You can't be crazy if you don't want to go kill any more Iraqis. Catch-22 circa 2008

[NNN0LHI]

http://weblogs.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/blog/2008/06/suicidal_or_avoiding_the_front.html

Suicidal or avoiding the front lines?

BELLMORE, N.Y. -- Kristofer Goldsmith was so distressed about the prospect of returning to Iraq that he decided he was willing to kill himself to avoid serving a second tour.

Just as Goldsmith's three-year Army contract was to expire, it was extended under the military's "stop loss" program, and his unit was set to deploy to Baghdad to take part in the troop surge. On the day before he was to ship out in May 2007, he took a dozen Percocet painkillers, washed down with more than a liter of vodka.

Soon after Goldsmith was admitted to Winn Army Community Hospital at Ft. Stewart, Ga., a senior non-commissioned officer from his brigade visited the young sergeant, along with an Army psychologist, to discuss discharging him from the military.

"We all agreed that it was for the best that my Army career come to an end then," said Goldsmith, 22, who added that he'd scrawled the words "stop loss killed me" in marker on his body before his suicide attempt. "It was a few days later when they told me that they were going to come at me for faking a mental lapse."

[Arctic Dave]

1. Catch 22 circa 2008. Funny and sick at the same time. n/t

[Swamp Rat]

2. Thank goodness he is alive.

I guess they can put him in jail for the suicide attempt, but that seems better than returning to Iraq.

[panader0]

3. That's correct. You can't be crazy if you don't want to kill anyone.