In a war fought by voluntary soldiers, the line between military deserter and war resister can be slim.
At the age of 19, Boise native Robin Long enlisted in the United States Army seeking a job with steady pay, medical benefits and a chance to go to college. Two years later, while stationed in a non-deployable unit at Fort Knox, Kentucky, Pfc. Long and a handful of troops from his unit received orders to go to Iraq. Long was given three weeks leave before his report date.
But instead of reporting for duty at Fort Carson, Colorado on April 10, 2005, Long went AWOL (absent without leave) and spent several months hiding out in a friend's basement in Boise. In June 2005, Pfc. Long hitchhiked to Canada. Once there, Long spent several months living as a vagrant out of soup kitchens and hitchhiking coast to coast.
Now 22, Long is settled in Ontario and is engaged to be married to a Canadian woman with whom he is expecting a child.
Was it a personal decision or a political decision to go AWOL?
A little bit of both. It was mostly political because I really didn't feel like [the Bush administration] had proven that there was any reason for us to be over there. They hadn't proven there were weapons of mass destruction. It wasn't sanctioned by the United Nations. It also was a war of aggression. They [Iraq] were no threat to us. And after seeing Abu Ghraib and the killing of civilians ... you can look at anything on the Internet and see people have been tortured and civilians have been killed for no reason. Also, the people who were coming into my unit had just come from Iraq and they were telling me horrific stories. And another thing was that my superiors were telling me, "You're going to the desert to fight rag heads." It wasn't like I was going to Iraq to liberate the people. It was like I was going to the desert to kill "rag heads." They were trying to make people less human.
Some people would argue that you knew all that going in to the Army.
Yeah you could say that, but when I joined ... I made it apparent that I didn't want to go to Iraq. I didn't believe in the war that was going on over there so that's why I was stationed at Fort Knox. They kind of stayed true to their part of the bargain until the numbers started getting really low. They didn't have any new people enlisting so they were just taking anyone they could.
Do you still have family in Boise?
Yeah.
Do they support your decision?
Well, my mom and my stepdad support my decision, but the rest of my family ... I guess it's because they really don't understand.
What do you mean by the rest of your family?
They don't really talk to me. My brothers and sisters do, but my grandparents ... I haven't really been in contact with them. I don't know that they're mad at me so much as they are afraid to talk to me because of the government.
Did you apply for conscientious objector status before going AWOL?
I tried to get conscientious objector status but my first sergeant told me he couldn't find the forms to apply and he didn't feel like looking for them. I didn't know about conscientious objector status until about a month before I got orders and that was when I first tried to do it. Shortly after that, I got orders, so I never really got a chance to apply for it. Leaving was kind of like a spur of the moment thing. It was my only option other than live underground in the United States and be running for the rest of my life or go to Canada.
In the Armed Forces Enlistment Oath you swore to "obey the orders of the President of the United States," and as you were swearing to obey those orders was there ever a moment when you said to yourself, "You know, there's a war happening that I'm promising to participate in despite the fact that I don't really believe in it?"
I guess I was kind of not being mature. I was 19 years old at the time I was swearing in. When they told us we were going over there, I thought it was an honorable thing. I thought, hey, there really are weapons of mass destruction and Saddam Hussein really is a bad man in power. I really thought it was an honorable thing. But as the war kept progressing, then is when I started to see that things were not really adding up.
What about the couple of guys from your unit who were also singled out to go with you? Did you talk about your plans to leave with them?
I was supposed to get on a plane and report to Fort Carson and I was still planning to go. But there was another guy, who's actually a Canadian citizen, he was my battle buddy--in combat you have a battle buddy who is always with you--and he didn't show up either. He just went back to Canada. On the day we were supposed to report he called me and said, "I bet you wonder where I am." And I said, "No, I'm not there either."
Have you talked to any of your old friends, coworkers or comrades from the Army since you left?
I haven't talked to any of them.
Do you feel guilty for leaving them?
Most of the people there had come from Iraq, they had been in the army for a while or they came straight out of basic so we weren't really that close.
Did you consider trying to get a dishonorable discharge by testing positive on a drug test or putting on weight?
I thought about it, but having a dishonorable discharge limits how you can live. Even McDonald's won't hire you with a dishonorable discharge. It's really hard to get work unless you want to work under the table, so I thought that coming to Canada was a better option because at least here, I can get a job anywhere I want. I won't have to worry about that dishonorable discharge following me around for the rest of my life.
What legal ramifications do you face?
Well if I go back to the States, it's definitely going to be jail. They're giving people anywhere from a year in prison at Fort Leavenworth to three or four years.
Is your plan to stay in Canada?
Yeah, I love Canada. In the States, it's a melting pot of different cultures and everyone loses their culture. And up here in Canada, they celebrate individual cultures and they have a good social net with things like free health care.
Are you willing to go to prison for your decision if it comes to that?
Yeah, if it came down to that, I'd be willing to go to prison because I know I did the right thing and I can sleep at night and my conscience is still good.
For more information on Long's case or the War Resisters Support Campaign, visit www.resisters.ca. .
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If he was willing to take the job, and swear an oath he should be a man and face the consequences, good or bad. There are a lot of people in the Army who do not agree with the decision to go to war, that I can and will tell anyone first hand. I have served two tours in Iraq, and have lost friends, Iraqi and American. What it boils down to is that this "person" is a coward and a deserter. Who is also misrepresenting the facts, because the maximum punishment for desertion in the face of the enemy is death. While it has been almost 70 years since this has been used it is still on the books, furthermore since the enemy is much greater of a threat than most Americans realize or want to admit it makes his decision that much worse. This is an enemy who doesn't care whether you are a peace advocate or soldier, you are an American and therefore marked for death. And "volunteers" who should take the fight to the enmy before they can bring it to our home should recieve, in my estimation, what they deserve. Name and Address withheld
I wish the best of luck to Robin Long in his new life in Canada. His decision to desert is going to follow him the rest of his life. That is, however, part of what he "signed up for". Rachael makes a point that there is a slim line between a deserter and a 'war resister'. Not quite. Robin is not a war resister. He is a deserter plain and simple. I served a good deal of time in the Army. When I got out, I started changing my attitues about a lot of things, and I'm very much anti-war now. That being the case, I am still conflicted about Robin's story. Look at it this way - when Robin deserted, someone else's boy had to take his place. It's possible that the person who took his place had a family to support, or some other reason that prevented him from just leaving town as Robin did. When you look at it that way, Robin is not gallant or heroic. He's just selfish. He was not willing to go through the hardship of combat. Apparently however, it's perfectly OK for someone else to go in Robin's place. If you read this Robin, I hope that you consider that. It's great that you are pursuing some really great things in Canada. I hope the guy who had to replace you gets the same chance to do those things when (and if) he returns.
This guy is a Coward. He enlisted went through boot camp and he knew what he was getting into. Im just ashamed that he is from Idaho. But Im sure he will fit in just fine in Canada.
Robin is a hero. To all you mindless trolls in the armed forces serving your time and going off like a bunch of bullies to fight a war of aggression, I won't mourn for you. No one should. You are a part of the problem not the solution. If the war in Iraq was a humanitarian effort, then why don't we spend our humanitarian resources in Uganda where genocide is taking place? If this is a war to root out terrorists , then why haven't we gone into Saudi Arabia, where 80% of the 9/11 hijackers were from? This whole war is full of contradictions and lies if there are more people like Robin with the courage to stand up for what is right, then we would finally break free of the history of violence we have known since primative man. The love of mankind is a great thing, but why does it stop at the borders?
Robin Long enlisted in the United States Army seeking a job with steady pay, medical benefits and a chance to go to college. Two years later he ran like a coward with no intentions of fulfilling the solemn oath he took. He 'mature' act ( his own words) was to flee the country he grew up in, instead of fighting it through proper channels. When the going got tough, he folded. "But I just wanted some college money! Who knew the Army would want me to fight?" He ran because he is a coward,he thought up all of the excuses afterwards.
What a bunch of jingoistic non-sense. No one should have to go off and die for something they do not believe in. If you read the article you'd notice that Robin did ask about filing for conscious objector status but was denied the form. On top of that before enlisting he was assured that he would not be sent to Iraq.
He didn't have to go. If the First Sgt. "denied' him the form he should kept going up the chain. They can't deny you a form. "Are you willing to go to prison for your decision if it comes to that?" His response: "Yeah, if it came down to that, I'd be willing to go to prison because I know I did the right thing and I can sleep at night and my conscience is still good." Uhhh, doofus, if he was willing to go to prison for his "beliefs", why did he run away? The simple answer is he's a coward, plain and simple. He had the chance to stand up and voice his opinion, and possibly take the lumps for his "courage and conviction", but he ran away like a common thief. He disgusts me, and, if I were a family member, I would bring him back home to face the music.
I object to the Iraqi war because it is an act of aggression with no defensive basis. It has been supported by pretences that cannot withstand even elementary scrutiny. First, before the U.S. dropped the first bomb, it was quite evident that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction. Second, the Bush administration had the gall to exploit the American public's fear of terrorists by making the absurd assertion that a secular Baathist government was working with a fundamentalist terrorist group. There was never any intelligence to substantiate this. Third, the notion that the U.S. wants to export democracy to Iraq is laughable. Democracy is by the people, not an appointed puppet theater. If the Iraqi people were to choose their own government, it is inevitable (by demographics alone) that the government would be Shia. A Shiite government would probably be quite un-open and even possibly hostile to the U.S. and its aims. It just so happens that Iraq is also the home of the second largest known reserve of oil in the world. America is notorious for its insatiable thirst for cheap oil. Perhaps I made a mistake by enlisting in the Army, but the U.S. is putting the lives of its soldiers in jeopardy in order to the line the pockets of big money. I will not get blood on my hands or put my life in danger for such an endeavor.
No defensive basis? Like all the Iraqi people that were tortures and killed for decades under Saddam's regime? Like the Kurds who were nerve gassed under Saddam's regime? Like the Iraqi soccer team that was beaten by Saddams sons because they didn't win a medal? Whatever. If you didn't want to go, don't enlist! How simple is that?
"In the famous Nuremberg War Crimes Trials, established after World War II to try Nazi War Criminals and assess their guilt and punishment, the Chief Prosecutor said of the German people something that applies directly to Americans today. He speaks knowingly and directly across more than 50 years of time to resolutely instruct American Citizens on exactly what our duty is today, right now:" "Individuals have international duties which transcend the national obligations of obedience (and) therefore have the duty to violate domestic laws to prevent crimes against peace and humanity from occurring." - Nuremberg Tribunal, 1950 Nichols goes on to say, "The statement was affirmed by the Nuremberg Tribunal. It is now international law and by extension, American Law. It is our duty as Americans. The fascist government controlling America and the US Military can no longer be allowed to exist. The world and international law holds us all accountable, and the price is dear ". The American military is using chemical weapons like napalm ans white phosurus. If you need to see it for your self from US veterans. Go to http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10907.htm Yes Sadam did terible things. But who put him power, to combat Iran? The US. The US military is doing way worse indiscrimetly killing Arabs with chemical weapon. Its wrong they are people just like us with sons daughters fathers mothers brothers sisters, families! I coundnt be a tool for there indescriminant desruction!!!
So now we attack and kill the same people that sadam attacked, so now we rape and torture the same people Sadam had raped and torchured??? does this make sense????"In the famous Nuremberg War Crimes Trials, established after World War II to try Nazi War Criminals and assess their guilt and punishment, the Chief Prosecutor said of the German people something that applies directly to Americans today. He speaks knowingly and directly across more than 50 years of time to resolutely instruct American Citizens on exactly what our duty is today, right now:" "Individuals have international duties which transcend the national obligations of obedience (and) therefore have the duty to violate domestic laws to prevent crimes against peace and humanity from occurring." - Nuremberg Tribunal, 1950 Nichols goes on to say, "The statement was affirmed by the Nuremberg Tribunal. It is now international law and by extension, American Law. It is our duty as Americans. The fascist government controlling America and the US Military can no longer be allowed to exist. The world and international law holds us all accountable, and the price is dear ". The American military is using chemical weapons like napalm ans white phosurus. If you need to see it for your self from US veterans. Go to http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10907.htm Yes Sadam did terible things. But who put him power, to combat Iran? The US. The US military is doing way worse indiscrimetly killing Arabs with chemical weapon. Its wrong they are people just like us with sons daughters fathers mothers brothers sisters, families! I coundnt be a tool for their indescriminant desruction!!!
You are a tool if you believe that napalm and W.P. are chemical weapons. By the definitions I've seen for these so called chemical weapons, spilling a Coca-Cola on someone would be a chemical attack. Also I don't believe that the US is indiscriminately killing people. You have proof of that? From more than one source? I served and would go again in heartbeat. This idiot wasn't drafted...HE SIGNED UP! If this guy wanted a job with steady pay, mediacl benefits and a chance to go to college, he could've applied at a thousand different places. HE choose to serve and then violated his oath by running like a chicken when if came time to actually serve. Now someone elses son or daughter will have to go in his cowardly place.
Hmmmm. Y'know, I usually enjoy Ms. Daigle's articles so I can't help but wonder how such an intelligent and thoughtful woman could let herself be completely snowed by this self-important, gutless turd. There are over 5,000 men and women in Boise who have actually been to Iraq and could give her far more accurate accounts of life in the Army. Long depends upon the reader's general ignorance of day-to-day military operations to evoke sympathy for his "plight" by wrapping himself in a cloak of "innocence and morality", the very same things he claims the Army took from him...whatever. The fact is you can't join the military WITHOUT declaring your conscientious objector status on both the initial contract and the security clearance worksheet, so the whole "I didn't know" plea is a big, steamy pile. Also, the Army doesn't hand out Dishonorable Discharges or send people to Fort Leavenworth prison for anything less than an index crime. Long is trying to be a "s**thouse lawyer", usually sub-standard soldiers to begin with, by thinking up fictional, grandiose punishments (sent to Iraq, no court or trial, death penalty, etc.) that would be imposed so he can appear to be so "courageous for standing up for his beliefs" and not falling on his sword. Meh. MOST deserters get a General Discharge with no jail time, they're back just long enough to do the paperwork and be chaptered out. Doesn't matter if you're against the war or support it, Long simply used it as an excuse to do something he would have done anyway: abandon those he gave his so-called "oath" to defend: everyone who reads this paper, everyone who wants to be free to say whatever or worship whoever or live however they want. His Canadian wife better keep him on an extremely short leash since he's already set a pattern of misconduct and proven that his oaths are completely worthless. How could you trust someone who has already shown that his vows are a joke? To R.L: As you go through your sheltered little life in your sheltered little town, take a moment to mourn your meek existence, and be sure to enjoy your freedom, courtesy of us "mindless trolls".
War_resister...here are a few things to chew one.When some claim that President Bush shouldn't have started this war, state the following: a. FDR led us into World War II. b. Germany never attacked us; Japan did. From 1941-1945, 450,000 lives were lost ... an average of 112,500 per year. c. Truman finished that war and started one in Korea. North Korea never attacked us.. From 1950-1953, 55,000 lives were lost ... an average of 18,334 per year. d John F. Kennedy started the Vietnam conflict in 1962. Vietnam never attacked us. e. Johnson turned Vietnam into a quagmire. From 1965-1975, 58,000 lives were lost, an average of 5,800 per year. f. Clinton went to war in Bosnia without UN or French consent. Bosnia never attacked us. He was offered Osama bin Laden's head on a platter three times by Sudan and did nothing. Osama has attacked us on multiple occasions. g. In the years since terrorists attacked us , President Bush has liberated two countries, crushed the Taliban, crippled al-Qaida, put nuclear inspectors in Libya, Iran, and, North Korea without firing a shot, and captured a terrorist who slaughtered 300,000 of his own people.
it doesn't appear to me that Ms. Daigle is defending RL at all or was "completely snowed" by him. simply telling his story isn't an endorsement of his actions.
Impressive action on the part of this young man. I congratulate him for a job well done and may Allah be with him for the rest of his days. http://carmenisacat.blogspot.com/
I hope they all run. I hope they disperse among all the world's nations, seeking peace and solitude, and that it's given to them. I hope the creation of the gray race is swift. Live sweet, Mr. Robin Long. We are fighting a war of population control and tyranny. We are the terrorists. Yeah, Mr. Hussein was a heinous human being, but he's no better or worse than our own president. We promise our boys and girls jobs and educations and an overall shortcut to the american dream, then demand they leave it to go risk their lives, not for the safety of their country, but for the personal agendas of old politicians. These men promote and demand through their laws: racism, torture, humiliation, dehumanization and even death of EVERYONE including and especially their own young citizens. They have created fear in all of us, because they, themselves, are far too afraid to fight. They are definitely too afraid to fight their battles with words. Why then, is it so wrong for a young man with the rest of his life to live, to leave when the same fear that holds his commander in chief by the throat takes ahold of him too? The draft is the ultimate act of tyranny. "Go fight, whether you agree with the reason or not. Go fight for your freedom, because if you don't, we'll take it from you ourselves. Go fight for your gas prices, because the government is too in debt to lower them ourselves. Go fight for yourself, because 'we'll give you a future.'" Witnessing and experiencing death, disfigurement, fear, dementia, extreme violence, and inprisonment doesn't sound like too much of a future to me. These boys want to get jobs and go to school, simply make their means, and look at the price they have to pay. To hell with your military Mr. Busch, you're not so innocent yourself.
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