War Causes Air Force Chief Master Sergeant to Change Course

[babylonsister]

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/21759

War Causes Air Force Chief Master Sergeant to Change Course
Submitted by danielifearn on Wed, 2007-04-25 13:03. IFPJ

By Sarah Olson
t r u t h o u t | Report
Tuesday 24 April 2007


snip//

Slocum says he used to rely on Fox News and Rush Limbaugh for information. He thought President Bush was "folksy and sincere" and voted for him in 2004. But even when Slocum was stationed at a NATO office in Europe during the build-up to the Iraq war, he says he could feel a palpable shift in attitudes towards the US after the invasion of Iraq. He says he felt his country was betraying the trust and good will of the rest of the world. After seeing such scorn in the eyes of his colleagues, he began to question the US decision to invade Iraq.

It wasn't until he started talking to his Aunt Peg that he began to make sense of these observations. Peg encouraged him to see Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 911," a movie Slocum found so shocking that he watched it twice. She was also willing to discuss its ideas afterwards, and pointed him towards alternative news outlets. Now Slocum cites people like US Army 1st Lt. Ehren Watada the first commissioned officer to refuse orders to deploy to Iraq - as military role models.

"I was going to be in the Air Force for 30 years," says Slocum, who just filed his retirement paperwork and expects to be released by October 1, 2007. "This is about fundamentally changing what I'm doing with my life. It's about getting out of the Air Force so I can advocate more strongly for peace and an end to the Iraq conflict."

Chief Master Sergeant Slocum signed the Appeal for Redress back in February. The Appeal is a petition asking Congressional representatives to remove US troops and bases from Iraq promptly. Correspondence with political representatives is explicitly protected by military law. The Appeal provides a safe and legal way for active duty members of the military to voice their frustrations with the ongoing war. Nearly 2,000 active duty members of the military have signed the Appeal for Redress thus far.

"The Appeal for Redress is very specific," Slocum says. "It says that we're in a losing situation in Iraq, and we're not doing a good job taking care of those who have been grievously harmed in Iraq and who will need care for the rest of their lives."

more...

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. Ok.

Now, what is Aunt Peg's DU screen name? ;-)

[TwilightGardener]

2. Those old Chiefs are highly respected in the AF--good for him,

to act on his conscience. It's a tough culture in which to swim against the current--my husband knows that personally.

[sarge43]

3. Indeed

That was a tough decision for him.

Clear skies and a hand salute, Chief

[Peace Patriot]

4. Moral courage if often harder than physical courage. I'm so proud of officers

and soldiers like Chief Master Sergeant Slocum, able to think for themselves, and stand up and act on their principles. This is an especially difficult situation for them, and they deserve medals--they really do--for resisting an illegal war and illegal and immoral orders, from an illegitmate President.

[madrchsod]

5. there is one valid comparison between bush and hitler

their military eventually grew to hate them. they both realized their leaders were destroying the military and their country.