MADISON, Wis. — An Iraq war veteran said Tuesday he is returning his military medals in what anti-war groups are calling a rare and powerful protest.
Josh Gaines, 27, plans to mail the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal and National Defense Service Medal to former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. He said he will do so during a protest scheduled for Wednesday in Madison.“
I’m going to give those back because I truly feel that I did not defend my nation and I did not help with the Global War on Terrorism,†said Gaines, who lives in Madison. “If anything, this conflict has bred more terrorism in the Middle East.â€
Gaines served a yearlong tour in Iraq between 2004 and 2005 with the U.S. Army Reserve. He spent his time guarding two military bases and issuing ammunition to soldiers but never fired a weapon, he said.
The experience convinced him the war was a mistake and that a steady withdrawal of troops was the right course of action, Gaines said.
“To be quite honest, I felt like we wasted taxpayers’ money,†he said. “The mission just didn’t seem correct and right for that time.â€
Full Story Here:
Iraq vet plans to return his medals in protest
I am going to tell you ALL, right here and right now, I am standing in 100% full support of this young man and I agree not only with him returning those medals, even if they are just campaign medals, I also agree with his stated reasons as well, and those that use the inflection that they were just campaign medals to criticize this man are also denigrating the service of MANY Iraqi vets that never saw combat, and yes, there are MANY that never fired a round, they went to Iraq, they served in many different capacities, but they weren’t combat troops, does that make their service any less important or honorable??
Anyone that knows me should know by now that I am not anti-war, give me a good reason and I’ll fight right now, but in regards to Iraq, Josh Gaines said exactly what I, and many other conservative bloggers have said, and I have hammered on for as long as I have been blogging, Iraq is a waste of the taxpayers money and it’s just NOT the right mission, he left out the most important reason though, it’s been a waste of almost 3,800 American lives to date, the money and time be damned, Iraq has cost us lives that didn’t have to be sacrificed in the George Bush war of ‘No one’s gonna threaten MY Daddy and get by with it…’
Before you criticize this young man, may I suggest you read this story in full and try to understand HIS feelings, he never denigrated his CiC, and that’s a hell of a lot more than can be said for a whole bunch of bloggers lately, me included, and he never criticized his nation, he expressed an opinion, but many ‘gung ho’ so-called Mil-Bloggers are jumping all over this kid for his actions, and it is MY observation that most of these bloggers have NEVER served or carried a rifle into combat…
True, Gaines is NOT a ‘combat vet’ per se, he was a FOBBIT, he didn’t earn the coveted C.I.B., but he was in a combat zone and he could have as easily been killed as anyone else, so, combat medals or service ribbons, makes no difference, he expressed his feelings quite well in MY opinion, and if that makes him the ‘darling of the left’ as some have opined, well by God I guess I am too because I say this in total honesty, given the exact same set of circumstances faced by Gaines, today, in this Iraqi conflict, I would do exactly the same thing he did, I would serve my country if called to do so but I would register my extreme displeasure AFTER my tour was done, as Gaines has done, and I would do so by giving them back the campaign medals they gave me for doing a job, it’s the most sincere form of protest a troop can show…
Josh Gaines, I salute you for your courage young man, and for having the balls to hand the medals back to the former Sec/Def…
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I disagree. This is all a media hype and ploy for publicity. If you’re going to do it, then shut your mouth and do it. Why notify the media and make it a spectacle. A close friend of mine mailed his retirement certificate back President Clinton with a letter saying he gave 26 years of his life to get this and now he was embarrassed by it because it had Clinton’s signature on it. He didn’t notify the media of what he planned to do, only a few close friends. This man was a legal immigrant to this country and rose to the top of the enlisted ranks, a Chief Master Sergeant. I’m sure the Conservative media would have jumped all over that if he chose to make a spectacle.
I’m sorry, this is just a hollow gesture on Gains part. Those ribbons can be bought at any Base or Post exchange; even on the Internet. I’m of the belief that if you really believe in something, you just shut your mouth and do it.
He certainly has a right to express his feelings, and I can’t say I disagree with him. IMO there’s a line that needs to be drawn though, there are men out there doing the dirty work, the infantryman that are ARE getting their asses shot at and shot off daily and have done 3 or 4 tours… I think he owed it to their sacrifice to do this in silent protest, too many believe in what their doing also or the retention rate wouldn’t be as it as. It’s an important variable in why, and in understanding how f-ked up this all is, we still have an all volunteer military.
I’m not undermining his legitimacy or contribution as a soldier but Fred we were there once, and there wasn’t that saying for nothing: “03 Hundred: Everything Else is Just Support.”
That ammo he handed out also killed alot of damn sandniggers and saved American alives. He, in that respect, should be proud. He should put the politics aside and look at it that way.
As I’ve told you in private before, I chucked my medals once. I was f-ked up in the head and not getting much help after Desert Storm but after reevaluating everything, and getting a clearer head later, I was, and still am proud of my contribution to the service I gave to my country. F-k this crooked government and it’s beauracy, f-k the VA, but damn it, God bless these United States and our men and women in uniform.
*lives… sorry.
Screw that. Yeah, it was a bad choice for a warground, but a LOT of people are happy to be rid of Saddam. I’m with Gunz on this one, as you can see from my last post about corruption- it’s the reason why I’m not in anymore, and why countless troops are more fearful of the politicians than the enemy. Frankly, I volunteered to go twice, but was told I was critical where I was… sadly, I probably would have been safer in Iraq!
Sure, he has a right to do it, and I question the Iraq war too- I think everyone questions it… but it doesn’t change the fact that leaving will result in even more lives being lost. The fall-out will be far reaching, both for morale, but for our own already pathetic national security. The government is corrupt and could care less as evidenced by Bush pushing his NAU “PPP” free access to Mexican trucks crap, and the Congress’ repeat attempts to pass amnesty despite being slapped down time and again… even the front-runners like Thompson (who has CFR ties) will probably not help security any when they grease the trade routes…
BUT, I constantly hear reports from sources that we are pinning them there so they can’t effectively organize to attack us here… it’s weak, I know, and it only slows the inevitable, but it’s still better than leaving and having the islamofascists score a PR victory that will give them a surge in recruiting.
After all, when we leave without crushing resistance, they’ll be able to brainwash the world with their “Look, it was Allah’s will, we defeated the mighty EVIL U.S.”
We need to not be discouraged. For the survival of this nation we MUST think long term.
You guys can beat the Bush drum until HELL freezes over, Iraq was the wrong place to be, and that’s the way I feel about it, you want to preach about all the good Bush did, go do it in YOUR blog, Bush IS an idiot and Iraq is HIS biggest idiot move to date, short of our wide open borders…
BobF, maybe he should have kept his mouth shut and just done it, suppose bloggers had kept their mouths shut during the ILLEGAL AMNESTY debate a while back?? Ya gotta get your issues out there…
Suppose we all just kept it to ourselves regarding who we want to be POTUS?? Or what our favorite flavor is?? C’mon man, the kid didn’t do anything different than the guys did in Washington last week, he stood his ground, said it in a nice way and got some headlines…
I’ll tell ya what, next time we have a child molesting pedophile out on the run I’ll just keep MY mouth shut and I won’t go on WORLD WIDE TV, FOX News, and spread the word, OK?? Would me keeping MY mouth shut make ya happy too?
Gunz, I was SUPPORT on many occasions… And a few other things too… I expected better from you…
Chris, he never said we need to ‘cut and run’, he said exactly what I have said, it IS the wrong place, it IS a waste of LIFE and it IS a waste of U.S. taxpayers money, and he is being condemned for it, well you can condemn me too, the guy is RIGHT, even if his motivations are wrong…
I’m with you on this one Fred.
What amazes me is how people go back and forth. One day they’re for the Iraq War and the next day they’re not. All I hear is, “If we’re not going to win then bring our troops home”. This President has no intention of winnig this war by overwhelming force, none. How many more Americans are we willing to loose for this Cluster-Fuck?
Bush is not a War President, he’s a looser, always has been. He’s never succeeded at anything, nothing.
He’s a Paris Hilton with a dick.
It’s the wrong war at the wrong time in the wrong place for the wrong reasons with the wrong President. Bringing our troops home is not Cut & Running, it’s cutting our loses in a bad business deal.
My apologies there Fred on the support aspect of it, but there has always been that inner rivalry thing among the various MOS’s, and yes every Marine is considered a rifleman first, but I think back to the times the trucks were always 3 hours late, chow sucking, coffee tasting like turpentine, and an amtrac crew in the Desert of Kuwait that just about got us all killed, because they were a bunch of reservists that took it upon themselves to a little hot dogging and we damn near got caught up in a friendly fire incident.
Hell, we even blamed Battalion for the rain, they disliked much our attitude so much that we were convinced they were the ones that detached the rain cloud over us everytime we went to the field.
Certainly meant nothing by it bro, just reflecting on how it was at one time when I was in.
LMAO, I know it Ranando, but we’re gonna get tagged as left wing trolls again, until some folks open their eyes again… That Bush Blindness syndrome runs rampant from time to time…
If wanting to kill the enemy in a correct war, the right war in the right place and kill as many as it takes in the shorest amount of time and winning by bringing our enemies to their knees is going to get me tagged as Left-Wing, so be it.
Remember, it takes two wings to fly. A left-wing and a right-wing, you won’t get off the ground without both wings.
Ranando, I couldn’t have said it better myself…
I know you disagree, but IMO this is nothing more than media hype, the guy in question could have stated his objection/protest in a much better way.
Weather or not someone has fired a shot in battle is not carte blanche for opinions.
I have never fired a shot in battle and EVEN I know this was is a slap in the face for his fellow soldiers still there.
I would expect to see you talk more about his methods, than his service. This was the wrong way to protest the war.
You are anti-Iraq war, but I wouldn’t expect to see you holding and ANSWER banner in a protest march. This is basically what he’s doing and I think that’s wrong.
We can disagree, it’s about the only thing we disagree on these days, if we agreed on everything one of us would be unnecessary….
Well, excuse the hell outta me but I wasn’t insulted… My SON wasn’t insulted, and NO ONE other than you said only combat vets have carte blanche, I said most folks making comments against this guy didn’t have a clue, look, the guy is a FOBBIT, but he’s a FOBBIT with stones…
No one has been insulted, this kid took a stand, and I have to tell you, his reasons are sound…
What if this war in Iraq would have been done right? What if ignorant people like Rumsfield, Chenney and Bush would have let real military men plan and conduct the war. What if………..
Hell, I’m pro-Iraq war and am mad as hell about the whole thing. I don’t blame him for firing back even if it is with his medals. If the damn thing would have been done right pride would be swelling up in his chest instead of disdain.
We have managed to elect the sorriest collection of dumb ass bastards on the planet at every level in DC. I’m worried about Iraq and how it is effecting our nation but what really worries me is every session of congress and every time Bush has another meeting with a foreign power. It is going to take one hell of a person as president to straighten out this mess. It will also require a major overhaul of Congress. I doubt we have the stomach for that either.
And Ablur is the one that hits it outta the park…
I disagree with this guy. This is a meaningless gesture and as far as I’m concerned it demeans what other military people have done in Iraq. I remember this being done during V/Nam and after V/Nam and I never agreed with it then either. As far as I’m concerned people who do this are ‘attention whores’ and I have no time and no respect for them.
This isn’t about Bush or if we should have invaded Iraq or not. That’s over an done with and we have to live with the consequences. I helped vote Bush in both times and while that decision was the ‘lesser of two evils’ I’m not burning my voting card.
Fred, their’s a world of difference between reporting on a pedophile or illegal immigrants and some former GI letting the world know he’s sending his ribbons back to the Defense Department.
John Kerry chucked his medals in protest and then years later said they were a “friends” because he suddenly needed what those medals stood for. In a few years down the road, will this man list these medals on his resume? I bet he will.
I was involved in two campaigns that I felt this nation shouldn’t have been involved in: Somalia and Kosovo. I’ve got an Achievement Medal for Somalia and a Meritorious Service Medal for Kosovo. Both were under a president I despised but I didn’t serve him, I was serving my nation and that’s what those medals represent; a form of thanks from the Greatest Nation on Earth, my nation. I guess maybe that’s why this action strikes a nerve with me. But, he has the right to do it and I gave over 25 years of my life to ensure his right and I still will fight for his right to do it.
woah, don’t get me wrong… it needs done right. I think I’ve made it perfectly clear in the past how I feel about how this administration has screwed things up and how Congress has done its best to betray the Constitution and we the people. We need someone to go in Patton style and be in it to win, not just play politics with our lives at stake.
Heck, we need people to go in Patton style in congress as well. Ablur said it best so far.
I work as an “analyst” and do as much as I can to raise the BS flag on sales of the US to foreign powers, but it mostly gets ignored…
Look into CFR, CFIUS, and the constant selling of the U.S. (20% of NASDAQ now belongs to the UAE).
As I keep saying, there’s a valid reason I’m wary of Thompson and feel Tancredo or Hunter would better serve the long term best interests of this country…