1st Lt Ehren Watada: What became of him?

from JoeUser Forums
I was heated and fascinated by this story over the summer: a 1LT who refused to follow orders to deploy to Iraq with his brigade.

Desertion is no laughing matter. But.... my thoughts on it were: If every military person who felt the same way he did decided to make such a bold assertion against the war, there would be a LOT of people refusing orders to Iraq.

A LOT of people.

See, according to my experience with the military and its people, most people raise their right hand and sign the dotted line for the adventure, financial security, benefits, etc. Not primarily to "serve and defend" their country although they certainly have earned the right to claim to be serving and defending. Then everyone pats them on the back for being heroes. Then when they get orders to go someplace unpleasant, they suck it up and go, whether they feel it's the right thing to do or not. They're free to think whatever they want, but when it comes to fulfilling an obligation, they fully understand what they've gotten themselves into. And they do it without complaint.

Don't get me too wrong here--I did my time in the Army too. The benefits were awesome, the work was at times stimulating, but the lifestyle sucked. Had I been called to Iraq during this war, I surely would have gone along obediently and performed my duties. I knew I was signing up for any possible war when I signed that dotted line. But when all's said and done I'm glad my time ended just before the war. In my opinion, I wasn't serving and defending anything. I was simply doing my job and doing it well. And in return I earned a paycheck, great benefits, enjoyed some adventure and travel, and got dirty every day.

I'll still grant that many people do agree with this war and are valiantly serving over there. So to them I will utter a brainwashed "Thank You for Serving," whether it's doing any good or not. To each their own.

But if so many people were as bold as 1LT Watada, there'd be a lot of deserters. Of this I'm confident.

So what has become of him? Is he in prison yet? The whole thing fascinates me.

I did a quick search on it but didn't come up with anything recent on it.

Anyone know?
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Reply #1 from JoeUser Forums Top

Hopefully he is being treated like the cowardly theif he is.

What would we have if we had more Ehren Watada's?  I ask you, what would we have if we had more cops like him... more paramedics like him.  We have engineers like him, they work on places like, "The big dig" in Boston.  You hear of their skills when cars are recalled because someone was killed.  You hear of people like him when someone like Rep Foley is left alone to prey on teenagers.  You see people like him when reporters tell us that over 100 people have been murdered in the Superdome, when there are only 3 bodies found.

What your "hero" is, is a lazy coward who stole every dime he was "paid" in salary, benefits and training.  He is an incompetent fool who, when they rear their ugly head, leave trails of blood in their wake.

He is a discusting traitor who should be tried for his desertion and, if convicted he should reap the end he has earned.  If he was any kind of a man he would accept the consequences for his actions.  Instead he hides behind a false badge of "honor" among people who have no idea what that word means.

Reply #2 from JoeUser Forums Top
What your "hero" is, is a lazy coward who stole every dime he was "paid" in salary, benefits and training.


Don't get me wrong, he's nobody's hero. But I do think there are a lot more people out there who feel just as strongly as he did about how lame this war is, but they continue to do their jobs obediently, and do their jobs well.

Everyone in the military is aware of what they signed up for and they agree to obey the Commander in Chief regardless of their personal opinions.

That's where 1LT Watada screwed up, especially since he joined up AFTER the war started. He's a lame-o for that.
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Reply #3 from JoeUser Forums Top
There is info here - http://www.thankyoult.org/

It is, as you can probably tell, a site that is biased in favor of the man. It looks as if the court martial has not taken place yet but the Army had added another charge against him in recent weeks.
Reply #4 from JoeUser Forums Top
It looks as if the court martial has not taken place yet but the Army had added another charge against him in recent weeks.


Thanks for looking into it chiprj.

Yeah, as I've been thinking about this throughout the day, I hope he gets hit hard, even if only to set an example for those who might join the military but hope to "get out of" being sent to war.

It's a fascinating topic I think.