Sincere Disapproval
The Missourian published an article about me today if you are interested in reading it. Also, you might be interested in this link they provide. And, by the way, I’m not really a janitor at the BSU; I was just helping out that day.
July 30th, 2006 at 10.53
[…] (BTW, you can read Jakes’s blog here. [link] […]
August 13th, 2006 at 18.28
Whether or not Malloy’s intentions were sincere is not really the point. The moment Malloy experienced these “new beliefs”, assuming they had changed since joining the Army; he should have filed for contentious objector status. I’ve never been in the Army, but I’m pretty sure they instruct you on how you may have to kill someone. Maybe during basic training when you shoot a weapon for the first time. Maybe when you meet your instructors who talk about real life scenarios about how they had to kill someone. Maybe, because Malloy seems to be a smart, well-read, student of history, he would have discovered that the very history of the Army itself is filled with blood, courage and death.
Oh that’s right, he knew all that when he joined but didn’t have a problem with firing a weapon or killing someone until his views changed after he enlisted. Actually, if the article is accurate it says that even upon enlistment he had a problem with war. Bells, whistles, alarms ringing…? Now he is so bothered by the military he can’t even attend a Memorial Day celebration????
He had a problem from the beginning, wanted the benefits of joining, but hoped he would never be called on to actually serve in a hostile environment. When he was, he finally spoke up. Not only does it lack integrity, it is contemptible, shameless and all too often common. Your article seems to praise him for his courage in standing up for what he believes in, when in fact he is an example of what not to be. The fact is he should have never joined if he had a problem with war. Even now as I am typing this it seems unbelievable. He considered war, “an affront to Christ’s teachings,� but enlisted anyway? I believe it is that foundation on which the outcome of the “other than honorable� discharge was based, not Major Paul Wynn’s pursuit of Malloy.
I believe Major Wynn’s objection was representative of what most veterans who have faced battle and served their country would feel. Malloy has cheapened their service and in so doing, brought attention to him and away from the real heroes. Heroes are not defined by ideas but by actions. Malloy may be a good guy, but the world is filled with good guys with good ideas. What we need are men who hold fast to oaths when taken. How about, take up the weapon, man the post and do your duty like you agreed? That is integrity and courage. I cannot think of a better way to explain Malloy’s actions…“other than honorable.â€?
August 13th, 2006 at 21.29
Jake, you are a man of integrity, commitment, and holding to your word. I admire you for trying to stay in the army to finish your duty as a c.o., serving in a position where you could be true to your conscience, yet fufilling your word. i admire your for serving in the military for 5 1/2 years….I know that you were ready to be sent the first time you were called up…you quit your classes and was ready to leave to go to war….but yet for some reason, the army didn’t send you when you volunteered. A little over a year later, you were called again and were ready to go. But as it approached, your mind began to change, your heart began to change. The Lord was awakening inside of you.
You are a man of courage that is going to the hard places, the “dangerous places” without a gun, but armed with love, faith, and hope. I know the hardache you’ve been through this past year. Keep pressing on, and know you have a group of us behind you. Press on in faith, not looking back.
August 14th, 2006 at 21.05
I feel I should try to respond in hopes of cliarifying what seem to be misconceptions in Mr. Rumbo’s comment.
The first two paragraphs allude to why I would join the military initially given that it is an organization designed to kill. Here is the stripped down version. When I joined I viewed the military as a life protecting agency that used a sad but necessary tactic, namely lethal force. Approximately a year ago I came to understand that lethal force is never necessary, for to say it is ascribes ultimate power to violence. I truly believe love, not violence, is the ultimate power.
As for the Memorial Day celebrations, they make me feel awkward because it is a celebration for mostly noble people participating in something I find inappropriate. It is difficult to praise the good character of individuals while not condoning vengeance-seeking and nationalistic idolatry.
In regard to the third paragraph, I believe the above addresses why it would have been appropriate to join given my position at the time. As far as hoping not to be called to a hostile environment, Mr. Rumbo seems to be misinformed. As Tiffany has pointed out, I asked to be reclassed as a non-combatant, a position that would send me to hostile areas unarmed. Hopefully, that seems less lacking in integrity.
In response to my cheapening of the service felt by most veterans who have served in combat, I feel Mr. Rumbo, who acknowledged that he had never been in the Army, may lack the perspective many soldiers hold. I here share a line from a recent email to me from one of my former superior officers who is currently in Iraq: “Continue to be proud of the stand that you took according to your faith. This country will always continue to applaud veterans and those who serve in the military, nevertheless you have walked in truth according to your conscience.” This echos the sentiments of many in my unit who spoke on my behalf during the objection hearing.
With regard to the final statements, “What we need are men who hold fast to oaths when taken. How about, take up the weapon, man the post and do your duty like you agreed? That is integrity and courage,” I have struggled and come to peace with this issue. The “broken promise” or “going back on my word” is a common issue. To this I say, “What is man’s word compared to the word of God and which is stronger?” God forbid I ever hold to an oath I make that I find contrary to God’s will. That would be unthinkable. If ever I make an oath or give my word to something that contradicts God’s call, may I break it instantly.
I hope this has been helpful to Mr. Rumbo and any quiet spectators who had similar questions.
August 14th, 2006 at 21.14
I think it’s wise to take a lesson from this series of comments. We too quickly distance ourselves from the subject of an article, forgetting that a real person (in this case the actual owner of this blog) is living and breathing in this story.
September 3rd, 2006 at 1.24
Todd Rumbo said: “I believe Major Wynn’s objection was representative of what most veterans who have faced battle and served their country would feel. Malloy has cheapened their service and in so doing, brought attention to him and away from the real heroes. Heroes are not defined by ideas but by actions. Malloy may be a good guy, but the world is filled with good guys with good ideas. What we need are men who hold fast to oaths when taken. How about, take up the weapon, man the post and do your duty like you agreed? That is integrity and courage. I cannot think of a better way to explain Malloy’s actions…“other than honorable.â€?”
With all due respect, Major Wynn’s behavior throughout Jake’s case was illegal and improper. The truth is that Major Wynn (and a lot of other folks in the command chain) broke the Army’s own regulations on how such claims were to be handled. Let’s be clear about this, throughout the case Jake followed the law and honoroed his obligations to the extent conscience would allow. It was the Army that broke the law.
I’m glad that Jake is free from the Army but I must say that it is unfortunate and unjust that he received the discharge that he did. Jake deserved an honorable discharge on the grounds of conscientious objection, but the system failed him and failed us.
September 3rd, 2006 at 1.25
.Todd Rumbo said: “I believe Major Wynn’s objection was representative of what most veterans who have faced battle and served their country would feel. Malloy has cheapened their service and in so doing, brought attention to him and away from the real heroes. Heroes are not defined by ideas but by actions. Malloy may be a good guy, but the world is filled with good guys with good ideas. What we need are men who hold fast to oaths when taken. How about, take up the weapon, man the post and do your duty like you agreed? That is integrity and courage. I cannot think of a better way to explain Malloy’s actions…“other than honorable.â€?”
With all due respect, Major Wynn’s behavior throughout Jake’s case was illegal and improper. The truth is that Major Wynn (and a lot of other folks in the command chain) broke the Army’s own regulations on how such claims were to be handled. Let’s be clear about this, throughout the case Jake followed the law and honoroed his obligations to the extent conscience would allow. It was the Army that broke the law.
I’m glad that Jake is free from the Army but I must say that it is unfortunate and unjust that he received the discharge that he did. Jake deserved an honorable discharge on the grounds of conscientious objection, but the system failed him and failed us. .
October 16th, 2006 at 9.53
the problem with certain flavors of “christianity”…
given the poor track record christians have through history when it comes to tolerating adherents of other faiths (despite the whole new testament god-got-over-his-vengeance-kick-and-learned-to-love thing), it should come as no surprise to me that a ch…
May 17th, 2007 at 11.54
“What we need are men who hold fast to oaths when taken. How about, take up the weapon, man the post and do your duty like you agreed? That is integrity and courage. ” Integrity is sorely lacking in our society and Malloy’s own word and reputation should have mattered more to him. But unfortunately, our society has been watered down from such traditional values and concerns to the point where people just don’t even question such lack of integrity. The argument that religion justifies it seems false to me. The Bible is all about integrity, even if adherents don’t live up to it all the time. And it also has just causes for war and military service and even instructs respect and obedience to the authorities and governments because GOD has allowed them to be put in that place. They may not be perfect, but when God wants them out, they will be, in the meantime, we are called to obey. So in this case, our friend Jake has really fallen short even of the ideals he claims he possesses.
May 18th, 2007 at 20.49
[…] a man (assuming from the name) left a comment on an old post on my Vox. He didn’t leave a link, but this is what he […]