Boots & Sabers brings us the story of a Wisconsin woman who had joined the National Guard to pay for her tuition at University of Texas. By the time she was called to duty, however, she had a change of heart about the military. She now wants her discharge. I had two thoughts on this story immediately, and the first two commenter at B&S actually end up stealing my thunder by expressing them. But after thinking about this a little more, my opinion has changed a little bit.
First, the courts should not allow her status as a conscientious objector. This is a woman that clearly joined the Guard to pay for school with no intention of ever putting her butt on the line for her country. She did not begin making noise about her supposed conscientious objection until after her unit was chosen to go to Afghanistan. Second, she should be ordered to deploy with the rest of her unit. When she refuses, court martial her, try her, and make her do her time. Once she has done her time, discharge her dishonorably, and make her pay back the educational aid she received as well as any signing bonuses. This young lady tried to play the system, and it didn't work. Now she wants a get out of jail free card, but there are consequences to her actions. She tries to play the ignorance card, but she signed onto this. If I sign the papers for a mortgage that costs me more than I want to pay, I can't feign ignorance and say that I didn't know there were interest costs, and walk away from the mortgage scott free. It was her responsibility to learn this stuff before signing on, and now she has to deal with it.
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