981]

"I worry about him. I don’t know what’s going to happen. But at least Brandon is safe."

He is not safe. He is a coward.

[Joe_October]

He sounds gay to me. At least he pissed himself and left before he could do any harm. Can you imagine having him cover you in a war zone?

[pepsionice]

The simplest solution here...for any dimwit who enlisted and only declared their moral problems after being told the orders...hand them a shovel, a canteen and a helmet...and tell them to start digging foxholes throughout the post for the entire period that his/her unit are deployed (at least 12 hours per day, seven days a week). Its not even worth the time or effort to court martial these guys...they are losers and we shouldn't even put our resources to work with the dimwit. Hand them the shovel and just digging. If the unit is gone for 12 months...then dig for 12 months. An important lesson will be learned by these people. If you had moral problems, you should have realized that long before you had orders in your hand.

[hispanarepublicana]

$10 says that when he was a very little kid he watched Sesame Street instead of Bugs Bunny, had "time-outs" instead of a55-whippings, and had a "gator" haircut. Isn't that what they called it back in the early 90's when soccer moms had their little boys grow their hair all one length to the tops of their ears? In my day, we called it the "bowl" haircut.

[Joe_October]

No the simplest solution is to court martial him and put him in the brig for a long time.

This ass wipe is just crying for attention. Give him some.

[claudiustg]

I wonder how these lefties got their claws into this kid. It' evident they have quite a network going here in the states. Is the FBI responsible for running down this little Underground Railroad?

[Welsh Rabbit]

Blame the recruiters, who sell a cheerful vision of the military to high-schoolers...

I somewhat agree. In HS, I once got cornered by a recruiter and politely listened to some of his pitch. When he asked me if I ever used drugs, I truthfully told him I sometime smoked marijuana. He then told me I wouldn't necessarily have to give up weed if I joined the military, and explained how the drug testing system worked and how it could be beat. Quite irresponsible imo; I work on an Army post and have seen a few soldiers kicked out of the military for drug abuse, thus receiving a terrible black mark on their permanant record that will haunt them the rest of their lives. In the end though, they have only themseleves to blame and it's up to those considering enlisting to investigate for themselves what the military will expect of them and not just go by what the recruiters tell them.

[TexKat]

(2) Product of a public school education that doesn't teach citizenship, freedom, and responsibility.

I would imagine the majority of troops in the Iraq theatre attended public school.

[Welsh Rabbit]

I've never heard of a "gator" cut. I gradudated from high school in '95 and the bowl cut was popular with the private school boys, and we just called them bowl cuts or Beatle hair. Probably a regional expression, but it's funny...

[alancarp]

As an absolute minimum, it was patently obvious by Dec. 2002 to anyone with even a public high school education that we were going to war with Iraq during 2003. With that as a backdrop, this kid personally enlisted, entering service after finishing high school - likely around June 2003.

My personal bet is that he saw the video from the imbeds during the April 2003 operations and thought "cool - I wanna drive a tank." In other words, I don't think a recruiter had to do anything except explain where he had to sign.

Then he got scared and somebody offered him a brainwashed-up half-baked idea to get out.

[ladyinred]

Another "hero" for the leftist media to parade around, one they helped create by their endless propaganda against the President and the war on terror.

[Bonaparte]

"...to court martial him and put him in the brig for a long time."

Sounds good to me. Much better than what that buttwipe in post 35 proposed. He thinks desertion is no big deal, as long as an 18-year-old does it.