Posted on May 15, 2020
SSG Squad Leader
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Open discussion if anyone as an example they have seen, or are dealing with right now. Is their a conflict of interest between UCMJ and our own rights?
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SSG Senior Mechanic
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Pvt SanJuana Méndez
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Have spent nearly 21 years trying to hold USMC & DoD responsible for wrongful separation & PTSD due to discrimination. Way I was discharged nearly 49 yrs ago has directly affected my life. Only having been in Boot one week when my only remaining parent was killed in traffic accident, I went to recruiter one wk after 10-day emergency leave began & requested indefinite leave of absence. Instead of being informed there was no such thing & being offered hardship, recruiter suggested it would be more beneficial for siblings I'd raised 5 yrs after our father was similarly killed if I returned to duty, & he extended leave. Few wks after trying to focus on my training, CO told me I was getting my way. Was told how separation hearing would proceed but nothing more was disclosed before, during or after hearing.

I have discovered many ways my rights were violated, in the course of nearly 49 yrs since. Some 2 months after separation, I called recruiter's aide to update them on my progress. Was traumatic, learning 2 months after this virtual rape (stripped of rights & choice) that I hadn't actually gotten my way. Learned at this time what DD-214 was, what RE code (mine was 4, couldn't reenlist as Marine or in any other branch). Wasn't told that I was still military personnel up to 1st anniversary of discharge date. Learned 28 yrs after teetering between being veteran & not, after being denied healthcare as "true" veteran's spouse, after veteran preference made no difference in efforts to advance as state employee, after credit status ruined 'cause I couldn't get financial aid for advanced education, that I learned I could proudly say I AM a veteran. Vulnerable after trauma of learning I hadn't actually gotten my way at separation, went to work for "friend" of my mom who set me up to be raped by her son. Endured 5 yrs of domestic violence that began with his impregnating me & my having our 1st child 5 days before 1st anniversary of day I was separated from Corps. Fled from this union to protect my children from their father's violence, but not before I'd suffered so much trauma that I became depressed.

All this led to smoking, excessive drinking, promiscuity & low self esteem. After enduring several yrs of emotional abuse in 2d marriage, sought mental healthcare that eventually led to diagnosis of depression. First time I sought medical attention after learning I was eligible for healthcare at V.A., I asked to be seen at mental health unit, where doc I saw suggested I attend women's PTSD group sessions. I believe this doc suspected depression was due to PTSD but he died before I realized his suspicion was correct. I believe he would have diagnosed PTSD. No other doc has accepted that life-altering situations are as traumatic as life-threatening situations, so I've continuously been denied compensation for "injury" I incurred when I was led to believe I WAS actually getting my way, simply 'cause DoD has decreed that PTSD can only be life-threatening. And yet, many military women physically raped during active duty have been compensated based on PTSD. Apparently, DoD feels Armed Forces are blameless if they strip a woman of her military rights, making her vulnerable, & she's physically raped before 1st anniversary of discharge. Never mind that, after failing to ensure a quota of women enlistees, they--like Pontius Pilate--washed their hands of me less than 2 wks before I would have ceased to be a recruit (90 days during wartime) & become a full-fledged Private.
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SSG Squad Leader
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Think I have an overwhelming amount of points beating the dead horse. Thank you all. Next time I’m catching wing of this type of discussion by soldiers I’ll make sure u mention these points. This post was not for me...cz your preaching to the quire if your directing at me...I’m well aware what I got myself into... ehh some things can definitely change regarding firearms on base buuuuuut that just my opinion

. this post is for the individuals that don’t know what they signed up for.
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SGT Roberto Mendoza-Diaz
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There aren’t any constitutional rights or rights in the military. You signed up. End of the story.
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SSG Squad Leader
SSG (Join to see)
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I think this is the final nail on the coffin for me to relay to others that may announce their concerns with their constitutional rights. Thanks.
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SGT Roberto Mendoza-Diaz
SGT Roberto Mendoza-Diaz
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SSG (Join to see) What constitutional rights? Exactly
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SSG Squad Leader
SSG (Join to see)
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I mean their is but more of an inconvenience when practicing some of them. And I’m sorry restate you’re question. Be a little bit more... elaborate..SGT Roberto Mendoza-Diaz
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SFC Carlos Cruz
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Some people feel like a nut, some people don’t. No one constitutional have being violated, you join & wasn’t drafted lol
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CPL Sarah Stilwell
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I think my religious practices may have been impacted, but I felt like I waived those right went I knowingly joined at a time of war. It's not reasonable to tell a pilot who crashed in the desert to hold on another hour because I need to read my daily psalms. It's my job to get him out. We can thank god later
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CPL Sarah Stilwell
CPL Sarah Stilwell
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I wasnt allowed to attend religious service because my job was 12 hours a day 7 days a week. The army provides reasonable accommodations and in the field, stuff is just limited and even though the chaplain is around, he's busy catering to everyone in the Battalion
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LtCol Robert Quinter
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Opinions, or complaints, that servicemen give up their rights are mixing apples and oranges. The military is a national asset designed to operate independent from those institutions that facilitate the administration of many of the rights the military is designed to protect.
First, the "good order and discipline" features are present to ensure rules are in place to afford control of a large group of people who are expected to be ready to react to an emergency situation on short notice and serve away from our civil judicial and law enforcement structures. The UCMJ affords responsibilities to personnel filling certain billets that would normally be exercised by a police department or civil judge because the military is designed to operate away from the civilian police force and judicial system. Conforming to orders and directions exercised by seniors without question is a requirement that prepares individuals and organizations for combat. I assure you that instantaneous response to a seniors decision without discussion is an absolute requirement in combat. Even as a pilot, when I, as the aircraft commander made a decision to subject my people and aircraft to seemingly deadly enemy fire to medevac a wounded Marine, there was no time for a group discussion between my crew and they all had to perform as expected for the mission to be successful. If one crewman decided that he was to tired and wanted to call in sick, the danger to the rest of the crew might have been deadly.
Why are we prohibited from exercising our right to express our political opinions in uniform? In many third world nations the political stability and governmental structure cannot be maintained without considering the attitudes of the military. Thankfully, our transfers of power have been a result of elections, in which individual military participate, but our military organizations are not led by their commanders to influence the outcome. The prohibition of using our uniforms or our status as military is a real expression of our nation being run by citizens, not by institutions (I know this could be another discussion, but let's ignore that for this discussion).
Whether you volunteer or are pressed into military service, the overall service must live its daily life as it is expected to serve in battle. Can you imagine having a pre deployment class on which rules and regulations are only applicable to either the battle or peacetime environment?
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SFC Domingo M.
SFC Domingo M.
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I guess that was what I was trying to say, democracy will not work in the military.
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SGM Larry Jones
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No conflict. You sign on the dotted line so suck it up and play by the rules.
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SSgt Max Gonzales
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When I was in, there were times I felt that my superiors were overstepping their boundaries. I was in any way a model soldier, but I would be called on the carpet when things would happen. I believe they just assumed it was me and took action.
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LTC Program Manager
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As long as we are not forcing individuals into the service i see no issue. Taking away the rights of individuals through forced service i see as a violation of rights.
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SFC Casey O'Mally
SFC Casey O'Mally
>1 y
How then, do you feel about things like stop loss or retiree recall? Just for the sake of argument.
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LTC Program Manager
LTC (Join to see)
>1 y
SFC Casey O'Mally not a fan but they are better than conscription.
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MAJ John Lavin
MAJ John Lavin
>1 y
All the comments I read about stop loss and recall in 2020 falls on very, very deaf ears. The US Military has been doing this since a bunch of guys were freezing their butts off in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania in 1770 something. The soldiers in the 20th Maine are credited by expert Military Historians as saving the Union Army at The Battle of Gettysburg. No one brings up the fact that they were, each and every one of them, being held in the Union Army on a stop loss basis. In Vietnam, it was common to hold over soldiers who were not being immediately replaced with a qualified replacement until a qualified replacement arrived. I spent 1 month longer in Vietnam than I wanted because my replacement was held up. So please stop the gripping about something that has become a tradition in the US Army, All you stop loss hold overs are just another one of the uncounted number of soldiers who are and were needed when the Army needed you so think of it as a form of unmerited job security imposed upon you from on high.
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