Newsday is one of the mainstream media outlets that has picked up the story about Margaret McMahon and Kevlyn Reid, two married Marines stationed at Camp Pendleton in California, who may have gone AWOL together in order to avoid being deployed to Al Anbar this summer. Originally it was thought that Reid had abducted his wife, but the condition of their apartment indicates that their disappearance was a premeditated (if poorly prepared for) decision. McMahon's ATM card was used to withdraw $400 in Missouri.
Coming hard on the heels of the release of the anti-war movie "Stop Loss", this situation highlights the dissent within the US military over the Iraq War more than anything that has come before it. However, it's important that military personnel know that they have resources and help available to them should they choose to go AWOL.
The stone truth is that a military enlistment contract these days is a one way street. While the government can and regularly does extend enlistment contracts at it's own whim, all personnel are emphatically informed during Basic Training that going AWOL during a time of war is considered desertion, which can carry the death penalty under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Of course, "some codes of military justice are more uniform than others", to paraphrase Orwell. One notable exception to that not-quite-so-uniform policy is our current Commander in Thief, whose Air National Guard service status during the Vietnam War is still in question. Apparently he didn't show up for duty from 1972 to 1973, with some artful confusion appearing in what few public records do exist as to whether he was supposed to be serving in Texas or Alabama.
As a matter of fact, should you be apprehended, you can loudly claim in court that you are merely following in George W. Bush's "lead by example" footsteps.
But I digress.
The express, specific purpose of this diary is to reach out to those two Marines, and/or anyone like them currently on active duty who is thinking of departing the military on their own terms. You do have resources available and I am hoping that if you are doing a search on your names on the Internet, you two will find and read this diary.
Fellow vets and anti-war nonprofit organizations who know the system are waiting to help you extricate yourselves in as beneficial a manner TO YOU as possible. They can help. Check out the following three web pages.
http://www.ivaw.org/activedutyresources
http://www.couragetoresist.org/...
http://www.girights.org/
(800) 394-9544
Call the GI Rights 800 number from a pay phone, or use a low-denomination disposable calling card or disposable prepaid cel phone. Keep any calls under two minutes if at all possible - and mix the manner of your calling if you need more time to talk. Keep moving. Try not to cross the Canadian border without assistance, not everybody on the other side will be as helpful or friendly as they were in the past.
And finally... know that you are continuing in a very proud tradition and that there are people who understand and who are not afraid to offer help. You are not alone.