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Puck
The Texan
Joined: 05 Jan 2004
Posts: 5596
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 Mon Jan 17, 2005 10:31 am Soldier Won't Return to Iraq |
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Soldier Won't Return to Iraq
Monday, January 17, 2005
HINESVILLE, Ga. � A young girl clutching her arm blackened by burns, dogs feeding off bodies in mass graves � the images still haunt Sgt. Kevin Benderman (search) 15 months after he came home from Iraq.
Witnessing the brutal reality of war, Benderman stunned his commanders when he sought a discharge as a conscientious objector (search) after 10 years in the Army.
In an interview with The Associated Press, the sergeant said he never grasped the misery that war inflicts on civilians as well as combatants until he saw it all firsthand.
"Some people may be born a conscientious objector, but sometimes people realize through certain events in their lives that the path they're on is the wrong one," Benderman said. "The idea was: Do I really want to stay in an organization where the sole purpose is to kill?"
Benderman's decision � choosing conscience over his commitment to fellow troops � has meant bearing the insults.
An officer called him a coward. His battalion chaplain shamed him in an e-mail from Kuwait. That's because Benderman, whose unit just deployed for a second combat tour in Iraq (search), refused to return to war.
Benderman, 40, filed notice in December, and his timing could hardly have been worse for the Army. The Fort Stewart-based 3rd Infantry Division began deploying its 19,000 soldiers this month.
Benderman's unit, the 3rd Forward Support Battalion, was leaving for Kuwait on Jan. 5. When commanders ordered him to deploy while they processed his objector application, he refused to show up for his flight.
He said he has his reasons, reflecting on time in Iraq.
Benderman told of bombed out homes and displaced Iraqis living in mud huts and drinking from mud puddles; mass graves in Khanaqin near the Iranian border where dogs fed off bodies of men, women and children.
He recalled his convoy passing a girl, no older than 10, on the roadside clutching a badly injured arm. Benderman said his executive officer refused to help because troops had limited medical supplies.
"Her arm was burned, third-degree burns, just black. And she was standing there with her mother begging for help," Benderman said. "That was an eye opener to seeing how insane it really is."
Now Benderman, a mechanic who has been reassigned to a non-deploying rear detachment unit, could face a court-martial. Fort Stewart officials have not decided whether to charge him.
Separately, he must convince commanders he is morally opposed to war in all forms, as Army regulations define conscientious objection, despite his lengthy military service and previous combat tour.
"If he went to Iraq and then comes back and says, 'I'm now opposed to war,' the issue is are you opposed to all wars or just this one you don't want to go back to?" said Mark Stevens, a military defense lawyer and retired Marine Corps judge advocate. "He wasn't opposed to war two years ago, why is he opposed to it now?"
Benderman said the officer who took his objector notice dismissed him as a coward. His unit's chaplain offered little encouragement.
"You should have had the moral fortitude to deploy with us and see me here in Kuwait to begin your CO application," Army Chaplain Matt Temple said in a recent e-mail to Benderman. "You should be ashamed of the way you have conducted yourself. I certainly am ashamed of you."
Benderman's wife, Monica, said her husband hinted that he had doubts about taking part in the war in a letter he sent home that referenced scholars' belief that Iraq was home to the biblical Garden of Eden.
"He said, 'Here I am in the Garden of Eden, and what am I doing here with a gun?"' she said.
Raised a Southern Baptist in Tennessee, Benderman keeps an open Bible on his living room table but said he's "more spiritual than religious." After going to Iraq, he picked up the Quran and was struck by the similarities between Islam and Christianity.
He returned in September 2003 after serving eight months in Iraq with the 4th Infantry Division from Fort Hood, Texas. As a mechanic who fixes Bradley armored vehicles, he said he never fired a weapon in combat.
Still, Benderman began questioning whether he could return to a war zone when he transferred to Fort Stewart in October 2003. He said he never mentioned his doubts to soldiers in his new unit, but trained with them for a year as they prepared for a second tour. By December, he had even packed his clothes and equipment for shipping overseas.
Benderman acknowledged that waiting more than a year, until right before deployment, may seem "out of the blue." But he insisted his decision came from long deliberation, not desperation.
"People say, 'You're abandoning these soldiers that depend on you,' and so that weighs on you," he said. "But what's worse? Going over there and participating in war, or maybe doing something that can help people figure out that you don't have to go to war?"
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Defiant
Fleet Admiral
Joined: 04 Jul 2001
Posts: 15946
Location: Oregon City, OR
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| Mon Jan 17, 2005 10:33 am |
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Seriously, hes done his duty. Just because he wont go over again, hes marked unpatriotic and a coward. Thats total bull.
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Leo Wyatt
Sweetest Angel
Joined: 25 Feb 2004
Posts: 19045
Location: Investigating A Crime Scene. What did Quark do this time?
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| Mon Jan 17, 2005 11:12 am |
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So what Charlie was in the war the first time and came back and he seen some terrible and horrible things but he went back.
Yes, the soldier is a coward in my opinion if dont like it oh well I don't care, my opinion.
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Defiant
Fleet Admiral
Joined: 04 Jul 2001
Posts: 15946
Location: Oregon City, OR
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| Mon Jan 17, 2005 11:14 am |
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No, I dont like it. And I respect your opinion as well.
And we all know Charlie is cool as hell.
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Alucard
Vampire
Joined: 06 Nov 2004
Posts: 2780
Location: Caaaaaanada
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| Mon Jan 17, 2005 11:14 am |
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yeah lol
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Defiant
Fleet Admiral
Joined: 04 Jul 2001
Posts: 15946
Location: Oregon City, OR
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| Mon Jan 17, 2005 11:16 am |
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Some people just arent mentally ready for war. They freak out. He was probably one of those.
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Leo Wyatt
Sweetest Angel
Joined: 25 Feb 2004
Posts: 19045
Location: Investigating A Crime Scene. What did Quark do this time?
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| Mon Jan 17, 2005 11:19 am |
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Then he does not need to be in the military if he is like that. He should have known the price of protecting his country.
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Founder
Dominion Leader
Joined: 21 Jun 2004
Posts: 12755
Location: Gamma Quadrant
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| Mon Jan 17, 2005 11:33 am |
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I *Cringes* I....*Hesistates* I....agree with Defiant.
He shouldn't have to go back if he doesn't have to. Hes done his duty. WTF is up with that Chaplain? Thats sick of him to say that. The man isn't a coward. Not after what he went through and saw.
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IntrepidIsMe
Pimp Handed
Joined: 14 Jun 2002
Posts: 13057
Location: New York
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| Mon Jan 17, 2005 11:41 am |
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Well, I'd say that he should have been prepared when he volunteered for the possiblity of seeing horrible things. However, he shouldn't be forced to go back.
-------signature-------
"Nelly, I am Heathcliff! He's always, always in my mind: not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to myself, but as my own being."
-Wuthering Heights
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Leo Wyatt
Sweetest Angel
Joined: 25 Feb 2004
Posts: 19045
Location: Investigating A Crime Scene. What did Quark do this time?
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| Mon Jan 17, 2005 11:41 am |
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So has Charlie but you know, he had to go back. We just go around in circle with this topic all day 
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Founder
Dominion Leader
Joined: 21 Jun 2004
Posts: 12755
Location: Gamma Quadrant
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| Mon Jan 17, 2005 11:44 am |
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He should have prepared? Nothing can prepare you for what you will see in War.
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Leo Wyatt
Sweetest Angel
Joined: 25 Feb 2004
Posts: 19045
Location: Investigating A Crime Scene. What did Quark do this time?
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| Mon Jan 17, 2005 11:46 am |
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Charlie is prepared he has been prepared.
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IntrepidIsMe
Pimp Handed
Joined: 14 Jun 2002
Posts: 13057
Location: New York
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| Mon Jan 17, 2005 11:47 am |
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As I said, the possibility of seeing things. Everybody knows that you see terrible things during a war, all I'm saying is that he should have known (or did) that seeing enountering them was a possibility in the service.
As I said, he shouldn't have to go back.
-------signature-------
"Nelly, I am Heathcliff! He's always, always in my mind: not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to myself, but as my own being."
-Wuthering Heights
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Leo Wyatt
Sweetest Angel
Joined: 25 Feb 2004
Posts: 19045
Location: Investigating A Crime Scene. What did Quark do this time?
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| Mon Jan 17, 2005 11:49 am |
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I know noone knows what they will see in war but sometimes war is needed to get rid of the evil terrorists. Yeah maybe this war is taking longer and it is growing old talking about it. People just fight over it all the time when nobody wins the debate.
so i am going on to a more cheerful topic. this is 
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Jeff Miller
Fleet Admiral
Joined: 22 Nov 2001
Posts: 23947
Location: Mental Ward for the Mentaly Unstable 6th floor, Saint John's 1615 Delaware Longview Washington 98632
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| Mon Jan 17, 2005 11:52 am |
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| Rbgirl wrote: | | Charlie is prepared he has been prepared. |
Just currious if "IF Charlie was hurt in the war was sent home and didn't want to go back but he was called back would you be so cold and say "Well too *beepin* bad your butt is going back you knew what you were getting into." Or would you be ok with him staying home because he's your hubby?
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Leo Wyatt
Sweetest Angel
Joined: 25 Feb 2004
Posts: 19045
Location: Investigating A Crime Scene. What did Quark do this time?
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| Mon Jan 17, 2005 12:01 pm |
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There you damn go again putting words in my mouth.
first of all , Charlie will not say he won't go back over there. You don't know him. he is not a coward.
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Jeff Miller
Fleet Admiral
Joined: 22 Nov 2001
Posts: 23947
Location: Mental Ward for the Mentaly Unstable 6th floor, Saint John's 1615 Delaware Longview Washington 98632
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| Mon Jan 17, 2005 12:06 pm |
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There you go again don't flip out its just a question you sounded kind of cold calling the officer a coward for not wanting to go back. I also said What If I even had IF in bold print there is no reason for you to constantly flip your wig. I was just currious if Charlie didn't want to go back would you be cold to him? I don't know the guy your right he sounds like superman but like I said it was all a "What If" question.
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Leo Wyatt
Sweetest Angel
Joined: 25 Feb 2004
Posts: 19045
Location: Investigating A Crime Scene. What did Quark do this time?
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| Mon Jan 17, 2005 12:10 pm |
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I am not flipping out sorry if it sounded like it.
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Republican_Man
STV's Premier Conservative
Joined: 26 Mar 2004
Posts: 14823
Location: Classified
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| Mon Jan 17, 2005 1:01 pm |
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I don't know quite where I stand on this, but I think that if you register and serve in the military, you should know what you have to do. While I respect his service, I think that he *may* need to go back, but then again he may not. I just think that if you sign up and know that you're going to serve and it could lead to war, you should be prepared for anything. Including two tours of duty.
-------signature-------
"Rights are only as good as the willingness of some to exercise responsibility for those rights- Fmr. Colorado Senate Pres. John Andrews
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Leo Wyatt
Sweetest Angel
Joined: 25 Feb 2004
Posts: 19045
Location: Investigating A Crime Scene. What did Quark do this time?
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| Mon Jan 17, 2005 1:13 pm |
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I agree with RM, He said what I was trying to say duh on me
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Lord Borg
Fleet Admiral
Joined: 27 May 2003
Posts: 11214
Location: Vulcan Capital City, Vulcan
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| Mon Jan 17, 2005 1:35 pm |
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Well, he shouldn't have waited do close to deployment to say he didnt want to go back, however, for all the ppl to who sit in chushy offices to call him a coward is insane, every one had a point, but you can only prepare so much for war, and to say some one is a coward casue they saw somthing that now haunts them and the dont want to go back is crazy. Like it was said , he has done his duty, served his country for many, many years. And although we all have right to our own opinion, you shouldnt agree and call a man a coward if you haven seen anything like what he saw, like i cant make any real judgemnt, cause the only gore ive ever seen is in movies, get my point?? Its waaaaayyyy differnt when its real and not make up and effects
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Republican_Man
STV's Premier Conservative
Joined: 26 Mar 2004
Posts: 14823
Location: Classified
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| Mon Jan 17, 2005 2:05 pm |
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Now let me state that IN NO WAY do I believe that this soldier is a COWARD for not going back. Those that went to Canada when the war started and didn't even go once ARE, in fact, COWARDS.
-------signature-------
"Rights are only as good as the willingness of some to exercise responsibility for those rights- Fmr. Colorado Senate Pres. John Andrews
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Pah-Wraith
Sheikh
Joined: 30 Nov 2001
Posts: 6012
Location: Londonistan.
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| Mon Jan 17, 2005 3:48 pm |
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I respect this Soldier's decision as a Consciencous Objector on Religious Grounds.
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voy416
Captain
Joined: 28 Oct 2001
Posts: 631
Location: Rock Bottom
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| Mon Jan 17, 2005 6:19 pm |
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I think he does not have to go back.If he feels the way he does. so be it but hell that does not make him a coward that makes him Human
-------signature-------
To Be Are Not To Be......Is That Really The
Question
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Captain Dappet
Forum Revolutionist
Joined: 06 Feb 2002
Posts: 16756
Location: On my supersonic rocket ship.
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| Tue Jan 18, 2005 12:25 pm |
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How much use do you think he'll be there anyway? He obviously isn't mentally fit for fighting a war any longer.
And he is in no way a coward. He's served your country for 10 years. For 10 years, he's been in your army, serving your country, and you have the nerve to call him a coward?
That's just sad.
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