Military Issue

The following story appeared in the news on Thursday, July 19: My comments will follow.

The Bronx soldier accused of hiring a hit man to shoot him in the leg so he could get out of returning to Iraq has been ordered back to his military base - and could face stiff punishment.
"I'm scared s---less," Jonathan Aponte, 20, said after testifying in front of a Bronx grand jury yesterday and learning he is to report to his commanders by midnight tonight.
"I don't know if I'm going back to Iraq or not, but I don't want to," he said.
His wife suggested, and he agreed, that they hire someone to shoot him on the streets of New York in the hopes he would avoid his six-month return tour to the war zone, prosecutors said.
"I just didn't want to go back," he said, shaking with emotion as he stood on crutches. The G.I. was on a two-week leave in the Bronx after serving 10 months in Iraq when the couple allegedly hatched the scheme.
"I feel like I can't handle it mentally after everything I saw," he told the Daily News with tears in his eyes. "I've had friends die in my arms and I've seen things most men my age will never see."
On July 9, the day he was to report to duty, Aponte was shot once in the leg at the corner of Bronx Blvd. and E. Gun Hill Road by Felix Padilla, cops said.
While they were being grilled by cops, the newlywed couple's story began to unravel.
Aponte, his wife, Alexandra Gonzalez, 22, and Padilla were arrested and charged in the conspiracy. All face serious jail time if the Bronx district attorney prosecutes the case.
But military law experts said it is more likely that the Army will take over Aponte's case - opening the door for a possible court-martial and jail time.
William Holmes, a former Marine Corps defense attorney, said it is also possible Aponte will be given some psychological counseling and discharged.
But "the Army may take the attitude that they can't show any tolerance for this kind of behavior," said Holmes, now a private attorney based in Virginia.
Aponte could also be charged with malingering - inflicting injury on himself to get out of duty. That charge alone carries a penalty of up to 10 years in a military jail and a dishonorable discharge.
Another possibility is that the traumatized soldier will be disciplined by his commanding officer. He could lose a month's pay or be stripped of a stripe or be given extra duties, Holmes said.
That punishment can also include being redeployed - for Aponte, the worst result.
"I still have nightmares and smell burning flesh in my dreams," he said. "I was home for the Fourth of July and had to wear earplugs because the sounds reminded me of explosions in Iraq."
His family and lawyer say the G.I. is suffering from post traumatic stress disorder.
"I want Jonathan to get the treatment he needs to make him a whole person once again," said his attorney Marty Goldberg


Do we seriously want to send someone who is this adamant not to return to war, enough to hire someone to shoot him, back to Iraq? Does this make the best sense? I am not judging the guy for what he did. I actually sympathize with him. He doesn’t want to go back. He is scared. He is most likely suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. He doesn’t want to die out there. He misses his family. And exactly why is he out there? Yes I know he took an oath to protect his country. Blah, Blah, Blah. I took that same oath at some point in my life. I took the oath to protect my country but are we out there protecting the good ole U.S. of A??? Can someone be truthful enough to explain why is HE out there? Why are WE there??? I am sure the motivational speech includes something about being proud to be American. It includes something about fighting for your country. It includes something about fighting for freedom, rights, and justice for all. Whatever! Can someone tell me why we are out there again? Was it 9/11? Was it GW avenging his father? Is it Al-Qaeda? Is it Saddam? Well it cant be Saddam because we got him already. Was it the guys on the cards? I think we got most of them too. Is there a new list of people that are being made up as we go along? Is it to free the country of its oppressors? OIL??? Why? Can someone remind me why we are there?
Does it do anyone any good to send him back besides sending a message that this sort of behavior will not be tolerated? If I were out there fighting in the trenches, I wouldn’t want anyone unstable watching my back. I say keep him here. Get him the medical help necessary and then discharge him. Relieve him of his duties and responsibilities. It would serve no purpose to put him in jail.