This should come as no surprise, but Dahr Jamail has no fuggin idea what he is talking about. In a story about Victor Agosto, who Jonn has covered previously, Dahr asserts this:
On that day, Agosto was ordered to get his medical records in preparation to deploy to Afghanistan. He refused to do so. The Army threatened to take punitive measures, but Agosto wrote on the Counseling Statement, “I am not going to Afghanistan. I will not take part in SRP [Sealift Readiness Programme].”
Dahr, you are possibly the worst reporter of all time. Seriously, you can’t even get rudimentary facts right. I mean, we always knew you were dishonest, but now you’ve entered the ranks of truly incompetant. Ergo, I am here to endeavor to help you, since as another TAH Target Alum noted, we may call you all names, but we still demand you contact us first, before you engage in yet another charlie foxtrot.
So, the “Sealift Readiness Programme” [sic] is
A standby contractual agreement between Military Sealift Command and US ship operators for voluntary provision of private ships for defense use. Call-up of ships may be authorized by joint approval of the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Transportation.
Are you saying that Viktor has boats and the military needs them desperately? Perhaps he has a large innertube on which one might affix a slingshot, and then drag his ass behind Task Force 151 to take out pirates? Or perhaps he has made a raft, a la Huck Fin, upon which we will stage our ready reaction forces off the coast of Okinawa? Or perhaps you merely relish the thought of Viktor as semen a seaman?
Memo to dipshit: SRP is Soldier Readiness Processing, run at Ft. Hood out of building 42000. I mean, not that you would ever just rehash something told you without verifying, but there are no fewer than 8 phone numbers you could have called on the Ft Hood SRP Center to verify the info that Viktor was giving you. I love the fact that IVAW also threw up your article, and the screw up of SRP isn’t caught by anyone.
Why anyone besides Michael Moore would buy into your lazy ass reporting is completely beyond me.
Also if you noticed on his counseling statement that he has check “agree with the above”. So if the above statment is that you will deploy and you check agree, what does that mean?
The agree block on Counselling Statements isn’t really that you agree over all, only that you agree that the statement reflects what the oral counselling discusses. What is more is that “going to SRP” is not in and of itself even ARGUABLY illegal. Even if you could cogently argue that the deployment would be illegal, the act of going to SRP is not.
Speaking of Michael Moore, I made the mistake of actually reading his bullshit blog yesterday about the “death” of GM. To say that it was fully detached from reality is like saying the Hindenberg was probably a pretty fun ride up until that whole flaming bag of shit at the end.
SRP is nothing. You get your records updated, Innoculations, ID Cards if needed, etc. If this Puñeta boy Agosto refused to take part, it would be too bad if his pay got re routed because he wasnt available to double check it.
I’ve seen Soldiers get taken off deployment rosters at SRP for various reasons- Medical, PTSD, Security Clearence issues, etc.
at most Puñeta boy would have his records up to date.
/s I suppose it *could* be dangerous sailing in and out of those Afghan ports. This sounds like a job for Claymore!
Do Afghan chicks water ski? Hey…it’s a legitimate question…
Claymore Says:
June 2nd, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Do Afghan chicks water ski? Hey…it’s a legitimate question…
Haji don’t surf 🙂
First off, this is in no way intended to disrespect these two individuals. This isn’t an attack on their character (because I don’t personally know them), it’s more of a personal comment. I recently heard about this issue going public when a friend mentioned it to me while we were volunteering for Habitat for Humanity. I didn’t intend to comment on this issue at first, that is until I read what they have said.
Allow me introduce myself a little, so you know where I am coming from and won’t think I’m someone talking about something I don’t know nothing about.
I have serve under the same unit banner, and was also part of the last deployment with these two soldiers. I have been in COB Speicher, COB Sykes, COB Stryker, Camp Washington, COB Victory, BIAP, and etc. During my deployment, I have worked in 8 hour shifts to 12 hour shifts (majority of them 12 on – 12 off). I’ve had schedules where I would work 6 days a week to not having a day off for a month or two. I’ve done missions and duties ranging from guarding/escorting Third World Nations to E.C.P., Up Armoring Vehicles (form 1st CAV units to Special Forces units) to working in a COMMTEAM, providing communications to a whole Contingency Operating Base (COB). Though I am also “Stop-Loss” I am currently under going a Medical Evaluation Board due to injuries I have sustained during my deployment and services in the Army.
Now that I have established my credentials allow me to comment. “It’s a matter of what I’m willing to live with.” “I’m not willing to participate in this occupation, knowing it is completely wrong.” “What I did there, I know I contributed to death and human suffering. It’s hard to quantify how much I caused, but I know I contributed to it.” These are the words of Spc Victor Agosto. So what you’re telling us is that you are willing to not help out a country that is being terrorized daily, you’re not willing to help contribute in an effort to stop the mass killing of innocent people in the streets and in their homes. You are okay with knowing that you and I are fortunate enough to be born, raised, and live in a Country where you can say all this and not be executed where you stand. You’re okay with turning your back on your fellow man who wants the same Freedom? You’d rather choose jail time over protecting your battles six? What if, Lord forbid, you got news that a close friend died during this deployment in a fire fight where he was out numbered? Would you be okay not knowing that maybe if you were there, everybody would be convoying back to base?
We’re “commo,” we help provide various types of communications down range. We are the reason why soldiers get to say, ” I love you” to their love ones during their lunch time or day off. We are the reason why soldiers get to hear their 3 month old baby cry thousands of miles away. We’re the reason why a whole convey was able to reroute away from a road filled with I.E.D.’s. We’re the reason why family member’s are able to know that their son/daughter is safe for another day. This is weird to say, but we are also the reason why a mother knows the following day that her son/daughter was killed in combat during a raid, instead of worrying for a weeks about why their child hasn’t called to greet them a Happy Birthday. We are the reason why someone’s last words before they went in that missions was “I love you, I miss you, and I’m proud of you.” We are the reason why soldiers can call up their loves to tell them that they’re safe and weren’t pulling guard during the time that suicide bombing in the market happened that’s being shown in television right now. That is what we do when we serve during deployment.
I don’t under stand why people act the way they do after they signed the “dotted line.” There are many things we didn’t know we’d be doing while in the Army, but deploying was the one thing we did know! To all the AWOL’s and Anti-war soldiers in service, not only did you joined a military establishment, but most likely you joined after September 11, 2001 (a time of war). Do you know how stupid that makes you look, when you say and act like this. I hope you guys and gals know what you stand for now, because it’s no longer selfless service and honor.
Sgt Bishop, you said that “My father said, ‘Do only what you can live with, because every morning you have to look at your face in the mirror when you shave. Ten years from now, you’ll still be shaving the same face.’ If I had deployed to Afghanistan, I don’t think I would have been able to look into another mirror again.” Now that you can look at your face in the mirror everyday now, can you do me one favor. Can you shave your face every morning for a year and walk up to one random person a day who resides in Afghanistan or Iraq and let them know that you weren’t willing to help them out in any way? Or how about go up to a highly decorated vet and tell him that he didn’t need to do what he did during he’s time in service. Or how about something easy, write an email to I.P.S. and address it to all the families who have Medal of Honor members in their family, and let them know that if they had turned their backs, they would have lived to be at least 40. With that single email, you knocked out a flock of birds with one stone.
And for people who don’t know, everybody who joins the military signs an eight year contract. The only thing that varies form person to person is how many years in those eight years will you be serving in active status. So technically we have an eight year service obligation. So lets say you have a three years active/five years IRR (Individual Ready Reserve) contract and you get “stop-loss,” 99% of the time the Army is just asking you to add an additional year in your active service. So now, that makes it 4 years active service/4 years IRR. That’s what happens when soldiers get “stop-loss” so don’t be fooled people, an additional year is better than the whole eight years.
P.S.
I joined because when my father was young he wanted to joined, but wasn’t able to. So I served for him and though he worries everyday he’s extremely proud of what I do.
CLAMOR:
Great comment. Too bad we can’t make the pussies and pussettes at IVAW and CODE STINK read your well written comment. Years ago, I used to joke to the family that my 16 year old daughter was all interested in track until she found out she would be expected to run, and sweat, ( Oh the horror of a 16 year old sweating). WTF do people expect to do in the military? Bake cakes? We/they are soldiers, and expected to soldier.
And, my design in the sidebar is spot on, inspired by a great conservative. All the “Peace Activists” on the planet haven’t produced one moment of peace. The worlds peace is provided by soldiers, by and large, soldiers of the US Military. (Soldiers being all branches of our fighting forces.) Any one of these flakes who claim to not want to fight is nothing less than a closet hippie.
keep it up CLAMOR!
nuf sed
That is a great post, thanks Clamor.
I agree that was an excellent post by Clamor. I found it moving and I do appreciate the point he is making. I have seen that sentiment expressed more than once – also by Masterspork, a soldier currently stationed in Iraq who has posted extensive comments to my personal blog in response to a post I wrote about this subject. While I personally have opposed this war since before it started, I am also very sympathetic to those who are serving there or heading there, whether for the first time or the fourth.. I know that nothing is ever truly as simple as it might seem sitting behind a keyboard, and, actually, that goes for soldiers on both sides of the issue. While I never served in Iraq, or in any war, I still have enough military background to be able to understand that taking care of each other is what it’s going to come down to once you’re there, even while (personally speaking) respecting those who have felt called to take a moral or legal stance on the matter contrary to that taken by the military
Actually, what led me to post right now is to post a link to a new article by Dahr Jamal which sppears to be a further expansion upon the article featured in this post. His latest, entitled, “A Secret History of Dissent in the All Volunteer Force” can be found at: http://original.antiwar.com/engelhardt/2009/06/30/a-secret-history-of-dissent/
I thought ya’ll might have fun seeing who can find the most errors…
I have said all I need to say about Agosto and the others. Clamor said what I have been saying (only he said it better, whereas I usually put in a few more colorful metaphors, because I get seriously pissed when I see those that are about to deploy suddenly lose their honor and balls).
Debbie: we may not agree on a lot, but I do respect you and your stance. I, too wasn’t a fan of going into Iraq, when the idea was first broached, even though Saddam and his spawn were some of the most vile creatures on earth. However, the case was made, in my mind, over time and I eventually came on board the idea. I’m a civillian, I get to make the choice on where I want to go, or which military action I can get behind. Military folk don’t have that choice, you should understand that as well as I do, once they voluntarily raise their right hand.
I’m trying to figure out when the the “right” was found involving military personnel being able to decide when and where they will serve. I know when I took the oath, and read through the UCMJ, there wasn’t anything in there that said that I could decide if I wanted to participate in military operations based on my vast experience in international law (whatever that means) or what I thought was, or wasn’t, legal based on any laws. There is a big difference between lawful and un-lawful orders and whether a war is legal, or not. I still haven’t found anyone that can point to any statute that says that the war in Iraq is illegal, or the ongoing operations in Afghanistan.
Ok, I’m off my soapbox, now. Please feel free to talk amongst yourselves. Go ahead; mingle.