Update on AWOL Marine

I suffered from the same things after eating my ex-wifes tuna casserole. I hope he recovers quickly. Faith is what's required.

A Happy Ending of sorts. I'm glad for that.

I know of a Reservist in the Alabama Air Militia who did the same thing and still managed to rise to great political power. There may be a career path open to this lad.

That reservist didn't give himself the "luxury" of combat allowing him to develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder at the tender age of 19!
I don't think trying to remain sane is a career move.

Thank you Noddy. I hope he'll be okay. Either way, I doubt he'll be sent back to Iraq. It's prison or the psyche ward for him, probably. I hope he comes out of it intact; the boy he used to be, not the one who has seen more than he can bear.
Well, able to cope and live with what he has seen and/or done as a marine, anyway.

Susy--

I know I'll sound brutal, but the kid made choices--uninformed choices,perhaps, but no one shoehorned him into the Marine uniform. The Armed Services exist for war, not for college savings or making men out of boys.

I'm not terribly savvy about military discharges. I don't know if he can be honorably discharged for medical reasons or whether the substance abuse would require a dishonorable discharge.

In either case, he has the rest of his life--which many of his fellow soldiers lost in the service of their country.

War is hell.

"In either case, he has the rest of his life--which many of his fellow soldiers lost in the service of their country"

I am reminded of the many veterans of VietNam who committed suicide months, years or decades after the war, who apparently felt otherwise, though, that the men who lost their lives during the conflict were the fortunate ones.

Also, I was wrong about his age; he's barely 20 now. Not that it matters, but I did say otherwise earlier (in the previous thread). I had assumed he was the same age as his friend, my son.

http://www.able2know.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=22630&highlight=

I did not know this; he was a grenade launcher, or manned one, I should say.
I imagine that he launched a grenade, following orders, and later found out that among the victims were children who died agonizingly in flames from his grenade. Not what he was expecting to do in defense of his country, I think.
A country should not ask it's children to roast the children of another country, IMO. The ones who care have trouble dealing with it, for some reason. Must be that lack of patriotism and manliness so often spoken about.

This might be interesting:
Tune in to CNBC's 'Topic A with Tina Brown' this Sunday, June 27 (8 PM and 11 PM ET). In a moving interview, Paul Rieckhoff, back from the 3rd Infantry Division in Iraq, talks about the plight of soldiers -- both in Iraq and often when they finally get home.