Posted on 06/16/2010 2:50:01 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Last Tuesday, 32-year-old army veteran Alvin Greene surprised everyone by handily winning the Democratic Senate primary in South Carolina. Since then, the mystery only deepens on how he could have won 60% of the Dem votes.
Not only is Greene unemployed, living with his parents, and charged with showing obscene photos to a college co-ed, now we’re learning that he was a lousy soldier to boot.
Adrian Chen of Gawker reports that “Having held no previous political office, Greene’s most relevant professional experience is his 13-year stint as a supply and intelligence specialist in the Army and Air Force. In 2008, Greene was transferred from Korea and was stationed for six months with the Army’s 1st Infantry Division in the United States.” Gawker interviewed one of Greene’s 1st Infantry Division colleagues via e-mail. The soldier will be called X because he’s still serving in the Army and is not authorized to speak about Greene.
This is what X said about Alvin Greene, the Democratic Party’s Senate candidate for South Carolina:
“During the first couple of weeks of working with him, myself and most everyone else noticed that he wasn’t all there mentally. Whenever he was given a simple task such as filling a temporary hand receipt it would never get done, mainly because he didn’t know how to fill one out. And this is the most fundamental part of the job.”
“He also didn’t show much interest in being a soldier. For instance, he was asked to do maintenance on the M249. This system is a little more complex than the regular service rifle. When it came to Greene’s turn he was able to take the weapon apart but didn’t know where to start when it came to put it back together. He showed no interest in learning and would mumble under his breath about not wanting to do it. So after a couple of months of trying and not getting anywhere, people just made sure he was where he was supposed to be and in the correct uniform. He would just basically come to work and stare at the wall till it was time for lunch and then do the same till it was time to go home for the day. The platoon sergeant tried to get him to go see a doctor for help but he would never seek help.”
“What you see in his [Greene's] interviews is what we had to deal with. People have been saying he acts that way because he is nervous, but it’s not true. He has a difficult time communicating and really doesn’t enjoy people asking him personal questions. I noticed when he mumbles incoherently it means he is agitated.”
“But I think he is a smart person. I asked him why he didn’t go to Officers Candidate School since he has a bachelors degree [from the University of South Carolina] and he answered, ‘Why would I do that since that would require more work?’ After he said that I realized what he was doing. He was being very lazy and working the system to get by. Even though it’s obvious that he suffers from some kind of mental illness, I have worked with people that suffer from alcoholism to bipolarism and they would put more effort into what they did during their day to day life then he ever did.”
“Greene didn’t do anything during his personal time, and ate at the post dining facility religiously. The first time I saw his room all he had was a radio and a couple sets of clothes, which is not unusual for someone that just moved to a new post. But after 5 months all he had was just a radio and a couple sets of clothes still. Considering his lifestyle and coming back from Korea I believe he could have saved over $10,400, and spent it on putting himself on the ballot.”
“The only time he would talk to me was when I would ask him about his views on politics. He would open up and actually talk. He would talk about how the country is going in the wrong direction and how Obama needed to get elected to fix the country’s problems.”
And, lastly, X thinks Greene is running for Senate because:
“I guess he had nothing better to do. I don’t think he was put up to this. I think he just did it to do it.”
Way to go, Democrats of South Carolina! You sure chose a winner!
He certainly couldn't set any lower standard than their party already has. I would say he probably has better standards than those who would be his peers.
Many guys in the military can't wait to get out, and do their time as quietly and quickly as possible. What is wrong with that? If they are not performing their tasks, the fault lies with the officers, not the enlisted. If they are slackers, it's because someone is letting them be.
It would be hard to consider that he could possibly do worse than the current occupants of the office he is running for.
He served his country. Not everyone can be a hero, nor gets to see action.
But, he did serve. Which is more than most of those who right now are criticizing him can say. I would bet money that none of the jurinalists who write articles like this one, have served in the military.
Heck, I kinda like the guy! I just wish he was running in California where a Democrat Senator is a foregone conclusion.
We're all laughing about it at work. I really want an "Alvin Greene for Senate" T-shirt. Might be worth something some day.
He may have early onset Alzheimers or suffered an unreported head injury.
No Joke.
I think the country would be in better shape if more elected officials spent less time actually working.
In the 60's Marine Corps, that'd be a "Sh*tbird"....even had an accompanying slogo: "I'm a sh*tbird, cause I can't fly"
Like long enough for them to complete the background check?
We called that kind of soldier a “sham artist” or “skater” as I recall.”
In the 60’s Marine Corps, that’d be a “Sh*tbird”....even had an accompanying slogo: “I’m a sh*tbird, cause I can’t fly”
And......once he knew he was leaving, he was FIGMO.
If it wouldn’t be such a waste of a damn-fine enlisted man I’d recommend you for OCS! You are gonna be a general someday, Gump, now disassemble your weapon and continue!
Actually, it sounds like he has Asburger’s Syndrome.
“But I think he is a smart person. I asked him why he didn’t go to Officers Candidate School since he has a bachelors degree [from the University of South Carolina] and he answered, ‘Why would I do that since that would require more work?’”
Usually they are bright people, disorganized, can’t handle changes in routine, miss social cues, miss changes in tone and content (can’t handle teasing)avoids eye contact etc.
None of which, by the way, means he would be less of an assett in the Sentate than say, Schumer, who is normal but simply evil. Give me two Greenes to one Schumer every day. At least he won’t be actively trying to tear the nation down.
Since when did serving in the armed forces give a person an absolute moral right to be above any criticism leveled at them from a lifelong civilian? There are plenty of slackers, incompetents and just plain old scum in this world who also happen to be serving or ex-military, and the idea that someone's current or former occupation gives them automatic moral superiority over someone who isn't is patently ridiculous...
Amen and John Murtha, Jesse Ventura, John Kerry and lots of others come to mind when I read your comment.
I think we can (and ought to) beat this guy without resorting to anonymous attacks on his military record. We’re better than that.
I didn’t say it gave Greene moral superiority over a civilian.
What I was trying to communicate was that those who have not served should not be judging someone who has. They don’t know what service is like, nor have they proven what they would do in the same circumstances.
I worked with many Marines, and I saw many different ‘adaptations’ to military life. Some were high achievers (not always the smartest, either), but some of the smart ones played it real low key, and afterwards, went on to successful careers.
I merely posted the story, it was written by someone else.
I did not intend to criticize you, only the story. I apologize for being unclear.
You do know that he is running for the Senate, not the House of Representatives?
So I heard.
Even Better!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.