Posted on 09/01/2006 8:32:21 AM PDT by Zakeet
Spc. Mark Wilkerson already had made the decision to serve in the military when airplanes were flown into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
He had joined the Army the summer before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks but was even more inspired to serve after his nation was attacked.
"I found a new resolve after (the attacks)," Wilkerson, 22, said Thursday morning before returning to Fort Hood – the place he began losing faith in the ideals with which he was raised – after being absent without leave for 18 months.
"I felt I could avenge the people killed on September 11th," he said.
Wilkerson left for basic training in the summer after he graduated from high school and became a military policeman. One month after joining Fort Hood's 720th Military Police Battalion, he deployed to Iraq.
There, he had a crisis of faith. He questioned where God was, whether the American government had done the right thing and what he was willing to do for his beliefs, once he figured out what they were.
When he returned to Fort Hood in 2004, Wilkerson applied for conscientious objector status. When the Army turned down his plea, he left. Wilkerson traveled around the country and did odd jobs to support himself.
Wilkerson turned himself in at Fort Hood on Thursday afternoon.
"I knew I eventually would have to face this," Wilkerson said about why he decided to come forward. "I want to get on with my life. I would love to go to school and travel around the country and the world without worrying about doing something that will get me caught. I would rather turn myself in than be apprehended."
Wilkerson had not been near Fort Hood since he left in January 2005. He was nervous about returning and worried about how soldiers would treat him after he abandoned his duty.
But, he considered all of that before he decided to leave.
"When I went AWOL, I knew I could face prison," Wilkerson said. "I knew conscientious objectors throughout history have been killed for their beliefs. But I have peace in my heart. I just hope I get treated professionally. I'll do my best to face my challenges with dignity."
Wilkerson said he was happy about the prospect of seeing soldiers with whom he served in Iraq in 2003, adding that he respects, supports and honors every military veteran.
"They all worked with the highest level of professionalism, and I was honored to serve beside them in Iraq," Wilkerson said.
He added that recent criticisms about Fort Hood troops, particularly the 4th Infantry Division, being too aggressive in the opening months of the war are unfounded. Still, he declined to list specifics about what upset him in Iraq.
"I don't want to get too much into those," Wilkerson said. "Our mission was to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people. When I got there, I feel as though we were doing the exact opposite, and not we' as in my unit, we' as in an international force... In a war, we tend to treat people as criminals until they are proven innocent. I had a problem with that. I had a problem with the constant paranoia soldiers live in over there."
A soldier in Wilkerson's battalion was killed in action, and Wilkerson regrets not getting to know him better. He began to lose faith in God and the American government when he saw soldiers around him trying to cope with the soldier's death.
"I started asking what we were doing and whether we were doing something that is worth soldiers being injured for life," both mentally and physically, Wilkerson said.
Since he returned from Iraq, Wilkerson has decided to learn more about current events and the world.
He has tried to answer his questions of faith.
"I'm still trying to get right with that," he said. "I've been spending the last year and a half trying to find my niche in life and discover who I am."
Though Wilkerson has questioned the religious and political ideas his family taught him, they have supported him, he said.
The Colorado Springs, Colo., native avoided answering questions about his life since Fort Hood. He has separated from his wife, who lived with him in Killeen. He mentioned odd jobs, but didn't elaborate.
An Internet search, however, found a site listing a soldier by the same name and rank participating in a 50-minute film, produced by New Spark Media & Arts that chronicles the life of the soldier on the run.
The Web site at www.newsparkproductions.org describes the film, dubbed A.W.O.L., as a work in progress that "takes viewers into the life of a young American soldier, who after a year-long tour in Iraq, defied his commanders and refused to return to Iraq for a second tour of duty."
"The documentary is a collaborative effort between the filmmaker and the soldier, who is currently keeping a video journal while in hiding," the site states. "The film has been in production since October of 2004."
Interviews about the soldier's life at other Web sites run by veterans against the Iraq war and other opposition groups further describe the soldier as a military policeman from Colorado who was in Iraq from March 2003 to March 2004.
Wilkerson told the Herald he has found haven with the Gold Star Families for Peace and other organizations that congregate at Camp Casey near President Bush's ranch in Crawford, where Cindy Sheehan, mother of fallen 1st Cavalry Division soldier Spc. Casey Sheehan, has been protesting the war.
The organizations have embraced Wilkerson because of their regret over troops who have been killed.
"Every member wishes their child (who was killed in action) had the opportunity to resist and knew how immoral the war is and didn't have to die," said Gold Star Families for Peace cofounder Dede Miller, Cindy Sheehan's sister.
While at Camp Casey, with a few hours left until he turned himself in, Wilkerson wondered what would become of the rest of his life.
Wilkerson had thought about becoming a police officer and joined the military to find out if he would like it. He never got road duty experience in the United States because he worked in his unit's arms room when he returned from Iraq. He's not sure what he'll do next.
But, he does want to make sure America's veterans are cared for.
"I respect and honor every soldier who serves and makes the decision to enlist," Wilkerson said. "Pro-war,' anti-war,' none of those words have any meaning to me when speaking to a fellow veteran. I want to see they are taken care of.
"Please, let them tell their stories; listen to them," Wilkerson continued. "A lot of them need someone to listen to them. Love your veterans. Respect us. Support us, and do what you can to help."
She interviewed the guy at some length yesterday and came away with the opinion he was a deeply emotionally disturbed individual who had somehow not been picked up in time by the Army's usually effective screening methods. She also feels he is being terribly misused by the radical left's anti-war movement.
You may find it interesting to contrast her report with the account given by the Associated Press at: AP Article
Poor kid...duped by Joe Wilson into destroying his future....
help her to understand the difference between "AWOL" and DESERTION, please........the difference is akin to misdemeanor vs felony
If he began keeping a video journal while on the run I believe turning himself in is just a way to close the story so that he can move on with producing a movie and making some money. Deserting may end up being the smartest financial decision he ever made.
I beleive one can only be AWOL or UA in the Navy for 90 days, I think. Then you are no longer AWOL, you are a deserter.
Emily quotes Wilkerson directly, and he obviously prefers to think in terms of the lesser charge. I wrote the addenda to the headline.
Next time, I'll endeavor to drink another cup of coffee before posting information so early in the morning.
Desertion in wartime can be a death penalty offense.
Didn't John Kerry also make some movies at about the same age?
Yes it can be a death penalty offense.....but, he did not desert in the face of fire, he came home, applied for c.o. status, and was rejected. Based upon that alone, I think an administrative, bad conduct or dishonorable discharge would be best for all.
-------to avoid hazardous duty or to shirk important service-------
Article 85—Desertion
Text.
“(a) Any member of the armed forces who—
(1) without authority goes or remains absent from his unit, organization, or place of duty with intent to remain away therefrom permanently;
(2) quits his unit, organization, or place of duty with intent to avoid hazardous duty or to shirk important service; or
(3) without being regularly separated from one of the armed forces enlists or accepts an appointment in the same or another one of the armed forces without fully disclosing the fact that he has not been regularly separated, or enters any foreign armed service except when authorized by the United States Note: This provision has been held not to state a separate offense by the United States Court of Military Appeals in United States v. Huff, 7 U.S.C.M.A. 247, 22 C.M.R. 37 (1956), is guilty of desertion.
(b) Any commissioned officer of the armed forces who, after tender of his resignation and before notice of its acceptance, quits his post or proper duties without leave and with intent to remain away therefrom permanently is guilty of desertion.
(c) Any person found guilty of desertion or attempt to desert shall be punished, if the offense is committed in time of war, by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct, but if the desertion or attempt to desert occurs at any other time, by such punishment, other than death, as a court-martial may direct.”
888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888
para 2 of the above puts this guy into perspective....3(c) above states "shall be punished" if the offense is committed in time of war
there is more (commentary) here:
http://usmilitary.about.com/od/punitivearticles/a/mcm85.htm
From the AP article: “It’s amazingly scary to do what he’s doing,” Sheehan said. “He has all of our support, but when he gets to Fort Hood, he’s going to be by himself.”
It's not amazingly scary to be a shitbird, cindy, nor is he alone at Fort Hood- he's surrounded by members of the service who didn't cut and run.
I'd bet it was a fun reunion.
mission to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people? there's the problem. wrong mission.
I just got some feedback from my daughter. According to her, the guy hasn't been charged with desertion, so he was just AWOL at the time he turned himself in.
Technically speaking, presently, he is neither AWOL or a deserter because he's back in his unit. However, it's likely the Army charge him with one crime or the other. Time will tell.
He deserted. Period. Ask the Honorable guys in his unit who chose to stand by their country and oath of enlistment.
“(a) Any member of the armed forces who—
(2) quits his unit, organization, or place of duty with intent to avoid hazardous duty or to shirk important service; (UCMJ Article 85)
Army Regulation 630-10
This regulation provides policies and procedures for — b. Administering of absent without leave (AWOL) personnel and deserters.
http://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/xml_pubs/r630_10/head.xml
and guess what? Becoming a code pinko movie star while having deserted assures a spirited prosecution.....furthermore, did he enter Kanada while a deserter? If so, he is also a defector.
IMO, this guy should serve at least triple the time he was a deserter, because he ran straight to Code Pinko et al.
Where do we send the white feathers?
"Technically speaking, presently,......"
Article 32 investigation and Hearing are next on this deserters schedule........that is procedural, not 'technical'
He and his supporters can dream on and dream on......but this deserter didn't just go away quietly......he decided to be a spectacular deserter, on top of the simple fact......so he will have a spectacular Courts Martial, trust me......and his lefty anti-American supporters will surely make it even MORE spectacular :)
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