LT Smash has had enough of the media turning refuseniks from the all-volunteer armed services into anti-war superstars, and he's also had more than enough of the deserters themselves. In an open letter to Pablo Paredes, who refused to go aboard his ship for deployment to the Arabian Gulf, Smash points out the essential issue with desertion during wartime and why it's anything but courageous:

When you were planning your dramatic “statement,” did you think for a minute about how this would affect your shipmates? You are a fire control technician on the Sea Sparrow surface-to-air missile system. The Navy doesn’t have a bunch of spare FCs sitting in cold storage. Your ship is going to the Arabian Gulf, and will have to pass through the “threat arcs” of Iran’s Silkworm anti-ship missiles – and in case you haven’t noticed, we’re not exactly buddy-buddy with the mullahs these days. The Sea Sparrow is a critical point-defense system for your ship. So your job isn’t one that the Navy can afford to shrug off – somebody else is going to have to do it.

One of two things is going to happen. Either your shipmates are going to have to pull extra shifts to cover for your absence, or – more likely – somebody from another ship is going to get emergency orders to take your place in the coming days. Maybe that person is married; maybe he even has kids.

And you pulled this little stunt just in time for Christmas.

Deserters undermine morale and unit readiness any time, but in wartime they can cost lives -- and the lives they cost are those who made a commitment to protect and serve their country and honored that vow. In short, it can cost the lives we need the most, while the weasels like Paredes live out their miserable, parasitic existence.

Read Smash's entire post. As always, it's a classic.

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» More on desertion from Posse Incitatus
Citizen Smash offers his own thoughts to another deserter. The words are harsh but ring loud and clear to the Posse, particularly in light of our previous post. Desertion is not just a federal crime or an offense against military [Read More]

Tracked on December 9, 2004 12:39 PM