Forward from mart, PLEASE DISTRIBUTE WIDELY Support this hero! =============================================== ----- Original Message ----- From: Carlos Rovira [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2004 5:19 AM Subject: [VSCampaign] Navy petty officer in San Diego refuses war duty
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20041206/news_1m6protest.html San Diego Union-Tribune, Dec, 6, 2004 Navy petty officer in San Diego refuses war duty He won't board ship transporting troops By Chet Barfield STAFF WRITER December 6, 2004 Acknowledging that he could face a court martial and possible imprisonment, a Navy petty officer yesterday said he will refuse to board his transport ship when it departs for the Persian Gulf this morning because he wants to make a public stand against the Iraq war. "I'm going to throw my ID in the water and say that I'm no longer part of the military," said Petty Officer Third Class Pablo Paredes, 23. "I want to make a statement, and I want it to be heard." Paredes, a weapons-control technician from the Bronx, N.Y., said he joined the Navy in 2000 and has 20 months left on his six-year enlistment. He said he was stationed previously in Japan and, until now, did not feel he had a direct role in the war, which he has opposed since its inception. Then, about two weeks ago, he was involuntarily transferred to the amphibious transport Bonhomme Richard, which ferries Marines to Iraq. "I don't want to be a part of a ship that's taking 3,000 Marines over there, knowing a hundred or more of them won't come back," he said. "I can't sleep at night knowing that's what I do for a living." Paredes said he wasn't sure he would be allowed onto his ship's pier at the 32nd Street Naval Station this morning because he made his feelings and intentions known in local TV interviews Saturday night. He said he unplugged his phone yesterday at his Imperial Beach apartment in case officials from the base tried to call him. A base spokesman did not return a message seeking comment. Paredes said his stance has nothing to do with fear for his personal safety. "It's not about my own life," he said. "I'm just totally against it." He said he was young and naive when he joined the Navy and "never imagined, in a million years, we would go to war with somebody who had done nothing to us." Paredes said he discussed his plans with his wife of two years in New York, "and she supports my decision 1,000 percent," even though he might get a dishonorable discharge and lose pay and benefits. He said he thought of smoking marijuana or breaking his leg with a heavy metal rod to try to get a discharge but decided instead to go public with his protest. He said he hopes doing so might inspire other sailors, soldiers and Marines to refuse to take part in the war. "I know other people are feeling the same way I am, and I'm hoping more people will stand up," he said. "They can't throw us all in jail." ------- Chet Barfield: (619) 542-4572; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ================================================ Vieques Support Campaign -- VSC http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VSCampaign To subscribe to VSC, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ================================================ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free! http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/VL0olB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Peruuta ryhm�n tilaus l�hett�m�ll� s�hk�postia osoitteeseen: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kominform2/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
