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| Fifth Column | ||
| Decorated Army Deserter Returns to U.S. | ||
| 2006-10-01 | ||
| LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - A decorated soldier who deserted from the U.S. Army to avoid a second tour of duty in Iraq has crossed back into the United States after fleeing to Canada almost two years ago. Army Spc. Darrell Anderson, 24, of Lexington, crossed the U.S. border on Saturday and plans to turn himself in at Fort Knox on Tuesday. Anderson said he is hoping for leniency from the Army but isn't taking anything for granted. "You never know what's going to happen until it happens," he told the Lexington Herald-Leader before starting for home. "I'm sort of hoping for the best but planning for the worst."
Fort Knox public affairs officer Connie Schaffery said officers had been in touch with Anderson, his lawyer and his family to "explain the process." Schaffery said she "cannot speak about what's going to happen when he gets here until he gets here." Anderson, who was wounded and received the Purple Heart while serving in Iraq in 2004 with the 1st Armored Division, fled to Canada in early 2005, hoping to avoid another tour in a war he no longer supported. He has been living in the Toronto area, becoming a highly visible war critic and spokesman for Canadian peace groups. But when Anderson's application for Canadian refugee status was filed too late, he could not get a government work permit. Unsure of his future in Canada, he decided to return to Kentucky and accept whatever punishment the Army imposes.
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| Posted by:Steve White |
| #8 We still need about 24 extra Brigade Combat Teams - 16 active and 8 reserve/Guard - to ease the workload and meet all our OTHER objectives. The sooner we begin building them up, the sooner they'll be able to enter the rotation and ease the stress load. I only went to Vietnam once. The Air Force had enough people that, except for some very isolated career fields, the demand was less than the total number of people available. Still, I had no qualms about going back for a second time. A friend of mine, an AH-1 Cobra pilot, was shot down for the seventh time on his third tour, and broke his pelvis. He'd been in the Army five years. Things in Iraq are hard on people. I have great sympathy for those going back for the second, third, or fourth tour. I don't have much sympathy for someone so lame they have to run away. They not only let the nation down, they let their buddies and fellow soldiers down. Throw him out, erase his name from the Unit's history, and go on. He's not worth anything more. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2006-10-01 22:56 |
| #7 I can understand why someone who was wounded might go AWOL rather than return to Iraq. Fear is understandable. Becoming a spokespeon for the anti-war crowd is not acceptable. Hopefully his family owns a business that can employ him otherwise its Jiffy Lube for the next 40 years or so. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2006-10-01 22:37 |
| #6 Troops are now going back two, three and four tours in the combat zone in their first enlistment.[*] We as a nation don't normally do this with our troops, and yes war is not normal, In WWII once they deployed, they stayed deployed till it was over. Units in the Pacific only rotated to a suitable location to retrain and refit after taking an island. Troops in Europe were told to be prepared to deploy to the Pacific after the German surrender. During the Injun campaigns units deployed to remote locations and pretty muched stayed there until there was a need further on in the territories for them. Bascially, today units are rotated out of theater to refit and be reinforced on a very strategic level. Basically they're being given an extended R&R contact with the family on those rotations, something which troops didn't have during time of America's other major wars. [*] must have signed for 6. Army units are committed usually for a year. A three year enlistment would only generate two rotations. That doesn't even include the time for Basic, Advanced Individual Training, and any specialty training. |
| Posted by: Omaviter Thainter8686 2006-10-01 21:39 |
| #5 I wouldn't call it leniency per se. The Army is essentially treating him as a non-entity. They'll bring him in, stash him in a room, process him out, and put him back on the street with an other-than-honorable. Odds are he won't see anyone outside of the few who'll process him out. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2006-10-01 20:47 |
| #4 On Saturday, Kentucky buried one of it's National Guard troops that was killed last week in Iraq. I don't think he will get much sympathy here in Kentucky. Franks comments ring true here. It angers me to know there is a unit out there missing a troop because he was afraid to go back. He signed up knowing he would deploy. My question is how we, DOD, deal with deployments. Troops are now going back two, three and four tours in the combat zone in their first enlistment. We as a nation don't normally do this with our troops, and yes war is not normal, I got that. We have to come to terms with how much combat is enough for our troops and how to deal with it. I think we will se a lot more of this. No one knows what combat looks and feels like until they are there. This reminds me of jump school. Troops run out the door on their first jump fine, because they have no idea what they are getting into. On the second jump is where they get scared and give in to fear. I think the right answer for this troop is general him out and move on. Anything more will fuel the left and troops that are just afraid to go back will be pawns in the politics of it all. |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2006-10-01 18:53 |
| #3 hard time. My son's in boot, and would nevr disgrace his uniform like this POS. Don't enlist if you don't want to do the job. Hard time is the answer |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-10-01 17:42 |
| #2 Hmmm...the unit at Fort Polk belongs to the 10th Mountain Division? Time to set up a historical reenactment section honoring the mule handlers of the 10th in WWII. I think it would be fitting that these publicity guys actually do shovel sh!t in Louisiana for a tour. |
| Posted by: Jugum Jereth6511 2006-10-01 16:45 |
| #1 I don't think they'd have him... |
| Posted by: Ptah 2006-10-01 16:40 |