(Just over the transom… Emphases mine.)

Dear Ann,

In response to your post “There Must Be A Reckoning” I can only say that I am also one of those who have failed to do justice. I have kept hoping that someone somewhere would notice what was going on and put a stop to it. I have also had the despairing thought of “what can I do about it? I am just one man.”
I spoke with my new Battalion commander this weekend on the subject of arming soldiers who may come under attack by Muslim fanatics. I cited 4th generation warfare theory and he agreed that there are no particular theaters of war any longer. He was at least willing to look into the idea of soldiers defending themselves. The past three officers I have questioned about this have always put their careers before the lives of their men. They have made the calculation that it is more likely that a soldier will fire a round into the floor, ceiling, himself, or another by accident than a Fanatic or terrorist will attack and kill their soldiers and the former situation would be detrimental to their career while the latter would not because in the latter case they were ‘just following orders’ or ‘did all that they could.’
I explained my position thusly: We have a right to defend ourselves recognized and protected by the second amendment, I know that we also swear to obey the orders of our officers, but I am now being put in the position of having to enforce orders that are unconstitutional. I was told by a Sergeant Major that I MUST report any soldier that breaks the law and carries a weapon onto a federal facility. But how can I demand that my soldiers NOT defend themselves against an armed enemy? If I am being forced to choose between prosecuting my soldiers or going to prison for NOT forcing them to give up arms, then I choose not to serve any longer, and I don’t want to do that, because I love the Army, but I will leave if I have to.
In any case, this LT. Colonel is no more fit to command than they, because his entire motivation is pleasing his superiors and accomplishing his mission. That is all fine and good, but does not require any philosophical thought or a time horizon of more than about a year.

I cannot and will not re-enlist (the whole ‘gun’ issue is just the tip of the iceberg). No matter what they dangle in front of me. The US government has effectively become a satanic organization and the best course of action for me is to cease all support for it. I wish I was brave or smart enough to think of something I could do to undermine this monstrosity, but I am a weak and feeble sinner. I hope that simply withdrawing my support for the system, taking the beam from my own eye and obliging them to come to me will be enough.
On a lighter note, A few months back I hinted that I may not re-enlist and stated to my former commander that my morale was low. She seemed surprised and said: “We’re all in trouble if Sergeant X isn’t re-enlisting!”
I smiled along with the chuckles and thought: You don’t know the half of it!

Signed,
Sarge