Slow news day?

The front page of the July 16th Oregonian carried the line "Soldiers still go over the hill even in an all-volunteer Army."

My immediate response was, "Must be a slow news day for this left of left newspaper....." I mean really, is this a surprise to anybody? Of course there's going to be deserters in an all volunteer military. Just like there's going to be folks who start a job one day with high hopes, and find out it's not what they envisioned, so they don't go back. Military life is not easy. The demands are great, and the rewards are almost non-existent.

In my last year at Camp Pendleton, 1979, I had attained the rank of Sergeant. As such, one of my duties was to stand watch at Battalion Headquarters. I didn't wander around with a rifle - I didn't have any weapons. I sat at a desk in the building. I had a log book, which I dutifully wrote in each hour, indicating all was quiet. The intent was to have a single point of contact during off-hours in case of emergency. I was.....the night watchman. In a combat situation, this would be a more serious position to be in, but we weren't at war.

Due to the extreme boredom of the post, aside from the occasional visit by the Officer-of-the-watch, I started taking a 13" black & white TV with me. Well, this had the effect that a porch light does to bugs, and soon I had a few extra people around me. Turns out, these extras were living upstairs in the building, even though this was an office. They were awaiting their paperwork for dishonorable discharges for desertion.

One guy didn't seem to think it was any big deal, he was just looking forward to getting on with his career outside. He decided to share his reason for deserting with me, and got very animated about telling me, too.

"Sergeant, let me tell you how it was. You know how little we earn, and I'm just a Private. But one night I was out at a bar, and this guy sits down next to me. We start talking, and I find out he drives a truck - a semi! He told me how much he made driving that truck. It was a fortune, at least $30,000 a year! He said he could hook me up, I could ride with him, learn to drive, get my license, and his company just might hire me!"

I said, "Yeah, too bad you broke your contract with the Marine Corps."

He didn't miss a beat, "This guy said we'd be on the road all the time, so they'd never miss me. I'd be better off anyway, with more money. So I met him a few days later, and off we went. I worked with him for six months, and made a butt-load of cash."

"So, how did you end up back here?" I asked. "Well," he said, "I got too confident, and the FBI was waiting for me at a truck stop. But it's no biggie, 'cause once I'm outta here, I'll be back on the road in my truck. I'm going to buy my own truck, that's where the money's at, running your own rig."

So, here's one guy out of several in the room, watching my little TV. The fact that he broke a contract, is getting a dishonorable discharge - and who knows what else, but is happy about his decision to run during peacetime tells me that he's not alone. He didn't leave because he'd had a bad experience in war, he left because he wanted more money. It was all about him. And I'm glad he left, because I wouldn't have wanted to be stuck with him in a foxhole.

He would have only been thinking of himself.

So where's the story in the Oregonian's front page headline? It had to be a slow news day for them. Or, they're just trying to keep their usual liberal non-stories in readers faces, like the mother who keeps putting the rice cereal to her baby's mouth. Only the mother knows what she's doing, the baby just accepts - until one day it grows wise.