USMC 1st Lt Jacob Bridge,
Conscientious Objector
“I
read a quote from Chelsea Manning and I agreed with what it said. I
started realizing that she was not like I’d been told and that I had a
lot in common with her and her experience and her thinking and that was
terrifying.”
By Bob Meola, Courage to Resist
February 4, 2015
First Lt. Jacob Bridge recently sat down with me and explained the
process and events that brought about his transformation from military
believer to Conscientious Objector. Jake submitted his application for
CO status in June of last year. It is now at Marine Corps Headquarters
in Quantico, Virginia and Jake is waiting to hear whether he will be
granted CO status.
Jake was 13 years old and in the 7th grade when the World
Trade Center was hit on 9/11. He could see plumes of smoke from
Washington Rock Lookout Point, near his home in Stirling, New Jersey.
This was the lookout point that enabled General George Washington to
view the movement of the British army during the American Revolution. In
high school, Jake new he wanted to be in the military—first in the
army, and later in the marines, because they were tough, because they
had the reputation of being the toughest of all of the branches of the
military....
Read more at couragetoresist.org
An American sniper
Chris Kyle’s war was not my war. Don’t make the mistake of thinking the
hit movie captures the truth of the Iraq conflict. I should know. I
lived it.
By Garett Reppenhagen, Salon.com
February 1, 2015
I spent nights in Iraq lying prone and looking through a 12-power
sniper scope. You only see a limited view between the reticles. That’s
why it’s necessary to keep both eyes open. This way you have some
ability to track targets and establish 360 degrees of awareness. I
rotated with my spotter and an additional security team member to
maintain vigilance and see the whole battlefield. I scrutinized every
target in my scope to determine if they were a threat.
Read more at Salon.com
Watch Garett on MSNBC discuss the movie American Sniper |