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The
Plight of Pvt. Jonathan Barriga, USMC
By: Jack
Dalton
08/04/05
"ICH"
-- -- Jonathan was a young man in high school when the Marine
recruiter approached him about joining the Marines “Delayed
Entry” program. That’s where a young person under-age and
still in school, with parents permission, can sign on the bottom
line, supposedly receive an enlistment bonus, then once out of
high school straight off to Boot Camp. That’s pretty much how it
happened with Jonathan; who is now at the Marine Corps Base,
Camp Geiger
,
N.C.
This is the very same base Trent
Helmkamp was at, and where he underwent an outrageous ten
month ordeal after submitting paperwork as a Conscientious
Objector. Not only is Jonathan at the very same base, but he is
also in the very same Separation Barracks and under the very same
command as was
Trent
.
After 8 months,
the conscientious objector application Jonathan submitted
according to all military law, rules and regulations, Jonathans
command has not even begun to process his application. It would
seem that today’s Army does not think its command structure has
to follow its own laws, rules and regulations when it comes to
those who stand as conscientious objectors. In fact just two weeks
ago, Jonathan’s new Commanding Officer told Jonathan, “you
might as well start training as your C.O. application is never
going to be approved.”
The military is
really slick, especially the Marine Corps (that’s the branch of
military I was in) in how they not only approach these kids in
school, but in who they have approach them and their parents. The
“how and who” in Jonathan’s case really points out just how
“slick” military recruiters are. Jonathan’s parents
immigrated to this country from
Ecuador
. Jonathan’s mother does not speak English and his father speaks
broken English. Jonathan is first generation born in this country.
When Jonathan’s
parents answered the knock at their front door, there in the
doorway stood a tall, smartly dressed Marine in full dress
uniform—a most impressive sight. There was no language barrier
as the Marine recruiter that was sent to convince Jonathan’s
parents to give their permission for Jonathan to enlist in the
Delayed Entry program also had immigrated to this country from
Ecuador
.
This fellow
“countryman” the Marine Corps sent to hustle Jonathan and his
parents did a really good job at it. After the recruiter made a
lot of promises and guarantees that, to paraphrase, “I
will be there to watch over him; those of us from
Ecuador
after all have to stick together.” This recruiter then
went on to tell Jonathan and his parents, “as an electrician,
you will not be going into combat or even be traing for combat.”
Jonathan and his parents signed the Delayed Entry papers behind
these statements of this recruiter.
Jonathan and his
parents had just been conned and hustled by one of the Marine
Corps so-called “finest.” At the same time this Marine Corps
recruiter had just committed the Corps to a verbal contract in
terms of what Jonathan would and would not be doing. And, yes, I
know that verbal contracts don’t hold water with the military.
Hell, today, written contracts don’t hold water in today’s
military from what I have been seeing. But Jonathan and his
parents didn’t know that. They believed what the recruiter told
them, which under the circumstances is understandable.
Jonathan was now
in the Marines Delayed Entry program. According to Jonathan, “I
joined the Marines because of my recruiter’s good way of
talking.” But then Jonathan told me, “Before
leaving for Boot Camp I got this feeling like I didn’t know what
I was getting myself into. I told my recruiter I didn’t want to
go no more, that I think it’s not for me.” Rather than
take the chance of a bad fitness report that would prevent
promotion, Jonathan’s recruiter told him, “…I
can’t; it’s too late.” So off to Boot Camp went
Jonathan.
When Jonathan
arrived at Marine Boot Camp, things went from bad to worse for
him. According to Jonathan, “…that’s
when it hit me, I’ve been lied to.” Jonathan went on to say,
“everything that was said to us recruits was ‘kill’…I
remember plenty of times while getting disciplined, the drill
instructor would be screaming we need to be ready and tougher;
that we need to be able to kill a little kid…coming at you and
have no physical or mental feeling towards it and carry on.”
For crying out loud, Jonathan is still a “kid” himself! Kids
with guns killing other kids with guns; and that is called
“spreading freedom and democracy” by the megalomaniacs in
Washington
,
D.C.
Jonathan’s
conscientious objection crystallized even more when the time came
to train with the M16. Jonathan says it best: “The
force and power that the weapon contained was incredible. I held
in my hands what can determine a human beings fate as well as
mine. The severity of killing became more apparent when we were
trained to shoot at targets in the shape of human beings. Although
it was not made of flesh and blood, it made me feel depressed. I
actually talked to my drill instructor on several occasions
telling him, I couldn’t continue with further training. I
didn’t fully express my objection to war or killing due to being
intimidated by what would happen if I did. None the less, he
[drill instructor] told me to “suck it up” and that I can’t
[stop training] because I signed a piece of paper called a
“contract.”
When Jonathan
graduated from Boot Camp at
Parris Island
in Nov. 2004, he went home for leave. By the time he got home he
was in a state of total depression and a lot of stress. It was
while he was at home on leave that Jonathan filled out the
military’s forms to file as a conscientious objector. When his
leave was over he reported to his next duty station at
Camp Geiger
,
N.C.
which is right next door to
Camp
Lejeune
, where AWOL’s and “suicides” are increasing in numbers. As
soon as Jonathan got to
Camp
Geiger
on Dec. 7. 2004, he filed his paperwork as a conscientious
objector.
8 months later,
Jonathan’s application is still sitting on some Colonels desk.
Two of the people at Camp Geiger that held up Trent Helmkamp’s
CO paperwork and gave him such a bad time were the same people
that would be handling Jonathans application, Maj. Laws and 1st
Sgt Watkins—it you remember it was 1st
Sgt Watkins that called Trent a “F…..g faggot conscientious
objector.” No wonder Jonathan was so
intimidated and did not fully express his objection to war—he
was in the very same Separation Barracks as was Trent and Jonathan
saw on a daily basis what the Marine Corps subjected Trent to
after he made application as a C.O. 4 different young men in those
barracks have attempted suicide in the past few months—something
is seriously wrong at Camp Geiger and Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Over the months
Jonathan has had three interviews and all three of those that
interviewed Jonathan all have said the very same thing: “…all
three have found me to be a conscientious objector within the
military’s regulations and meaning.” However, Jonathan
was told by Maj. Laws, “my
investigating officer I appointed recommended you for a discharge
but that doesn’t mean that I have to.” That was Jan.
2005. Since then Jonathan has heard nothing other than what his
new commanding office told him two weeks ago, “you
might as well start training as your application is never going to
be approved.”
Mark, who is an
active duty U.S. Naval Captain with 26 years of service under his
belt, relayed a recent conversation he had with a British officer.
The conversation was about “conscientious objectors” how they
are handled in this country and how they are handled in Briton. It
is more than worth looking at and then taking note of: “While
In
England
a few weeks ago, I was talking to fellow RN officers I know about
Trent
,
and they were dumbfounded when I told them
Trent
could not get out on the basis of his beliefs. They told me
Royal Marines who objected to killing would be released and
without stigma.” Could our military “leaders” learn
from that or what?
Here in this
nation, as a direct result of the total top-down insanity
unleashed by Bush, people who apply as a conscientious objectors
are made to feel like they are less than human or are turned into
“criminals” and I use that loosely as the only criminals are
the ones in charge of this Twilight Zone episode.
This nation set up the process by
where those in uniform that refuse to participate in war as a
matter of moral principle and conscience, may make application as
a conscientious objector. The procedures and process are very well
spelled out for the applicant and the military. The problem comes
in due to the simple fact the military uses its own laws, rules
and regulations to create a major obstacle and stumbling block for
those that make application as a C.O. Let’s hear it for the
“rule of law” which does not seem to exist in today’s
politicized military.
At one time in
this nation individuals had the right to choose how to live their
own lives; what they would do; where they would work; what kind of
work they would do; at least until now. If, when after starting a
“job” the individual decided, nope, this is not for me, they
could quit and move on from there. Now we are in a situation where
a person that goes into the military full of John Wayne movies
(what can I say, I’m old), highly trained military recruiters
who know how to get inside a kids head and computer
generated war games gets confronted with the reality of the
military and its mission says, “nope, I cannot do this,” and
then is criminalized for not wanting to kill or even learn how to
kill.
For decades we
have been told that “serving in the military is the highest form
of national duty and service.” And for decades people have
enlisted in great numbers to stand against all the so-called
“enemies” our government has told us wanted our national
downfall. That was the motivation of my own enlistment after the
end of the Cuban Missile crisis in Oct. 1962.
Some of us, once
we got to boot camp, understood that there were some people who
just did not belong in uniform. Some were not physically able and
no amount of training or “motivation platoons” would change
that. Others were not mentally or emotionally fit for military
service. That in no way is meant to impugn those not mentally or
emotionally fit to be in the military—it’s just a statement of
fact. And young Jonathan Berriga definitely does not belong in the
Marine Corps. So why won’t those in command and control at
Camp
Geiger
just do what the investigating officers recommended and discharge
Jonathan?
If I have learned
nothing else in the many conversations with I’ve had with
Jonathan it is simply this: Jonathan is not mentally or
emotionally equipped to be in the Marine Corps. He is without a
doubt one of the most soft-spoken, innocent, timid, introverted
young men I have ever met. So much so that he really believed the
recruiter when he told Jonathan, and his parents, that he would
never have to train for or go to war as Jonathan will be an
electrician.
The following
from active duty Naval Captain Mark Helmkamp may have more than
just a little to do with why those who like Jonathan have applied
as a conscientious objector: “…ill-equipped
to make a determination with respect to an individual's desire for
status as a Conscientious Objector. Military Officers are
not trained to make these kinds of assessments. More
importantly, line officers are compromised from the start and
should not be placed in this position because a positive
endorsement on their part is currently culturally unacceptable in
the officer corps generally and could impugn the credibility and
professionalism of the Investigating Officer specifically -
especially in the Marine Corps where the "warrior ethos"
is strongly espoused at commissioning and reinforced daily
thereafter. Officers will deny this bias and publicly,
firmly deny that they are to act as expected. Yet we cannot deny
that competition for promotion is keen and an officer's decision
to be supportive of a Conscientious Objector while on the cusp of
further promotion is an extraordinarily difficult prospect just
prior to his 20th year of service when vested in retirement.
These are especially difficult decisions when many must
ensure they will be retained at mid-career and have a retirement
for the benefit of their family - generally, no blemish on an
officer's service record is sustainable.
I
am not suggesting that comments on an officer supporting an
applicant for Conscientious Objector status would appear in detail
on his annual Fitness Report, but his judgment might well be
questioned and marks that are less than superior in any category
will cause promotion board members to reject an officer when most
competitive officers present perfect records. Grade
inflation has been and remains a well documented problem within
the services and has caused several "course corrections"
to be made to governing instructions for officer fitness reports
and enlisted evaluations. With a very limited number of
promotion spots available, it is difficult to blame an officer for
not wanting to "stand-out" from his peers for any reason
other than superior performance in an "acceptable" realm
- such as combat.”
“Since
most all records presented before promotion boards are those of
superior performers, board members must hunt for any fault,
weakness or some data-point that is "less-than-perfect"
to distinguish between those eligible for promotion. Of
course, as you know, not everyone can be promoted as officer corps
manning is limited (by rank) by Congress so even small
discrepancies in an officer's record can make the difference
between being promoted or not. Some might consider the process
cut-throat, or Darwinian or just simply unfair; but whatever you
call it, it's the process we have, like it or not. Nevertheless,
we can not blame the Investigating Officers for the environment
they are subjected to, but we must understand the impact the
system might have on an officer's decision process and eventually,
his clear-minded willingness to render a recommendation for
approval.”
“Additionally,
it would not surprise me if the officers would prefer that
Conscientious Objector applicants simply go on Unauthorized
Absence and eventually become Deserters rather than having to deal
with the staff work associated with preparing and
investigating the application for the desired status.”
”Separations for reasons of misconduct are, after all, a
"face-saving" alternative to admitting that our
recruiting process does not properly disclose, in sufficient
detail, the ugliness of combat to young enlistees. Perhaps instead
of handing out decals, tee-shirts, and other do-dads to potential
recruits, the services should provide some kind of realistic
portrayal of the Services' combat performance expectations by MOS
before the contract is signed. I simply do not believe
proper, full-disclosure is provided our recruits. Certainly no
"amnesty program" exists at Boot Camp to excuse recruits
who begin to understand better what is expected of them personally
after they are placed in training and then decide they can not
live with some aspects of these requirements burdening their
conscious for the rest of their lives. The value and right
to a free conscious, after all, is what this is all about.”
Butler Shaffer
sums things up rather nicely in his essay, The
Exploitation of Soldiers:
“Politically-structured
societies wallow in lies and, in so doing, tear apart the fabric
of decent social behavior. War, by its very nature, is sociopathic,
as are those who plan for and execute the systematic slaughter of
millions of persons. The idea of a "just" or
"moral" war is so palpably absurd as to make even its
suggestion a basis for questioning the sanity of its advocates.
War makes "heroic" and "honorable" that which,
if done privately, would render one a despicable criminal. We
rightly condemn the serial killer who murders ten or twelve
victims, while rewarding those who plot the political murders of
hundreds of thousands with high political office or the Nobel
Peace Prize!
It
has been encouraging to observe, in recent months, the emergence
of an apparent awareness among many American soldiers of the
insanity of the war system, particularly as it has been playing
out in
Iraq
.
Soldiers have refused to obey orders that would send them on
life-threatening missions; others have spoken out about the lack
of adequate armor and protective equipment; still others have
questioned the national purpose and/or morality of their
participation in the killing of innocent people, particularly
children. A number of soldiers have brought a lawsuit challenging
the continuation of their service beyond the original commitment.
Not surprising, National Guard officials announced that
enlistments have fallen well below anticipated levels.”
Thru all of this
I am absolutely certain of this: recruiters have absolutely no
business hustling kids to join the military while they are in
school. And the situation Jonathan is now faced with clearly
points that out. Jonathan is now backed in a corner of fear,
intimidation, uncertainty and complete confusion. This is not a
“volunteer” military, not under these conditions—this is
forced servitude. Once it was called slavery.
“Is this what we have allowed
this nation to become?
Lives that are not our own, but the states to do with as it will
when it will? That’s not an all volunteer military, that’s
called forced indenture—once it was called slavery.”
So why would the
Marine Corps want to keep someone in the Corps like Jonathan, who
the Corps knows does not want to be in, who is not mentally or
emotionally equipped to be in? There is no one answer to that as
there are multiple forces at work. I do know this though, that the
Marine Corps does not want to let anyone out, especially someone
like Jonathan, as then that would be viewed by the Corps as having
“lost.” And the Marine Corps does not lose; and discharging
Jonathan as a CO would be viewed as a lose.
Today’s
military would not be having the recruiting problems it is facing
if Bush/Cheney & Co had not unleashed the madness, the extreme
thrust for conquest they have launched which it has. The military
would not be having these problems is it properly took care of its
own, something that is not done today. The military would not be
having these problems if veterans were not constantly tossed aside
so carelessly. The military would not be having these problems if
Bush/Cheney & Co had not lied the nation into invading another
country that posed no treat to this nation. People are not
enlisting because of these reasons and many more not articulated
here.
Every
conscientious objector the military lets out, that’s just one
more open slot the recruiters must fill. And in the environment in
this nation today people are refusing to enlist in opposition to
the Bush/Cheney & Co war of choice. And this is why the
military is now recruiting from outside this nation. Less and less
are in support of this current war and are showing their
non-support by not enlisting.
The military’s
response is simply to march into high schools and go after the
young—they are easier to con, hustle and lie to. At least so
thinks the military. And that is exactly how the U.S. Marine Corps
got Jonathan to sign on the dotted line.
Will your son or
daughter be next? They will if recruiters are not thrown off this
nations school grounds; some place they do not belong in the first
place.
Note:
Anyone
that wants to write their support for Jonathan, or that may be
able to help him thru this, you can write him thru my email
address, jack_dalton@comcast.net
This is Jonathan's request, which under the circumstances I
understand
Addition
reading:
As Recruiting
Suffers, Military Reigns in Abuses at Boot Camp
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/072605O.shtml
Military
Recruiters
Teaching
High School
Classes
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/073005A.shtml
Center on
Conscience and War
http://www.centeronconscience.org/
Military Families
Speak Out
http://www.mfso.org/
Gold Star
Families For Peace
http://www.gsfp.org/
Killology
http://www.killology.com/
Traprock
Peace
Center
http://traprockpeace.org/
Leave My Child
Alone
http://www.leavemychildalone.org/
Child Victims of
War
http://www.childvictimsofwar.org/content%20index%202.htm
Jack
Dalton is a disabled Vietnam veteran an anti-war independent
writer that lives in Portland, Or. His blog is “Jack’s
Staright-Speak” and his email address is jack_dalton@comcast.net
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