Veteran needs help, not jail Other Issues, posted by Editor, Mountain View Voice Online, on Jan 13, 2009 at 2:44 pm
The sad case of former Army captain and Los Altos resident Sargent Binkley is a good example of how the military bureaucracy can unwittingly ruin a loyal soldier's life, even one who was wounded in the line of duty.
Read the full story here Web Link posted Friday, October 12, 2007, 12:00 AM
Posted by Army Officer, a resident of another community, on Jan 13, 2009 at 2:59 pm
Your lumping of Blinkley into the plight of veterans is an insult to the many legitimate veterans of Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. Blinkley was a third-rate officer, immature, and a poor leader. Although he may indeed have problems, many are a result of his poor and weak character. His lawyers played the war hero card and won, even though he was never a war hero. What you fail to realize is that most veterans want acknowledgement and respect more than sympathy and a hand out.
Posted by Steve, a resident of the Cuernavaca neighborhood, on Jan 14, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Wounded in the line of duty? Didn't he fall into a hole on a beach running away from a guy whose girl he was chasing? Where do I sign up to get into your Army? What a joke.
Posted by Pat, a resident of the The Crossings neighborhood, on Jan 21, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Certainly those with "poor and weak character" are weeded out before admission to teh service academies. And; surely before commissioning. So when did these alleged defects manifest themselves? After service in Bosnia and Honduras.
The CO at Fort Riley piled it on and his failings will be the subject of another hearing before a different tribunal. Just compare his recitations to those in the medical records. These were admitted into evidence during the trial. Facts are facts.
Posted by Army Officer, a resident of another community, on Jan 22, 2009 at 3:20 pm
Pat, you live in a fantasy world. Nothing qualifies as "surely" as you put it. Persons of poor and weak character do in fact make it by much of their lives until they are eventually exposed. Does Bernie Madoff ring a bell in your hollow head? I've done tours in most of Central America to include Honduras, then Kosovo, then Iraq. The situation in Honduras was almost vacation like. And most of that country's problems as of late have more to do with the repatriation of gang members from this country. If you want a cause, go out and find one. Better yet get out to the Palo Alto VA and volunteer to help real vets.
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