Posted on 11/12/2018 7:47:14 AM PST by Mariner
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — The campers, some clad in combat fatigues, carefully aim their assault rifles. Their instructor offers advice: Don’t think of your target as a human being.
So when these boys and girls shoot, they will shoot to kill.
Most are in their teens, but some are as young as 8 years old. They are at a summer camp created by one of Ukraine’s radical nationalist groups, hidden in a forest in the west of the country, that was visited by The Associated Press. The camp has two purposes: to train children to defend their country from Russians and their sympathizers — and to spread nationalist ideology.
“We never aim guns at people,” instructor Yuri “Chornota” Cherkashin tells them. “But we don’t count separatists, little green men, occupiers from Moscow, as people. So we can and should aim at them.”
The nationalists have been accused of violence and racism, but they have played a central, volunteer role in Ukraine’s conflict with Russia — and they have maintained links with the government. Earlier this year, the Ministry of Youth and Sports earmarked 4 million hryvnias (about $150,000) to fund some of the youth camps among the dozens built by the nationalists. The purpose, according to the ministry, is “national patriotic education.”
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
We did the same thing for WWII - completely de-humanized the Japanese in particular. I understand why; nobody wants to shoot a “good guy”.
“The good guys don’t employ child soldiers.”
Virgil Mounts of Kentucky was 15 when he died on Omaha beach as a medic in the 6th Naval Beach Battalion.
Robert Johns of Portsmouth, UK was 16 when he parachuted into France behind Sword beach. He was killed at Le Mesnil, France on 7/23/44.
Given the time needed for basic training, advanced training and transport Mounts is estimated to have been 13 when he enlisted.
Johns was 14 when he ran away from home and joined the army.
Joseph Plumb Martin was 16 when he joined the Continental army. He kept a daily journal that was discovered amongst family belongings in the 1950’s. Historians have called the journal a “gold mine”. It has been extensively quoted in documentaries.
In the pre-modern British army the officers were well connected with either Parliament or the crown. It was a common practice for them to take their 10-12 year old sons along as drummers or messengers. Many of those child soldiers died before their 14th birthdays.
All the people you mention fraudulently enlisted in the US military by lying about their age.
“Nobody under 17 was allowed to enlist, and even then they had to have parental permission.”
So no patriotic young person ever lied to get into the military?
Remember that modern record keeping didn’t come into its own until the period between the Korean and Vietnam wars.
Before and during the world wars most children were born at home without attending physicians. At best a local midwife would be at the birth.
Births and deaths were recorded in family bibles,
My dad was 12 before he got an official BC. My mom got hers when she was 10. Not uncommon outside of the big cities.
There’s a difference between individuals circumventing the law, and a country training children to fight/kill “non-people”.
These camps are funded by the Ukrainian government.
“All the people you mention fraudulently enlisted in the US military by lying about their age.”
So no one suspected the soldier serving next to them wasn’t old enough?
During the world wars the allies needed manpower so desperately only the most egregious of the liars, the 12 year olds trying to pass as 19, were denied entry.
If you could pull off looking 17 they took you because they figured you would be 17-18 by the time you saw action.
Liars or not underage soldiers served because the methods of record keeping allowed them to.
The same record keeping allowed the militaries to look the other way.
I knew a guy when I was in the Army back in the mid 1970s. His dad was killed in Vietnam, he ran away from home and joined the Marines when he was 14. He became a Marine Corps sniper, went to Vietnam for one tour, came back and went through Ranger school for the fun of it, went back to Vietnam, was captured while behind the lines in NVM, he was with a Navy SEAL as they were being marched to a prison camp when they escaped.
Said the SEAL killed about 10 of the enemy soldiers in the span of a minute or two.
He was outed when his mom got notice that he was being awarded some medal for heroism. He was also a good enough sniper to be pulled out of Vietnam to try out for the Olympic shooting team.
“These camps are funded by the Ukrainian government.”
Look at the history of the Ukraine and Russia.
Anything there suggesting to the Ukrainians that the Russians are human?
Don’t forget the Holodomor of 1932-33 that killed more than 3 million Ukrainians because the Ukrainians haven’t forgotten.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodomor
When you are fighting for your life you use every resource possible. And no one is MAKING those youngsters attend.
Nationalists teaching children to kill, Trump is a nationalist, therefore...
The Holodomor was carried out by the Soviet government, whose leader Stalin was a Georgian.
Yes Stalin was a Georgian but all orders came from Moscow and they forced the Russian language on their conquered countries.
Would there have been a Soviet Union without Russia? Doubtful.
I’ve met Hungarians, Poles, Ukrainians and Romanians and they ALL hate Russia and have no use for Russians.
Are we still on the whole “Ukrainians are Nazis so they deserved Russian invasion” nonsense? The Russian side was actually led (maybe still is?) by National Socialist and Communist types, mostly Communists.
Well, it's still better than the soy boy education our kids get.
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