Video: Man who objects to killing people joins the, um, Marines
posted at 7:06 pm on April 3, 2007 by Allahpundit
Even stupider than the Ehren Watada case, where the objection at least wasn’t to war per se but to the Iraq war specifically. The next thing will be volunteers who conscientiously object to having to carry a gun because they want to fight the jihadis “MacGyver style.”
Another boot camp instructor showed recruits a “motivational clip” showing Iraqi corpses, explosions, gun fights and rockets set to a heavy metal song that included the lyrics, “Let the bodies hit the floor,” the petition said. Zabala said he cried, while other recruits nodded their heads in time with the beat.
He won his case to be declared a conscientious objector, naturally. Click the image to watch.
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Prediction: Next will be troops who won’t fight under a Commander and Chief who isn’t of their same political persuasion.
RightWinged on April 3, 2007 at 7:10 PM
i’d prefer him over watada because he’s not trying to make a political statement nor is he surrounding himself with lefty idiots BUT by the same token…….this guy is a complete a moron!
Defector01 on April 3, 2007 at 7:10 PM
Another boot camp instructor showed recruits a “motivational clip” showing Iraqi corpses, explosions, gun fights and rockets set to a heavy metal song that included the lyrics, “Let the bodies hit the floor,” the petition said. Zabala said he cried, while other recruits nodded their heads in time with the beat.
Heh. That’s actually a great song.
forged rite on April 3, 2007 at 7:12 PM
Better to weed him out now then when lives are at stake.
But honestly why did he join the Marines? Is there anyone who is honestly that ignorant?
Karl on April 3, 2007 at 7:12 PM
What do these kids think is gonna happen when you enlist in the military? Watch reruns of Romper Room and play canasta? Geez O Pete!
robblefarian on April 3, 2007 at 7:13 PM
Oh, he wanted to be part of a force that does not actually use their weapons…he wanted to be a U.N. Peace keeper!
EnochCain on April 3, 2007 at 7:14 PM
The idiot went to UC Santa Cruz, what a shock. Why does the military recruit from the Hate America Universities that are part of the California university system? They will keep getting subsversive types like this moron, who will keep inflicting damage upon the military.
RW Wacko on April 3, 2007 at 7:15 PM
Nope. Not like Rome at all.
lorien1973 on April 3, 2007 at 7:15 PM
Wow, that is pretty sick. That’s not a motivational video. That is, for lack of a better word, death porn.
John on April 3, 2007 at 7:16 PM
He should be allowed to express his convictions…
…as a civilian with a hefty training bill payable to Uncle Sam.
James on April 3, 2007 at 7:16 PM
I personally think the motivational video would have been better with the song “Die MF Die” by Dope.
EnochCain on April 3, 2007 at 7:17 PM
Here is the video he is talking about.
Before you guys make too much fun of him remember that Quakers volunteered in WWII to be medics. One of them won the CMH. Just because the guy doesn’t want to kill people (and who does,really?) doesn’t make him a douchebag.
JasonG on April 3, 2007 at 7:19 PM
Funny, I once thought Vincent D’onofrio’s slow-witted “Gomer Pyle” character in Full Metal Jacket was absurdist fantasy. Why didn’t this guy join the Peace Corps instead? or Her Majesty’s Army, if he wanted to fight with fresh fruit and pointed sticks?
Ed Driscoll on April 3, 2007 at 7:19 PM
Haven’t seen the video yet – just looking at the picture – a Marine doesn’t come to mind at all.
Entelechy on April 3, 2007 at 7:21 PM
John, that is what the kid is saying, we don’t know if it is true or not. I would be okay with it except for showing corpses. Don’t see what the purpose of that would be, even. I am especially okay with Drowning Pool.
RW Wacko on April 3, 2007 at 7:21 PM
“Die MF Die” of Fahrenheit 9/11 fame? Uh, I think they’ve already been using that one for a while.
John on April 3, 2007 at 7:22 PM
Didn’t see the movie.
EnochCain on April 3, 2007 at 7:22 PM
I didn’t see one corpse. Excellent video though.
forged rite on April 3, 2007 at 7:24 PM
I don’t believe this. Next you’ll tell me that checkers at Target refuse to do their job because they learn that pork products are being sold.
see-dubya on April 3, 2007 at 7:24 PM
What a friggin wuss.
BTW, San Jose is just down the bay from Frisco, which helps explain things.
infidel4life on April 3, 2007 at 7:28 PM
I’m betting it was this one:
http://music-videos.grouchymedia.com/2001/10/taliban-bodies.html
TBinSTL on April 3, 2007 at 7:30 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imUnHTE9Ir0
EnochCain on April 3, 2007 at 7:31 PM
language warning for my above post.
EnochCain on April 3, 2007 at 7:33 PM
No corpses in that video. You sure it’s the same one? If it is, then I have absolutely no objection to it being a “motivational clip”. Hell, makes me want to sign up!
If he’s truly objecting to that video, then he just pussied out. Whatever. Let him go. There are plenty more citizens who’ll take up the mantle and do the job right.
nukemhill on April 3, 2007 at 7:35 PM
That video doesn’t have any dead bodies. A bunch of footage of AF aircraft in action and some mug shots of the most wanted terrorists. If this made that guy squeamish then I am sure we won’t find any Chuck Norris or Rambo movies in his dvd collection or any shoot em up video games.
I am calling BS on this video being the trigger that prompted his action.
Probably more the “Don’t ask Don’t tell”
LakeRuins on April 3, 2007 at 7:38 PM
>Just because the guy doesn’t want to kill people (and who does,really?) doesn’t make him a douchebag.
Maybe not, but the fact that he still joined the Marines makes him, at the very least, a complete dope. Has he been living in a cave so that he doesn’t know that killing people and breaking things is what you’re supposed to do in the military, and that my son and his fellow Marines are just a lot better at it than everybody else? (And they have to be.)
If he can’t do his duty, then it’s good that he’s out. The Marines don’t need unicorns and rainbows, walking in the rain, and talking about feelings.
Doghouse on April 3, 2007 at 7:38 PM
Don’t sign up to be a Marine unless you’re ready to be a Marine.
I know there were Quakers that volunteered as Medics in WWII, however, when they signed up, it was with the understanding that they wouldn’t carry a weapon. I can’t watch vids at work, so, maybe that was covered, but, if he signed up and only realized later that he might have to kill someone…well, he’s either stupid or he wimped out.
And no, I don’t hold it against him that he couldn’t handle being a Marine. I know for a fact that I couldn’t handle being a Marine. The difference between us is that I’m smart enough to know I can’t hack it in advance so I never signed up.
JadeNYU on April 3, 2007 at 7:39 PM
That was a good one Enoch.
forged rite on April 3, 2007 at 7:39 PM
Pretty much all of Northern California is dominated by wuss punks, sorry, I meant libs. I take a great joy in tormenting them whenever possible. My very existence is a torment to them, so it don’t take much.
bbz123 on April 3, 2007 at 7:39 PM
>Zabala was particularly appalled by boot camps’ attempts to desensitize the recruits to violence.
Yes, the Corps would be so much improved if every Marine had to squeal and wring his hands in fretting hysteria before pulling the trigger to put down a bad guy…
Doghouse on April 3, 2007 at 7:41 PM
Why is the federal courts involved in a military matter? Cases like this are covered by the Uniform Code of Military Justice and have NO PLACE in a federal court.
The conscientious objector (CO) status does not mean you are released from military service (for which he VOLUNTEERED!), it only means you are taken off of combat duty. There are plenty of CO’s that served in WWII, Vietnam, and Korea and they were NOT released from service, they were removed from combat duty and assigned to support duties like Graves Registration. Why is the court releasing him from Military service? This court has overstepped it’s legislative authority and a higher court should throw out this ruling.
RedinBlueCounty on April 3, 2007 at 7:44 PM
punk
Wade on April 3, 2007 at 7:48 PM
“Shoot people? No, I joined the other Marines – the ones who give flowers to the enemy.”
[special thanks to Private Benjamin]
fogw on April 3, 2007 at 7:54 PM
Give your son my thanks for his service.
Being quite cowardly and timid myself, I am always in awe of those who are brave enough to fight in our military.
JadeNYU on April 3, 2007 at 7:59 PM
RedinBlueCounty on April 3, 2007 at 7:44 PM makes the same good point The Machine is thinking.
Jurisdiction.
Damn, now we even have the robed priests of the Culture of Death(tm) ruling over the US military by fiat?
Take a look at that boy’s HAIR.
Something is wrong.
Either the sumbitch has the fastest growing hair in the history of mankind or his outfit was awful damn lax about the 35-10 reg., which is not Marine at all. “Jarheads”.
Something’s wrong.
In more ways than one…
.
The Machine on April 3, 2007 at 8:11 PM
*puts on tinfoil hat*
This is in Kalifornia folks….wonder if the whole thing was planned from the start,a plot to show just what a bunch of murderin’ baby-rapers the military are.
*tinfoil hat off*
While in the Drs office the other day,I heard a gentleman mention that he was a WW2 vet.
I stood up,walked over,shook his hand & said “Thank you,sir”.
Frantic Freddie on April 3, 2007 at 8:12 PM
I wouldn’t call it a motivational video, I would call it a reality check to weed out the people who should not be there.
I was Air Force and never had to contend with a fight for my life, but if you join the Marines in this era, you will more then likely will.
Shock them as much as necessary to make sure they are the right ones for the job.
Karl on April 3, 2007 at 8:15 PM
I saw worse movies in drviers ed class in high school when they were trying to drive home the point to wear seat belts. It didn’t make me want to ride the bus my entire life. This is nothing more then some guy who figured out he couldn’t hack it, which is no big deal, but is managing to get his 15 minutes of fame.
LakeRuins on April 3, 2007 at 8:25 PM
O.K. I’m sorry if this offends anyone, but that video gave me a woodie.
CurtZHP on April 3, 2007 at 8:29 PM
Just out of curiosity, just what the F do you think the MILITARY does??? It Kills and destroys… any other touchy feely thing just gets OUR people killed….
Now… don’t you think that maybe, just maybe, the military tries to weed people like this out in Boot Camp? Get rid of em so they won’t get their Buddies killed in a hot zone when all the sudden the figure out that they are really in the Military??? So they don’t give up the first time they see a body, or have to pull the trigger???
And I might add, the Marine Corps does NOT have Medics, they use Navy Corpsman… Every Marine is a Rifleman FIRST.
Bah…. stupid wimp… don’t mind him bein a wimp… but joining the Marines??? How dumb can you be.
Romeo13 on April 3, 2007 at 8:29 PM
Don’t ask, Don’t tell.
Send him to Walter Reed to clean bed pans.
Kini on April 3, 2007 at 8:31 PM
Vorenus and Pullo would have never this lad near the 10th.
allie on April 3, 2007 at 8:31 PM
It’s a dishonor to the Corps to still call this loser a Marine.
He is not. He is one of the few that should correctly be called an ex-Marine, at best.
mesablue on April 3, 2007 at 8:32 PM
A straight-edge friend once said of his lifestyle, “If you’re not now, you never were.”
I think that applies here too.
fusionaddict on April 3, 2007 at 8:43 PM
If I understand the reporting right this guy finished boot camp a long time ago. He is of the rank Lance Corporal which takes about 18 months of active duty to achieve, being an Army guy I would have to defer to the Marines out there for that answer. He joined before the war in Iraq but went to boot after the war started which means he probably joined in late 2002 and since we went into Iraq in Mar of 2003 went to basic after that. It is now 2007 and I don’t know how long his case has been going through the process in the Marines, but I said all of that to say he ain’t no damn newbee, rather just somebody who rather then deciding to test positive on a urinalysis test went the CO way.
Kick him out and forget about him. It is a non story.
LakeRuins on April 3, 2007 at 8:46 PM
This makes no sense to me. The Marine Corps does not want anyone who doesn’t want to be a Marine. Why go through the machinations?
Aside from that…just exactly WHAT did this dillhole THINK was going to happen in basic training? Prayer circles?! He reminds me of the kid that was in my sons basic company. He actually showed up to Ft Benning with 20 CONDOMS! Apparently he had other ideas about basic training also.
csdeven on April 3, 2007 at 8:47 PM
csdeven
Just curious. Was your son in Col White’s , I think that is the right name, battalion. The guy who had a video going around the web last year that laid it on the line about what this war was all about. He was the Colonel who was scheduled to deploy last year. It is the graduation speech I am talking about.
LakeRuins on April 3, 2007 at 8:52 PM
For those that haven’t seen or read it here are the words of a real warrior who was responsible for trining other warriors.
Col White’s Graduation Speech
LakeRuins on April 3, 2007 at 8:57 PM
Let me frame this by saying the man is either an idiot, a liar or a coward. To let him out of the obligation he signed is just wrong and disrespectful to those who serve. This is not how this type of situation has been handled in past conflicts … alternative service options would have been better option … a free pass is a disgrace. (Personally I think he’s a lying coward)
Paul
pbary on April 3, 2007 at 8:58 PM
The only thing that comes to mind….COWARD, pussy.
WildcatFan on April 3, 2007 at 8:59 PM
You’d think the guy would Google US Marine Corps just once before he signed the papers.
Did he think he was being recruited for a summer gig at Six Flags over Iraq?
I won’t question his motives, just his judgment.
SailorDave on April 3, 2007 at 9:05 PM
As a veteran, THAT scares me! I entered the Army in 1985 at Ft Jackson S.C as a 24 year old, long haired, former pot head, high school droop-out (GED in 1983) and even I wasn’t THAT stupid.
BTW, I left basic training 12 weeks later as a clean cut, honorable, law abiding E2 who was rewarded as our company’s Outstanding Graduate for that training cycle, something I am VERY proud of.
RedinBlueCounty on April 3, 2007 at 9:05 PM
Seems that this guy is one of those Lefties who’ve been encouraged to enlist by the hard Left anarchists, just to undermine the services by causing a fuss and claiming various permutations of “conscience.” He’s an agitator. Jail time would be appropriate. Bill him also for taxpayer reimbursement of training dollars that were wasted on his deceitful carcass.
naliaka on April 3, 2007 at 9:07 PM
OH HELL NO! You didn’t just say that!
Look, since our military is the best in the world at what they do, I gotta figure they know better than you. Right? Our military is the best trained, best led, best armed, and most FEARED military on the face of the earth. Next to God, there is no entity capable of sending more souls to the pearly gates or destroying more stuff.
GO TROOPS! Hooah!
csdeven on April 3, 2007 at 9:07 PM
Apparently he didn’t even read the brochure before he signed up.
Now, now, Romeo13, it would clearly be better to prepare Marines to face an environment that includes violence, bodies, and loud noises by giving them no exposure whatsoever to anything that resembles violence, bodies, and loud noises. Me, I’m thinking a training regimen of vigorous macrame. And bunnies–definitely bunnies. /sarcasm off
“We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm.” – Winston Churchill
ReubenJCogburn on April 3, 2007 at 9:09 PM
Robert Zabala comes form a military family and joined the Marine Reserve. During training he was disturbed by the tactics used to turn him and his fellow recruits into killing machines.
News2Use on April 3, 2007 at 9:16 PM
Marines killing the bad guys?!?!….shocking stuff…who knew..
EnochCain on April 3, 2007 at 9:19 PM
Glad he was weeded out before his buddies were depending on him.
I remember my experience at Infantry school at Ft. Benning. It’s not the Oprah book club and they are not there to play around. It’s the drill sgt’s job to turn you into a fighting man. You don’t do that by playing “Barney” videos. This clown will really regret this one day when he finally grows up.
Liberals suck.
Mojave Mark on April 3, 2007 at 9:20 PM
Ah, I see–so he’s just an idiot (for not having sense enough to join something he was better suited for, like say, the Girl Scouts) and a pussy, then. Got it.
ReubenJCogburn on April 3, 2007 at 9:21 PM
Heh
EnochCain on April 3, 2007 at 9:22 PM
His bat co was LTC Clayton O Sheffield. He graduated E-2/58 20Oct06. he was well spoken and funny. Oh yeah, he was 101st. Same unit my son is in at Campbell.
I haven’t seen White’s video. I guess youtube?
csdeven on April 3, 2007 at 9:26 PM
OK, I seen your very next comment. that was about the same quality of speech my sons co used. Great guys.
csdeven on April 3, 2007 at 9:31 PM
Awsome! Thanks for your service.
csdeven on April 3, 2007 at 9:33 PM
I think he deserves at least a Dishonorable Discharge.
If for no other reason then thinking that the marines don’t kill people. What did he think they do – sell girl scout cookies?
CrazyFool on April 3, 2007 at 9:33 PM
(*spit)……his oath meant about as much to him as his future now does to me. See ya at K-mart kid.
Limerick on April 3, 2007 at 9:45 PM
can i… you know, join the christian peacemakers teams so i can make political theater out of renouncing pascifism?
honestly. this is happening enough that it merits a law. “enlisting in bad faith” or something like that.
jummy on April 3, 2007 at 10:02 PM
no dude. he’s a fraud. he didn’t break an oath, he took the oath with his fingers crossed. watada didn’t “break his oath”. he joined after completing a four-year degree in political science at a west-coast liberal arts university. he did not learn antiwar hysteria in the officers acadame.
jummy on April 3, 2007 at 10:09 PM
He will be a celebrated demigod by the Left.
Entelechy on April 3, 2007 at 10:18 PM
Until the next three legged freak screams ‘lookie-me’.
Limerick on April 3, 2007 at 10:20 PM
WWI Veteran dies…not many left. These men lied about their ages and volunteered at 16…
Thanks Seejanemom.
Entelechy on April 3, 2007 at 10:29 PM
Any Marine feel free to correct me however is that how the chain of command works?
Any/All decisions must go through the chain of command and only the Commander of the Marine Corps can approve them?
I am not buying that.
I call BS
F15Mech on April 3, 2007 at 10:48 PM
Bloody good riddance.
Before he failed his buddies.
Give him a mashmallow Easter peep and send him home.
profitsbeard on April 3, 2007 at 10:57 PM
To go into more detail
Why would his request reach the Commander of the Marines (is that an official title BTW?) if everyone in his chain approved his status?
The Marine equivalent of an “AF squadron commander”, or perhaps a “wing commander” I could buy. But to reach the “commander of the Marine Corps” is BS IMO
F15Mech on April 3, 2007 at 11:00 PM
Tarawa….google it
TBinSTL on April 3, 2007 at 11:10 PM
And a WW2 battle for the Marianas Islands fits this story how?
The “Marine” in question was not even alive then.
F15Mech on April 3, 2007 at 11:18 PM
This is a prime example of a ‘wanabee’. He probably likes all of the ‘cool’ trappings of being a Marine, but won’t offer the work to earn it. Heh. Years from now this guy will run for office and claim veteran status.
I recall a fellow kind of like this in USMC boot camp years ago. They had to segregate him to prevent any harm coming to his fair little neck before the exit interview.
Good riddance. Lives have been saved.
AZ_Redneck on April 3, 2007 at 11:24 PM
Full Mental Idiot
normsrevenge on April 3, 2007 at 11:40 PM
AZ, i think it’s less innocent than that. i think we’re going to keep on seeing lefty frauds who just barely make it out of basic in time to have some pre-planned public epiphany and claim conciencous objector status.
jummy on April 3, 2007 at 11:41 PM
I can honestly tell you that if I was a bomber pilot and Bill Clinton ordered me to bomb Christians in the Balkans on behalf of his al qaeda/KLA allies, I hope I would have refused.
I don’t at all hold it against those who carried out those orders though.
Perchant on April 3, 2007 at 11:52 PM
No, they wouldn’t have..er..because they weren’t IN the 10th. They were in the 13th. Hence, as Pullo fought in the arena during season 1, he screamed ’13! 13!’ It’s a great show. Apparently season 2 just ended in a not so good way…can’t wait for it to hit dvd.
As to the Watada clone, I guess we have another lawsuit coming. I suppose it’ll go something like ‘They never told me I was going to have to kill people if I joined the marines.’ What’s he going to claim, Pre Traumatic Stress Disorder?
austinnelly on April 4, 2007 at 12:02 AM
I can’t help but think that this young man will eventually grow up, maybe when he has to defend himself, maybe when he has children and has to protect them…… he might think back to this decesion, and quite possibly say “Darn, if only I……, it will haunt him for the rest of his days.
Just a thought…….
PinkyBigglesworth on April 4, 2007 at 12:13 AM
The court was in the 9th District (naturally).
Frankly, I think the court exceeded it’s jurisdiction and should have refused to hear the case.
georgej on April 4, 2007 at 12:18 AM
The title is “Commandant of the Marine Corps”, until recently the highest-ranking officer in the USMC. Gen. Peter Pace outranks the Commandant as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (the first Marine to hold that position).
The Monster on April 4, 2007 at 12:19 AM
Something interesting about tarawa…
From wikipedia…
More concepts the libs just refuse to accept as fact! They are dooming us to repeat the failures of the past if they get their way! I hope GWB sticks to his guns until we win this seemingly unimportant battle in the middle of Iraq.
The libs are MORONS!
csdeven on April 4, 2007 at 12:35 AM
I think we’re all in agreement that this guy should never have signed on the dotted line in the first place, but there’s something missing from this story. There’s an “why” element that’s not clear. It could be that Zabala’s a lefty infiltrator, or it could be that he was seduced by the Corps’ image without thinking through the consequences.
Simple fact is, the USMC attracts head cases. It just does. Hell, I’m living proof. And I went through boot with a guy from Texas who joined after losing a bar bet. There are many roads lead to the Corps, and they often begin in very strange places. UC Santa Cruz isn’t the craziest starting point I’ve heard of.
F15Mech –
“Any Marine feel free to correct me however is that how the chain of command works?
Any/All decisions must go through the chain of command and only the Commander of the Marine Corps can approve them?”
Yeah, that sounded strange to me, too. But I chaulked it up to the reporter’s unfamiliarity with military custom. As a deptartment of the Navy, the Corps has a formal process for bringing grievances called “request mast.” Technically, you can request an audience with each of your commanders in turn, all the way up to SecNav. My guess is he got frustrated and so went outside the system (to the federal courts).
Like I said, there’s something missing here, but no way to tell what that something is.
Kadnine on April 4, 2007 at 12:50 AM
There’s something else going on here. Makes little-to-no sense to keep him in if he’s been “approved” for C.O. status. Perhaps he was offered a transfer to a non-combatant role but refused it?
(Anyone else notice that the story aired 1 Apr?)
htom on April 4, 2007 at 12:56 AM
htom –
There are no non-combatants in the Marines. Even the pencil-pushers are basically trained riflemen, deadly out to 500 yards. It never made sense to me that we were asked at boot whether we joined as COs. (No one raised their hand so I don’t really know what would have happened if they did.)
But I agree, there’s definatly something fishy here.
Kadnine on April 4, 2007 at 1:07 AM
He didn’t mock or put down the Marine Corps.
He applied for discharge correctly.
He kept it low-key.
When denied he went to Federal Court.
No matter what you think of him he is not the off the shelf “Hate America” coward. He is a coward with a conscience. He better never demand Rights he wasn’t willing to fight for.
Helloyawl on April 4, 2007 at 1:44 AM
okay. i defer to helloyawl and those who are familiar with the culture.
as a civilian though who is familiar with radicals i can only say that there are those who are willing. i have dead links on my hd to deleted indymedia pages discussing such things. some of this came out when the “military councelling project” tried to get pablo paredes to deploy and foment mutiny.
jummy on April 4, 2007 at 2:58 AM
F15Mech-
I wasn’t alive then either but I know what it means(in as much as a civilian can) to put on the eagle globe and anchor and I never had access to the intertubes.
TBinSTL on April 4, 2007 at 2:58 AM
Zabala needs a BCD so he can’t rejoin. It’s a good thing that he did it now so he wouldn’t have been there when someone needed him.
It would have been nice to see him follow in the footsteps of Desmond T. Doss Sr. a consciencious objector who won the Congressional Medal of Honor back in the day when the medal was still authorized by an honorable institution. Desmond T. Doss Sr. was an Army medic who refused to carry a rifle but risked his life helping his comrads.
Mike H. on April 4, 2007 at 5:28 AM
Just turn the jerk around and see the real reason – a yellow stripe.
No he is just a coward!
im4eagles on April 4, 2007 at 9:12 AM
I think this guy should be assigned to some recruiting office in the middle of nowhere. Whenever some kid comes in to talk about joining up, the recruiting officer would pull this guy out and tell the kid, “If you’re a wuss like this a–h—- here, don’t even bother.”
Farmer_Joe on April 4, 2007 at 10:04 AM
As a former Marine, I’m both perplexed and amused by this post.
What EXACTLY do you think Marines are training to do? What PRECISELY do you think a warrior’s main objective is?
Is it your position that a Marine should be shielded from even SEEING the reality of what he is being trained to DO?
Interesting theory. Sadly, there are too many people who think the same way, and the endanger all of us.
War isn’t pretty, son. And our warriors need to know that, and be ready for it.
Once upon a time, this was called “common sense.”
Professor Blather on April 4, 2007 at 10:14 AM
There. What I was trying to say – but put much better. Thanks Karl.
Exactly, exactly right.
Marines are training for war now. This is necessary. Necessary isn’t always nice.
And I for one am glad to see it worked. I’m glad to see Zabala realized he wasn’t fit for service and said so. That’s actually a kind of courage in its own way, and as long as he doesn’t become a tool of the leftists, I applaud his honesty.
Not everyone can fight. Nothing wrong with that. By being honest, he may have saved lives down the road. I sure wouldn’t have wanted him next to me in combat.
(Oh, and yeah: sadly, I expect to see him paraded around at a Cindy Sheehan rally in 5 …. 4 …. 3 … 2 ….)
Professor Blather on April 4, 2007 at 10:19 AM
I suddenly find myself aroused.
“Next to God, there is no entity capable of sending more souls to the pearly gates …”
Oh. Yeah.
Although I’m not sure the pearly gates is the direction many of them are headed ….
Professor Blather on April 4, 2007 at 10:27 AM
When I went through basic in 1998 we had the same chants (Blood, blood, blood makes the green grass grow and Kill, kill, kill). I had a problem with it too. Even spoke with the chaplain about it.
I see now though that it was for the better. I have served in Iraq and what I saw didn’t affect me as it would have had I not been desensitized. I can shoot with no hesitation or concern for anyone by my buddies and me. I can see death and not get ill like I did as a 15 year old in drivers ed watching accident videos.
Does this make me a worse man? No, it makes me a better soldier. I stuck through it and I am better for it. He should do the same.
thomashton on April 4, 2007 at 11:24 AM
While it’s true that “every Marine is a rifleman first”, that doesn’t mean that that’s the only thing Marines do. He could be assigned to teach first-aid classes, for example, or as an orderly at Balboa NH, or shuffle paperwork, (all things I was temporarily assigned to, and I was never a CO) or … there are lots of slots where someone able-bodied could be put to work for the rest of his term, freeing someone else for combat (which may be why he’s declining those alternative assignments.)
Killing people and breaking things are means; the end is victory.
htom on April 4, 2007 at 11:40 AM
Maybe he thought he was joining the Peace Marines, the ones with the nerf rifles.
Tantor on April 4, 2007 at 4:52 PM
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