After watching the movie and reading the articles, I’m not sure what I feel is the best way for soldiers to represent views about continued service after their enlistment. I definitely think going AWOL is the worst choice, because it pretty much erases all of the honor that you worked so hard to achieve, as well as alienates you from the country that you just fought for. That being said, if I were stop lost, I would definitely put a lot of thought into running away, especially if I had been through the type of trauma that Ryan Philippe’s character had. I definitely don’t think jail is the right choice, because it really does ruin your future. Also seeking asylum would probably be very difficult if not impossible, because no one would really want to help you, for fear of being prosecuted by the American government. I think the best way of dealing with it, would be to go back and fight, and then once you made it out, start helping in the fight to end the program, and talk about how unfair it truly is. Although there is always the very real possibility that you don’t make it out, so I really feel there isn’t an easy way to go about this, there is no definitive answer, and even though I feel very strongly about the stop loss program, I would probably just accept it and serve another tour, and hope that I made it home safe, and once I did , I would be able to help those looking into ending the policy because I would have first hand experience of what it could do to a soldier.
Monday, March 22, 2010
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good point. AWOL is really a no win solution. We see that with Brandon. Desertion changes a person's whole life.
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