Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Wall Street Journal
February 11, 2009
Pg. 16
I am surprised and disappointed that the Journal would highlight a story about a coward with no honor ("U.S. Deserter 'Having Time of My Life' As He Seeks Asylum in Germany," page one, Jan. 29).
The oath of enlistment taken by Andre Shepherd and the papers of enlistment he signed make it clear that soldiers serve the Republic against all enemies foreign and domestic. He is deluding himself when he says he "was suckered." There is no denying the fact that the Army was clearly at war when he enlisted in December 2003. As a reasonably intelligent man, he should be familiar with the law of land warfare, based on Western philosophy, that holds a soldier isn't responsible for the decision to go to war but is responsible for his conduct during the war.
Mr. Shepherd is a coward who abandoned his fellow soldiers, put another burden on them by abandoning his post and failed to meet the obligations to which he freely agreed when he enlisted. I am certain that you can find stories of men and women accomplishing their tasks honorably and bravely in Iraq and Afghanistan instead of giving this coward a moment of fame when he deserves infamy.
Col. Kevin C.M. Benson, U.S. Army, Ret.,Lansing, Kan.
Editor's Note: The article by Mike Esterl appeared in the Current News Early Bird, January 29, 2009.
February 11, 2009
Pg. 16
I am surprised and disappointed that the Journal would highlight a story about a coward with no honor ("U.S. Deserter 'Having Time of My Life' As He Seeks Asylum in Germany," page one, Jan. 29).
The oath of enlistment taken by Andre Shepherd and the papers of enlistment he signed make it clear that soldiers serve the Republic against all enemies foreign and domestic. He is deluding himself when he says he "was suckered." There is no denying the fact that the Army was clearly at war when he enlisted in December 2003. As a reasonably intelligent man, he should be familiar with the law of land warfare, based on Western philosophy, that holds a soldier isn't responsible for the decision to go to war but is responsible for his conduct during the war.
Mr. Shepherd is a coward who abandoned his fellow soldiers, put another burden on them by abandoning his post and failed to meet the obligations to which he freely agreed when he enlisted. I am certain that you can find stories of men and women accomplishing their tasks honorably and bravely in Iraq and Afghanistan instead of giving this coward a moment of fame when he deserves infamy.
Col. Kevin C.M. Benson, U.S. Army, Ret.,Lansing, Kan.
Editor's Note: The article by Mike Esterl appeared in the Current News Early Bird, January 29, 2009.
