Friday, May 21, 2004
Florida Guardsman Found Guilty of Desertion
Former infantry squad leader Camilo Mejia was convicted of desertion today by a military jury. He faces up to a year in prison, reduction of rank, and an other-than-honorable discharge.
There are some out there who are making him out to be a hero. One of them is even calling him a "whistleblower," because now he's trying to play the "Americans abused Iraqi prisoners" card, by saying while he was assigned to guard EPWs at Al Asad Air Base, soldiers would keep prisoners awake by banging the wall with a giant sledgehammer, or by loading a pistol next to their heads.
Well, SSG Mejia would have been one of the senior NCOs present at Al Asad...if not THE senior NCO on his shift. And if he objected to the pistol practice, he could have put a stop to it himself.
I note further that Mejia did not blow any whistles on anything until he had already deserted and it was in his best interests to blow as many whistles as he could. He did not press any complaints to the battalion level that I'm aware of, and I was pretty plugged in to all issues pertaining to the treatment of detainees.
I don't know a single instance where he pressed charges on anyone for abusing detainees.
Sorry, but this guy is no hero. And he's not courageous.
We had hundreds of guys in the battalion--many of whom privately disagreed with overall US policy and with the chain of command-- who left home on leave, kissed their wives and children, and came back.
That's courage. That's character.
I don't think Bob Herbert's going to devote a column in the New York Times to any of my other soldiers very soon, though.
Splash, out
Jason
.
There are some out there who are making him out to be a hero. One of them is even calling him a "whistleblower," because now he's trying to play the "Americans abused Iraqi prisoners" card, by saying while he was assigned to guard EPWs at Al Asad Air Base, soldiers would keep prisoners awake by banging the wall with a giant sledgehammer, or by loading a pistol next to their heads.
Well, SSG Mejia would have been one of the senior NCOs present at Al Asad...if not THE senior NCO on his shift. And if he objected to the pistol practice, he could have put a stop to it himself.
I note further that Mejia did not blow any whistles on anything until he had already deserted and it was in his best interests to blow as many whistles as he could. He did not press any complaints to the battalion level that I'm aware of, and I was pretty plugged in to all issues pertaining to the treatment of detainees.
I don't know a single instance where he pressed charges on anyone for abusing detainees.
Sorry, but this guy is no hero. And he's not courageous.
We had hundreds of guys in the battalion--many of whom privately disagreed with overall US policy and with the chain of command-- who left home on leave, kissed their wives and children, and came back.
That's courage. That's character.
I don't think Bob Herbert's going to devote a column in the New York Times to any of my other soldiers very soon, though.
Splash, out
Jason
.
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