Posted on 06/08/2005 11:47:09 AM PDT by Al Simmons
Ever want to look into the mind of a Clinton-era ‘Generation-X’ slacker who ‘made a mistake’ by accepting a prestigious Air Force Academy slot and then just could not stand to serve out his 6 year military commitment? Well, the following would be hilarious if it wasn’t so sad (from the standpoint of our nation). Hopefully 9-11 has somewhat cured this kind of attitude amongst the younguns.
The following is the actual text of a handwritten letter left at his desk by a 24-year-old Second Lieutenant, a US Air Force Academy graduate, on the day he deserted from the Air Force and flew to Cancun, Mexico, in the middle of an Air Force training class in the late 1990s. He left it in an envelope on the outside of which were written the words:
‘WHERE’S MARK?’
“To my friends in the US Air Force,
I’ve decided to embark on a new adventure, and you may be wondering why. Actually, that’s a good question, and I’m sure my hand will cramp up and I’ll drift off before I’ve concocted a reasonable reply. How to distill this storm of ideas into some coherence?..
As of this writing I am an officer, an AF member, an (American) US citizen, a man, an artist, a mammal, and a sentient being, in that order. When the needs and longings of one of the deeper, richer levels cries out for fulfillment, I can deny it only a little while. I’ve tried, for two years willingly and for three years with growing disharmony, to play this role I scripted at the misimpressionable age of 13. (Oh USAFA admissions office, please turn away all future applicants who list an interest in art. Have mercy.) But when the raucous rhythms in my head drown out all trace of AFIT instructors and SV staff meetings, when the shelves of AFIs and “special” programs dissolve into puddles of gooey indifference, only I remain, a little boy standing at the edge of an emerald ocean, tickled by the breeze and smiling at the gulf, no longer even grasping why people spend their lifetimes staring into cathode ray tubes decoding the language of flashing lights and smattering printers.
Why? Whoever reads this – OSI, AFIT, SV, or others… Why? What the F—k are you doing it all for? Who cares? Will anyone remember you? Will you touch my life? Are you happy? If your light winks out today and the breath of life floats silently away, will you be able to say, “To my own self I was true?”
I sat in class today, reeling at the violence of the waves of irrelevance battering against the seawall of my purpose and felt the camel’s back break. Can I wait another 4 years and get out ‘honorably?’ Would that I were blessed with such patience. I am weak, irresolute, fluid, impulsive. I am no respecter of status, standards, precedent, or convention. I only want it all – is that so much? To sample every dish at the banquet of this world, to step lightly through a life without clocks and suspense slips and long staff meetings and short tempers.
I love you all. If you catch up with me I’ll buy you a drink, a toast to the freedom of a heart let loose, a toast to living in the delicious beauty of this moment. I apologize for the inconvenience my fugue may cause. I knew of no other way. I fear for my sanity (what remains of it.)
If ever you think of me, may it be to remind you that this life is yours. If you are not happy, you are the only one who can change that. Create the reality you dream of.
Do what you want with my stuff. I’m not coming back. I respect you for continuing in service to the AF and nation. I only wish that I had realized sooner that this is not my place. The shackles chafe at my wings. Give me liberty…
To the other students in SV101 – its been fun. Vince – I know what you’re grinning about. Bill – wake up, its 7:15. Steve – you’ve got a way with words. Lori – you’re married to a very lucky man. Peggy – Mark’s outta here! Damien – I’ll give you $10 US and a pair of Levis…Serge – remember that last conversation on personal ethics? And to all the other students, instructors, and friends, sorry for causing a commotion and I wish you the best in the rest of the course and your careers. Now I have a plane to catch!
MARK
(P.S. Now the Distinguished Graduate award is wide open!)”
POSTSCRIPT: The young man’s flight to live the life of a Central American painter (and he was a good painter, too) was cut short when the $$ ran out 3 weeks later, and he came back and turned himself in. He was placed in confinement pending his court-martial for desertion, dereliction of duty and theft (he paid for his plane ticket with his Government Credit Card.)
The 4-5 month confinement drove his whining to even greater heights, and he begged to just be dismissed from the Air Force.
The request went to the Clinton-appointed Air Force Legal Counsel, who approved the request and let the young man go to live the artist’s life, having shorted the AF $200K in education costs. (Don’t know if he’s managed to repay any of it yet, or if the Gov’t has pursued recovery).
All I know is that when he was merely dismissed instead of court-martialed, my general – the Convening Authority for the Court-Martial – was steaming “We used to shoot people for that in Viet Nam!” he said. (Maybe not exactly, but he was definitely not ‘touchy-feely’ like Lieutenant Mark.)
No, but things change. Used to be, West Point was primarily a civil engineering school. I know of quite a few people who earned degrees in History and Political Science there. Anymore, USAFA serves no purpose than to produce Second Lieutenants who behave as if the rest of the Air Force exists to serve them. Give me an ROTC or OTS graduate any day of the week. Those people knew how to respect enlisted troops and showed by service that they were worthy of a regular Air Force commission, not just given one because of what school they went to.
He could have made a fine mess cook.
I wouldn't want him spitting or worse in my food.
Sorry kid, but no DD-214, no cookin' fries!
Certainly the definition can be elastic, as is that of the baby boomers. I have seen other dates, including both 1961- 1981 and 1965- 1981 for Gen X. However, I would have to say that Gen X is generally understood to mean the generation following the baby boom. By definition, that cannot be kids born to parents who were in turn born before 1946.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Generation%20X
Having lived through the period, I can assure you that women did not begin delaying having children in large numbers until well into the '80's. A kid born in 1979, or 1981 for that matter, more likely than not had a parent in their twenties, who was a Boomer.
How many good, solid applicants did the Air Force have to dismiss to arrive at this nutcase?
"I sat in class today, reeling at the violence of the waves of irrelevance battering against the seawall of my purpose and felt the camel’s back break."
With such tortured prose, how the hell did he ever get in, let alone graduate?
This reads like it was written by Lt. Mark Morford.
"With such tortured prose, how the hell did he ever get in, let alone graduate?"
I dunno...maybe PC Affirmative-Action? And he COULD draw REAL WELL ;-)
I forgot to mention that he was flight-qualified from a physical standpoint, but opted out of the pilot track at USAFA mid-way when he started getting qualms about actually dropping bombs on people.
They should have expelled his *ss right then and there.
I agree. I'm in the Gen X group (born in 1968) and both of my parents were WWII babies (born in 1944) as were the parents of most of my friends growing up. Maybe the absolute youngest Gen Xers were baby boomer children, but I agree, the boomer children are what is now Gen Y. (who seem to be more apathetic, IMO)
I definitely prefer the "Generation Reagan" moniker. As someone who grew from teen to adulthood during his Presidency, I know he greatly influenced me politically, as well as a lot of people that I've come across from my age group.
Heaven knows that if I were picking candidates for a military academy, I would want someone whose artwork I would be proud to have in my house. Things like discipline and communication skills be damned. I want a freaking painter!
>>Uh, Gen Xers ARE the kids of baby boomers.
Some are, but not all of us. I'm the son of Silents (pre-WWII parents), who were children during the Great Depression. My brothers and I are exceedingly frugal as a result.
As my screen name indicates, I was born in 1970, and I remember classmates who were the oldest kids in their family had Boomer parents. I was the youngest, so I suspect sometime around 70-73 is the cut=off for most Gen-Xers with Silent parents.
I just Googled our young Lieutenant's name (I won't give his last name here for obvious reasons - don't want any of y'all bothering him ;-)
and found that he is still waxing poetic!!!!
Gues whose side he's on NOW?? Read what the traitorous little skunk says today:
"Feature on mosque considered negative
Editor:
I wonder what it’s like to be a Muslim in the United States today. Are you frustrated by the task of raising your children in a society rife with disrespect, materialism, promiscuity and atheism? Do you tire of the cutting jokes about being a terrorist? Do you worry that your place of worship will be the next one vandalized, or your business the next one burned down? Do you pray that your wife or daughter will not be the next woman killed for wearing a headscarf?
I wonder how you feel when you see four young men, non-Muslims, visiting your mosque unannounced with cameras and notebooks. Do you cringe inside, dreading yet another in the daily litany of negative reports about your cherished faith? Do you smile and shake their hands and answer all of their questions and invite them to take your pictures, even in the most sacred time of prayer? If you are a member of the Brownsville Muslim community, you do.
I was there on Oct. 15 observing, the only non-journalist of the four visitors. I was excited to see the press arrive and looked forward to a good article on the beautiful new mosque, or the first day of Ramadan, or the sermon about how fasting and prayer brings us closer to God, or the conversation between Ms. Benazir Bhutto and local Muslims. Instead, Kevin García’s article “Former Pakistani prime minister barred access to mosque’s male sanctuary” detailed the one awkward moment of the afternoon, when members disagreed over the application of a long-standing policy.
I appreciated the rest of The Herald’s coverage of the former prime minister’s visit, Ildefonso Ortiz’s article and “Don Pedro Says,” and I can’t find fault with the way García presented both sides of the argument. I just wonder, if I were a member of the Brownsville Muslim community, how would I feel about seeing my new center introduced to the public through an embarrassing article like this? Why the negative spin?
Be a part of the solution. Visit the mosque to make friends and learn deeper respect for an ancient, fascinating, complex, beautiful civilization. Please don’t visit to find fault.
Mark ***** Via the Internet"
Laura Ingraham sound effect:
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!
With the introduction of birth control and abortion after 1965, I'm still sticking with my theory. I'm still looking for more definitive data though.
That SOB should be shot. He's a traitor plain and simple.
8 years later but its still him, ain't it???
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