If you know someone who was promised one thing and got another when they signed up for the armed forces, your story is needed to expose the lies. Please send them to www.Kucinich.us. We must have a military and if this practice is ongoing people will not sign up. We will have a draft.
These are not isolated stories from the illegal occupation but they are illustrative of what is happening to our young people who thought they were doing the right and honorable thing by enlisting in the military. This is an immoral war that our troops never should have been sent to in the first place, and once they are there and have done their time, it is very difficult for them to get out of the distant mental desert and come home to their loved ones.
Not only are the backend policies of retention shady, but the front-end policies of recruiting our vulnerable youth are often downright unethical. Few citizens in our country (I know I didn’t) realize that an enlistment contract is only binding on the recruit. Once the recruit raises his/her right hand and swears allegiance to the government, that recruit becomes the property of Uncle Sam and is bound by the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Ethics, promises, and moral correctness often fly out the window as servitude, hardship, and heartache fly in.
The only recruiting story I know by heart, and can effectively comment on, is my son Casey’s. I have heard too many similar stories, however. When he was recruited in May 2000, he was promised the moon to get him to join, and he ultimately got an early grave.He was promised a $20,000 signing bonus: he received $4500 and was told that he could use the rest for college. Casey wanted to be a deacon in the Catholic Church, so when he enlisted in the Army, he was promised he could be a Chaplain’s Assistant: don’t believe the Army Band stories, either. When he got to boot camp, he was told that his promised specialty wasn’t open, and he had the choice of being a Humvee mechanic or a cook. His recruiter told him he could finish college while in the military, he could never even get approval to take one class. All of these broken promises mean nothing to me. One does, however. After Casey enlisted he knew I was upset. He told me, “Mom, you don’t have to worry, Sgt. (I forget his name) told me that since I scored so high on the ASVAB (military competency) test, I will never see combat, even if there is a war. I will only be in a support role.” I can still hear his voice saying those exact words to me. Those words chilled me to the bone then, and have haunted me since 9/11. First of all, because I thought Casey would be sent to fight terrorists (and "terrorists") wherever they might be, and I could see George and his warmongering band of neocons rushing us into a crazy invasion of Iraq. My premonition came true and Casey was KIA 04/04/04: a mere 5 days after his unit arrived in Sadr City, Baghdad: IN COMBAT. The most troubling thing is, though, that some recruiters are still promising young people that they won’t have to go to Iraq if they sign up. I am being told that all the time by young people who talk to the multi-level marketers working towards their bonuses…oops, I mean military recruiters.
As long as our young people are being lied to and used so dishonorably in an unjust invasion and occupation of another country; as long as they are fighting for a corrupt government and still without the proper equipment, food, training, or leadership; as long as moms are having to hold bake sales to buy their sons body armor; as long as our soldiers are being held against their wills long after they have done their duty; as long as they are being sent to kill innocent people; military service should beopposed. Let’s affirm life in the fullest for everybody: the unfortunate, uncounted people living Iraq who are “acceptable” collateral damage to the war hawks, and our own indispensable loved ones. The only way to support our troops is to bring them home from this mess--now.
The American public and Congress need to hear more stories from the front. The tragedy and atrocities of this occupation need to be in the forefront of every American’s mind, so there can be an uprising of peace. If you have a story similar to the ones I have told, please forward them to me. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Oh) would like to put these stories, now engraved only in our hearts, into the Congressional Record. Thank you.
Cindy Sheehan
Cofounder of Gold Star Families for Peace
For info on the Homeward Bound Bill go to: www.Kucinich.us
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