Soldier To Sue Military After 5th Army Deployment

Local6.com ^ | July 9, 2007

[Kaslin]

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- A Florida soldier who enlisted after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks plans to sue the military, fighting his fifth order to combat, according to a Local 6 report.

Twenty-six-year-old Erik Botta, who is a Port St. Lucie reservist, signed up for the service days after the Sept. 11 attacks. He did a tour in Afghanistan and three in Iraq, but he said enough is enough.

[rlmorel]

Oops. Sorry folks...didn’t read all the way through the thread...:(

[familyop]

"I was simply stating that he has no right to complain. I’m sure some of his friends are physically or mortally unable to re-deploy, and he should feel lucky. I think you have me figured wrong."

...not at all. He does have a right to complain and more. Civilians and non-combat military personnel should experience living in the field as soldiers before running them down. And don't bother with the denial that usually follows. Enlisted combat specialty soldiers and former soldiers are often denigrated by REMFs (including former non-combat specialty officers turned corporate officers), employers, neighbors and others.

IMO, from the looks of treatment many soldiers are getting in the current police action, civilians' and REMFs' chickens will come home to roost soon enough. We can draft an army, but we can't make it fight effectively without reasonable expectations of respect and privileges for combat soldiers.

If our nation hates soldiers so much as to cheat them (besides the divorces, Jessica Lynch productions and general disrespect behind the parade scenes) on police action tours, the real War will come to us.

Our cowardly populace doesn't even have the will or the generosity (afraid that oil will go higher, sending import prices up more, inviting domestic competition,...) to take the fight to the source of the War: Iran.

If you want soldiers to serve five tours, pitch in and tighten your belts to put Iran's and Syria's military forces down. And prepare a society befitting real men before they get back home. Otherwise, prepare to see what vain, ingrate civilians and REMFs can do against the trained, experienced guerrillas that will head this way after Iran has nukes.

[rlmorel]

Me too.

[familyop]

Eight years is the standard enlistment for reserve components: six years duty and two years IRR. But no reasonable person (and certainly no knowledgeable soldier) would expect them to do five hardship tours, unless we start fighting the War instead of playing it as another police action of attrition. As the situation is now, we’re knowingly allowing Iran to build up and send its guerrilla forces into our soldiers’ AOs. That...with an intent to pull our forces out of Iran’s back yard and call it a loss later on. We need to...

* Draft, if necessary (including spoiled rotten rich kids), and win the War. That includes shutting down the main source of the problems: Iran. Fears of freight fuel prices going up should take a back seat to defense of our nation.

* Start enforcing laws—even for enlisted combat soldiers—to force employers to stop cheating and firing them. Our corporations are whore houses.

* Legislate preferences for combat specialty veterans for civilian jobs. As it stands now, quite a list of fortune 500s filed briefs in a Michigan case in favor of “affirmative action” for women.

* Repeal feminist laws that allow soldiers wives to divorce, remarry and deprive soldiers of their kids and their incomes while soldiers are away. Such laws and piggy behavior are traitorous against our nation.

* And much more...

Our forefathers were much wiser than we are. We should learn more about how they did things.

[KC Burke]

From the link I gather that he is 26 and joined at 20. Possibly he is trying to complete an engineering degree he has been working on since before enlistment inspired by 9/11.

If this is the case, I don't think it unreasonable to file to have a hearing for undue hardship in completing his degree.

He volunteered, that is for sure, but even the army says that hardship issues come into play and he is taking a legal means instead of going AWOL or protesting his duty.

I think he should get a good hearing and be treated by fair Army standards. He is asking for a delay for the hearing and wants to finish his degree as the outcome. No where does it say he wants out of the eventual deployment after his degree or that he even wants out of the service.

I am humbled by the service of these multiple deployed reservists and appreciate the toll it takes on them. My son has had a tour in Korea and expects Iraq in the late summer. He is a 25S, satillite communications specialist with the Army Signal Corps and is halfway through a non-reserve six year enlistment. He enlisted afer the IEDs started three years ago and served in an STB unit with the II ID forward command on the DMZ last summer when the missile launchs had them at max alert.

At a young age, without much life experience, these youngsters put their faith in our nation and we should always allow them to proper access to our Military system and our courts.

[art_rocks]

Thats the normal military commitment, 8 years. You may sign up to only do 3-4 years active and the rest will be in the reserves or IRR.

The story doesn’t say if he enlisted for active duty or reserves. Lot of information left out of the story.

[One Proud Son]

“Civilians and non-combat military personnel should experience living in the field as soldiers before running them down.”

you dont know anything about me

[missy72173]

HE JUST NEEDS TO GROW UP KNOW ONE DRAFTED HIM!!!!!!!!!

[missy72173]

THIS MAN PUTS AMERICAN SOLDER TO SHAME, HE DON’T DESIRVE TO WEAR THE UNIFORM! GROW UP

[missy72173]

I LIKE YOUR THOUGHTS

[Shimmer128]

THIS MAN PUTS AMERICAN SOLDER TO SHAME, HE DON’T DESIRVE TO WEAR THE UNIFORM! GROW UP

He don’t deserve it huh?

I see dumb people. They’re everywhere. They don’t even know they’re dumb.

[mad_as_he$$]

Well the Army is struggling and missed several monthly targets recently. YTD they are on track. The problem that is not talked about is the number of Noncoms and young officers that are not re upping. It is staggering. Wasn’t even this bad in the VN era.