Army Education

I think we have a new poster boy to demonstrate the aphorism "have his cake and eat it too". Jeremy Hinzman, hypocrite extraordinaire, joined the American army. However, when he actually had to do some army-stuff, he balked:

Jeremy Hinzman tells MICHAEL VALPY that he enlisted to get an education, not to kill people. But his superiors wouldn't listen and ordered him to pack for Iraq. Instead, he packed up his family and hightailed it north. Now, Canada must decide: Can a U.S. Army deserter be considered a refugee?

The answer of course is: hell no! Nobody forced poor Jeremy to enlist for the army. In the States at least, it is strictly voluntary. In professional armies, the soldiers receive very high salaries commensurate with their skills and education. Why is that? Because sometimes, soldiers have to go to war, and that sucks.

So now, poor Jeremy, who got all this money for running around in boot camp and chanting slogans, wants to avoid the actual crappy part of being in an army. Do I understand his wish? Of course I do, nobody who is half sane wants to be involved in a war. However, if you sign up for an army, and your country goes to war... tough luck.

Canada should send this guy back after making him work in a coal mine to pay for his bus ticket.