Grant him c.o. status after his prison term. You don't fail to show up for deployment.
Posted on 03/26/2005 6:23:59 AM PST by Ramonan
Petty Officer 3rd Class Pablo E. Paredes decided to protest the Iraq war by not sailing with his ship when it left San Diego Harbor on Dec. 6.
Yesterday, the Navy decided to charge Paredes, 23, with being absent without leave and missing movement, charges that could send him to military prison for as long as a year and limit his employment options.
The action by the Navy surprised Paredes, who made headlines and drew supporters and critics with his stance.
"I showed up at the base expecting to hear whether the local Navy command had approved my conscientious objector status. Instead I was read the charges against," said Paredes, who is on temporary duty at Naval Base San Diego.
"It's ironic. The other day marked the two-year anniversary of a war that was criminal from the beginning, and today I get charged for not participating in it," said Paredes, a weapons control technician who joined the service in 2000.
Attorney Jeremy Warren, who represented Paredes, hopes the Navy will follow the recommendations of one of its chaplains and grant his client conscientious objector status.
"I'm still optimistic that the Navy will do the right thing" and agree with a chaplain who said that "it was morally imperative that the conscientious objector status be granted," Warren said.
Warren said the Navy could deem Paredes a conscientious objector and still prosecute him, although he hoped the latter would not happen.
No date has been set for the court-martial.
If there was a bright spot yesterday, Paredes' brother Victor said, it was that the process is finally moving.
"At least now we have a clear and definite direction to work in," said Victor, who lives in New York City. "It is definitely a lot more concerning when you are in limbo."
Paredes agreed. "At least we are moving somewhere. I want to be out of the military, and this is moving toward that."
But there could be a detour, said Jeremiah J. Sullivan III, a San Diego attorney who represents military defendants.
"The big thing is that they want to give him a bad conduct discharge and maybe some brig time. With a bad conduct discharge, he'd find it difficult to get a job with the state or federal government."
In December, Paredes called several members of the media to tell them of his one-man boycott. Then he turned up pier-side wearing a shirt that read: "Like a Cabinet Member, I Resign."
Scatter his ashes over international waters. I dont want his ashes dirtying up American soil.
unfortunatley that is true
true and it is a new building
Ideally, I would agree with you...but a bag of sh*t does have uses....such as fertilizer.
Ya know...at times like this, I'm sorely tempted to re-examine the case for abortion.
Grant him c.o. status after his prison term. You don't fail to show up for deployment.
This cowardly bozo is in the Navy on a ship. He has no chance of closing with the enemy. Put him in the brig for disobeying orders, he took the governments money and needs to do his duty. I'd put him before a firing squad for desertion in wartime.
This cowardly bozo is in the Navy on a ship. He has no chance of closing with the enemy. Put him in the brig for disobeying orders, he took the governments money and needs to do his duty. If it was up to me,,,I'd put him before a firing squad for desertion in wartime.
Paredes must have listened to the anti-recruiting counselors, knucklehead.
I really have to wonder about the leftist/communist/socialists of this country.
They are still trying to replay their glory days of the mid-1960s through the mid-1970’s (How close we came to losing our country.).
The basic thing that they forget, that “they” also includes the LMSM air heads, is the entire logic behind the anti-military/anti-war movement has shifted. Oddly enough it appears that their fellow travelers in Canada have.
There is no more draft. You are in the military because you want to be there. While the motivations vary greatly between individuals, everyone put their hand up and repeated the oath of enlistment voluntarily.
So, instead of being viewed as a poor uninformed draftee/impressed semi-slave people like PO Paredes are being viewed as a contract breakers. That is something that a majority of Americans can understand. Mangers at all levels take a very dim view of employees who break their contract. And, employees take a similar view when management does like wise. How can the military managers (aka Officers) or employees (aka enlisted) be any different?
The bad thing is that I expect to see many more such articles as the leftist/communist/socialists/LMSM attempt to recapture their power and continue to fail miserably.
PS: LMSM = Legacy Main Stream Media.
"I showed up at the base expecting to hear whether the local Navy command had approved my conscientious objector status."
You should have never showed up at the recruiters office.
He didn't joine the Navy to serve his country, he joined for tuition benefits.
I hope he never sees them.
"Colonel: Watkins why did you join the army?
Watkins: For the water-skiing and for the travel, sir. And not for the killing, sir. I asked them to put it on my form, sir - no killing.
Colonel: Watkins are you a pacifist?
Watkins: No sir, l'm not a pacifist, sir. I'm a coward."
http://orangecow.org/pythonet/sketches/racket.htm
One of my favourite Monty Python sketches :)
Andrew
With a BCD, he won't get any. I truly hope he does get a BCD, and time in the brig. What a dumba$$. He's a volunteer in the ARMED SERVICES. He's not only a volunteer, but his NEC is designed specifically around WEAPONS DESIGNED TO KILL THE ENEMY before they can kill you.
Now, if he was really an objector, he would have found that out in "A" school, when they talk to you about your rate, etc.
As a Navy vet, I am truly disgusted.
I personally believe that the only people who should ever be able to request "conscientious objector" status, are those who are drafted. If you sign up for military service by your own free will, face the music!
Get him out of the Navy. He's a liability and a security threat!
Why should it, unauthorized absence and missing ships movement are both infractions of the UCMJ. This guy is an idiot. If he was working for me when I was in, he'd have fallen up so many ladders it would make his head spin.
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