Alright, for a little background, I served for six years in the infantry, been deployed three times to Iraq and have a sister currently serving now and had an extremlly similar situation. Only difference was it was our other sister that backed out of the agreement to watch my niece and nephew. However, my sister didnt say "Screw that Im not deploying." She asked for time to get things in order and be deployed two weeks after her unit. Our older sister agreed to watch the kids and backed out one week before my younger sister deplolyed. We dont speak to her for what she did now, but anyway, there is a right and wrong way to go about this thing. The way this woman handled it is flat out wrong. You dont just say "Im not going.", you handle it. My sister spoke to her chain of command and found an option with a friend to watch the kids till she got back, it was last minute and her chain did try to screw her for it, but they were in the wrong and she won out for doing everything the right way. The way this woman went about things, from what I have gathered, is flat out wrong and she should be given a field grade article 15 at the least. You dont miss movement, period. Thats almost like commiting treason in the military. If you work with the chain of command, your good, no problems and the military get the count they need, if you say your not going, they give you a new pair of shiney bracelets to wear for a long time, and ones for your ankles to match. She knew her responsibilites and duties to her country and unit when she enlisted, and before she decided to have a child. One thing the military is seeing alot of now is women having kids to get out of deployments. And this may be one of those cases, maybe not, dunno, dont care. All I can see is that this woman was stupid in the way she handled things and will most likely be screwed. As for the comment the paper made about her being prohibited from leaving post, like shes a prisoner or something, that just pisses me off. The only time you can leave your duty station for more than 24 hours or further than 25 miles in some cases, is if you are on leave. And thats only so that if you are called to duty on an emergency, like suddenly being deployed, you can be called back in time. Soldiers are not prisoners, and too many papers and news stations are trying to make the military out to be some evil corporation that is against everything good. Bottom line, I agree that this woman should face criminal charges for her lack of responsibility in handling her situation. She a soldier and a parent. Even in the warrior ethos they use now it states that the mission comes first. She knew what she was getting into and should now reap the consequences of her actions. Period.
Dangers for cooks???? Is that a joke? Tell me that was a joke please. Let me guess, they cut their finger on a serving knife or spilled a tray of deserts on their cook whites? Please. I was on a COP for my last deployment and while our cooks didnt have the best living, they sure the hell didnt face any danger. Cooks on patrols-0 Cooks being shot at-0 Cooks in danger of mortar fire-0. Cooks who complain and think there job is harder than an infantry soldier, or any frontline soldier- all of them. We used to joke about it on a regular basis. Get the facts straight before you make a statement where you think you know something.
^ wtf man, first you say that the woman should do time because she should have warrior ethos & her mission comes first. Then you rip Dara while explaining how you joke on cooks because they see no action. All Im thinking is the overall balance of the situation. If she stayed as a cook, or in jail for not cooking, then that means another child is without it's mom. And all for what, fucking cheeseburgers? The military fights for our freedom & families, not for food. Well, maybe some food on the side
Not to mention cooks don't even cook in the army any more. I think someone, not the person being quoted, should check up on who is actually flipping those burgers. Chuck
Wow Dunxican. Just wow. You were infantry for six years so I'm sure you saw a lot of Article 15s, spent time in JAG, sat on boards from Company Grade Article 15s through court marshals, worked at the Pentagon, and spent time all over theater. Not to mention working with General Officers on a daily basis and being an acting 1SG. Oh wait, that's me. Sorry to be so sarcastic but you really have no clue what you are talking about. I admire your time in the military and you may have seen personal experience with a friend or fellow Soldier going through this (in your case, a family member). However, you aren't familar with UCMJ and you have no idea how General Court Marshals work. Additionally, you obviously didn't read my previous posts. I personally know of three cooks who gave their lives since DFACs are such hot targets for attacks. I'm sure there were at least a dozen more over my last deployment that I saw come across my desk in Casualty Area Command - all hurt, injured, or dead. You think cooks don't go into harm's way? You need to wake up. Every Soldier can go to the front lines, it's not based on gender, position, rank, or MOS any longer. If you are still in I suggest you look into a reclass. I think the Infantry has narrowed your view and given you a very pessemistic and sexist outlook; something that is going to hurt you. I've spent time as a grunt so I get it, I used to be the same way. You should get a taste for what others do and get some experience and knowledge under your belt before you make comments like the ones above.
You tell me what the military fights for as if I dont already know there genius? Check the post again where I give background chief. Her situation is the same as hundreds of other single parents in the military, however they dont go off and say, "screw your deployment and my duties to my country and fellow soldiers, I'm stayin home." Yes I understand her situation, yes I understand it sucks, my sister is in the same boat, but she dosnt just miss movement or try to blame her problem on someone that backs out of the situation. She found a solution and still deployed. Her children are being taken care of and that is enough for her right now to do her job. Being a soldier or being in a military family is a sacrafice, thats well known. Trying to jump out of the situation by using your child as a trump card is not an excuse and I have seen it happen. Im not saying this is the case in this instance and I agree that there are too many charges being brought against this woman, but her missing movement she should be charged for. Period. I have no sympathy for a soldier that chooses to go the route this woman has. And I refuse to. And as for the cooks, yeah we did joke about them, on a regular basis. They feel if they go out of the wire with a convoy strapped like their on a tour to jurrasic park on steriods, and never leave their vehicles, it makes them Rambo in their own pathetic minds. Ive seen it and it dusgusts me. If a cook decides they want to play infantry for a day, more power to em, but the majority of them will be content staying on the COP/FOB/camp playing soldier in their own minds. When someone makes a comment about something that has no actual truth in it, I will respond to it. No cook will face any kind of danger besides maybe a grease burn, unless they volunteer to do so. Nine times out of ten they wont. If a cooks on a convoy its usually because their bringing food supplies to a COP or because their on the way in or out of country. There is no such thing as a combat cook, not since WWII. Three times Ive been there, and three times I have seen the same result. Cooks make the food, and thats about it. Trying to say their jobs are more dangerous than they are is a disgrace, and comparing them to a frontline soldier is an absolute insult. Know how many cooks I saw during the invasion fighting next to me? None.
Your right, I have seen plenty of article 15s and plenty of other things, and yes I have worked with general officers as PSD temporarily. But no I dont know all of it. And I welcome sarcasm, so no worries. Im not sure when the last time you were in Iraq, but things have calmed down quite a bit my friend. I was on FOB falcon when the ammo dump blew up, and every cook refused to work out of fear of saftey. I wouldnt work as another MOS ever as I loved the infantry. I respect your views and information as well your experience and do not question it, I do however disagree with your opinions of non-combat MOS' from my own experience. Maybe there are some that want to do the job of an infantryman or combat soldier, but every one I talked to and met was quite content safe being a Fobbit. And that was quite a few people. Maybe I dont have the same time in as you, but I have seen more places and met more people in those six years than most soldiers will. I dont say that boastfully, I say that as fact. In those six years I spent about a year and a half in the U.S. Maybe. The rest are all overseas. I got out last year,october, and I wont be going back as I dissagree with the way the military is going in its attitude and direction. Alot has changed since my first enlistment. And I will always respect soldiers and their sacrafices, but I will not indulge the idea of a non-combat rambo wanna-be. As for a reclass, no I would never have done that period. I loved infantry and I always will.
No, shes a soldier that took an oath, and was aware of that oath when she made her choice. If she had handled the problem properly, I think she would have been fine, she failed. Epic fail.
I admire and respect anyone that has volunteered for our military. And I myself wouldn't want to de deployed as a cook let alone front line soldier. But to hear you mouth off about cooks mocking their bravery because they are not on the front line is disturbing. You seem to lack respect for your fellow soldiers.
I feel sorry for you Dunxican. You never even had a chance to experience what the Army has to offer. The result is that your spouting off at the mouth about fellow Soldiers as if they are beneath you. Cooks, non-cooks, whatever - they wear a uniform just like you did. You love your MOS - no doubt about that. That doesn't give you the right to put others down. You need to respect that others are doing jobs that they enjoy and, for them, it makes zero difference whether you agree with those jobs or not, they'll still keep doing them. They are doing what they love, just like you did. Your personal experience doesn't apply to every Soldier in a particular MOS. Your cooks may be low lifes in your eyes, but that doesn't translate to all cooks. You know who I had as augmentees on my last deployment? Band members. I'm not joking. They stepped up to the plate, were the first to volunteer for missions, and never complained about anything. Several were awarded Combat Action Badges and held their own in fights. You think I had my doubts? Absolutely. I was proven wrong.
If that one friend hadn't stepped up or been able to take the kids, should your sister have gone to jail for 2 years, or left the kids in the hands of the state?
She would have worked something else out. I know her personally..she is probably one of the very few genius level army personnel out there. The difference between Dux' sister and the woman in question is, Dunx' sister does whatever she has to to get the job done. She flew through the ranks because of her intelligence and tenacity.
No, she had plenty of options, including myself, to have as back up. Point being, she looked for other options, not just saying nope, just not going.
That's what you're missing from this story - her mom did take her baby, for two weeks, then decided she couldn't continue care just before deployment. The father bailed and she may not have had any other options (we just don't know). The point is, don't be so quick to judge. Just like your feelings on cooks in the Army, you basing your opinion on personal experience. It's different for everyone. You may be right, but unless you know for sure I wouldn't point fingers towards guilt.
You are correct, I loved my MOS, without doubt. And the CAB was an insult in my opinion. I understand that people wanted that to feel recognized and that this war is different from any other. We have had plenty of personell do jobs that they do not normally do. I dont have a problem with that, but it dosnt happen as often as people think it does, and you know that as well as I do. People have this idea that every soldier fights like the infantry will, thats simply not true. To those that do, I give them the respect that they deserve and for not pointing that out, thats my mistake. What I do hate is when people compare those pouges, in general, to soldiers like myself and others that have done and been in the situations that those of us have been in. And not only will those soldiers be proud of things they have never done, they will even go so far as to create the idea that they someday will. Is this making more sense now? Saying that this cook in question will automatically be thrown in to combat whilst cooking eggs and shooting at hadj is an idiotic idea that too many people have today. The chances of a non-combat MOS soldier actually seeing combat is much less than it was at the beggining of this war, and you damn well know that. Point in case, during my second deployment there was an E-6 in a chinook, and because an RPG was fired, not at the chinook, but just because it was fired while he was in it, he demanded a CAB. And got it. And yes those types of instances can go for any MOS', and for those personel that do stoop that low, I have nothing but contempt for them. The original statment was that cooks in general have to suffer great peril. Again, you know this not to be true. At one time it was a risk, and I am not diminishing that fact. But today, its simply not a factor. Im tired of hearing of soldiers making up bullshit and people buying into it like that statement. So I abosolutly will look down upon a soldier that does something like that. And if someone dosnt like it, by all means, take my give a damn and see how far it gets you. Is my position a little more clear now? Sorry for confusion.
I read the story, and from my sisters example, I refuse to believe that she went through all avenues of approach. The same options my sister had, this soldier had. And by the way, my sister is stationed in Savanah. And yes I am familiar with this story.
