Marine Opposed to War Ordered Discharged

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Marine Opposed to War Ordered Discharged
Federal Judge Orders Marine Discharged As Conscientious Objector

SAN JOSE, Calif. Apr 3, 2007 (AP)— A Marine lance corporal who said he
had an aversion to killing and participating in war must be released from
the military as a conscientious objector, a federal judge ruled.

The Marine Corps Reserves must discharge Robert Zabala, 23, by mid-April,
under the ruling.

Zabala said he was troubled during boot camp in 2003 when a fellow recruit
committed suicide and a superior used profanities to belittle the recruit.
Zabala said he was "abhorred by the blood lust (the superior) seemed to
possess," according to a 2006 court petition for conscientious-objector
status.

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.

-snip-

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=3003249

[soothsayer]

1. hooray!

[aquart]

2. Finally, a way out?

[Parche]

11. Way Out

Either that or tell them you like........well the same sex.........

[aquart]

12. Just run up and plant a kiss.

Of course, that could backfire.

[qwlauren35]

13. I don't think so.

It would only work if you could prove an aversion to war in general, and not just to Iraq in particular.

Evidence of crying, feeling suicidal, throwing up, wetting yourself, etc. would probably make most people think twice about sending you into combat, because you couldn't be trusted to defend others or provide cover. But if it's not that powerful an aversion, I doubt you'll get out of it.

And right now, frankly, I don't think "being gay" would get you out either. Posing in the act, in dress uniform, for a national magazine, maybe. Please remember, Bush is pretty desperate. In a lot of ways, this guy was very lucky that due process still works... if you push hard enough.

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

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[alkaline9]

4. i agree... sign of the times?

I mean look at all the horror movies out now-a-days? Is it just a sign of the times? More and more Americans are enjoying violence. I find it hard to believe this trend will continue too much longer, but who knows.

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

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[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

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[Der Blaue Engel]

8. Is this your impression of a liberal?

:eyes: Enjoy your stay.

[crikkett]

5. not hooray. wtf are they doing to our kids!!!???!!

holy shit!

[rodeodance]

10. indocrination into BLOODLUST.

[IndianaGreen]

14. Brainwashing without doubt

Many of the young Marines come from fundie Xtian families, so they are already indoctrinated with the idea that Jesus is the Only One, and everyone else is an infidel. They would be quite receptive to the video they were shown.

Who will deprogram these Marines when they get out of the military?

[crikkett]

15. Better life thru chemistry

Right now most soldiers self-medicate w/ booze etc. And I read that soldiers 'over there' have easy access to stimulants and antidepressants.

Antidepressants are scary as hell, I wonder if they'll be used here for PTSD.

I heard yesterday about a new drug that 'may' erase traumatic memory and I also heard (sometime recently) that MDMA is closer to being approved for therapeutical use.

I also heard about a S. American treatment using (a cactus product I can't pronounce much less spell) that 'cures' addiction.

I'd prefer the latter two over the former. There's something about erasing memories that seems like rape.

[saigon68]

19. Who will deprogram ?

No one

[davepc]

21. training them to do violence in the name of the United States goverment

a military without a warrior ethos is useless.

part of that warrior ethos is the ability to kill on command. It dosent get talked about much, but it's part of the deal.

It's not a new or unique thing. All militaries through history have had one. From the Zulu, to the Samurai, to the United States Marine Corps

I'm glad the individual was able to get out when he realized what he had gotten himself into. I just don't understand what he *thought* it was going to be.

[uppityperson]

9. Wow, that is great. Wow, that is appalling. Here is more, another link

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-object3apr03,0,2634117.story?coll=la-home-headlines

...
A UC Santa Cruz graduate now working as a paralegal, Zabala said he hopes the judge's decision encourages other service personnel who consider themselves conscientious objectors. "Hopefully, this will help other Marines out there who feel the same way as I do but don't know how to articulate it," he said in a telephone interview.

While the case was in federal court, Zabala did volunteer work for the Santa Cruz Resource Center for Nonviolence, which encourages youths to resist the entreaties of military recruiters.

Zabala's attorney, Steve Collier, said he hopes that Ware's decision convinces the military to be more lenient in granting conscientious objector discharges. "When sincere objectors to war won't fight, the military has got to follow the law and release them," said Collier, who is part of the San Francisco-based Military Law Task Force. The group supports military personnel seeking conscientious objector discharges or facing charges for refusing to deploy to Iraq....
(clip)

From 2000 to mid-2005, 77 Marines filed for conscientious objector status. Applications were approved in 36 cases.

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=local&id=5173724

April 1
...
But he said it wasn't the Iraq war in itself that he objected to. Zabala said he had an ethical awakening after joining the Marines that would not allow him to kill other people in the pursuit of a military mission. Zabala was particularly appalled by boot camps' attempts to desensitize the recruits to violence.

Robert Zabala, Conscientious Objector: "The response that all of the recruits are supposed to say is 'kill.' In unison you have maybe 400 recruits chanting 'kill, kill, kill' and after a while that word almost becomes nothing to you. What does it mean? You say it so often that you really don't think of the consequences of what it means to say 'kill' over and over again as you're performing this deadly technique, a knife to the throat."

He petitioned the Marines for conscientious objector status discharge and was repeatedly evaluated as an appropriate candidate for it until his petition reached the commander of the Marine Corps, who refused to grant it.

Zabala petitioned in U.S. district court saying the military was holding him unlawfully. The U.S. district court for the Northern California district agreed and on Friday ordered the Marines to release Zabala from military duty.

[htuttle]

16. Movitational clip???

"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."

Hell, it sounds like something straight out of 'Clockwork Orange'...

[Gman]

17. why would someone join the marines and then leave like this?

what did this guy expect? It's not like they run commercials saying they play video games like the army and air force.

[0rganism]

18. going by their commercials, it looks more like a rock-climbing school

Taken in isolation, one could certainly come away with the idea that the USMC is fitness camp crossed with some neato dress uniforms. The whole "bloodlust" thing isn't exactly advertised on TV.

[Gman]

22. It's probably better this than a Code Red

which he no doubt would end up getting.

The Marines are definitely not for anyone.

[gratuitous]

20. I note that it was a federal judge who made this ruling

And not a military tribunal.