The Rare Case When Injustice Breeds Freedom

This is dedicated to all you beautiful people out there that have been speaking out and standing up. And most importantly to Danny, Army Batman and Military Freedom Keepers for being a voice and giving a voice to me and so many others. You will never know the impact of your selflessness.

On August 12, 2022 my husband sat before a board that had come to the conclusion that he should be separated from the military because of serious misconduct. The irony of this finding is that the characterization of the discharge is honorable but serious misconduct is usually reserved for an OTH or Dishonorable, and he will continue to have the full breadth of benefits available to him. The accusation of “serious misconduct” hinged on the charge that he did not obey the order to receive the “fully licensed vaccine in accordance with FDA approved labeling and guidance.” Now I think many of us are very aware that the order was impossible to fulfill, and even worse when those that approached the legality of fulfilling the order they were treated like trash for lack of a better word.

I have no intention of litigating the order and why it was impossible to fulfill, but I was one of the witnesses for this inquiry and I know without question that the information I provided would make a reasonable man see that the order was lawful but the actions to satisfy the mandate were not. And this is where one of the most frightening things occurred that I think most normal persons that hope to thrive in a just society will have an issue. As the government was making their closing arguments to demonstrate why orders must be followed this statement was made verbatim, “the law is irrelevant.” Well I could not disagree more. When determining if the actions of the department or the soldier are lawful the only thing that is relevant is the law. And this is where we are at in this fight with not just the Department of Defense but the untenable overreach from all of our government agencies. They test the limits of the law and only pull back when they are busted. I believe that one day there will be justice for the crimes currently being committed against our service members but in the mean time I would also like to share our story and why this injustice springs freedom.

A favorite name around here is General Donahoe. He is by far the largest piece of garbage maybe second only to LaLoyd. My husband was stationed at Fort Benning at the beginning of the Covid 19 “lockdowns” and until last summer. We did not live on the installation so we were somewhat removed from some of the more draconian measures that were being taken, but Donahoe’s red fist can only reach so far so he did what he could. But also what he did was weaponize soldier against soldier. He would send out soldiers into downtown to nark on other soldiers that might be out having dinner with their family, operation tattle tells. You see this type of normal behavior was not authorized by On High Super Master Donahoe. To him, you were not free. But hey thats what we have hierarchy for, because he was free. For example, I was having lunch one day with some friends at a local restaurant during this time, and who do you guess walked in with his family to have a nice meal, the man Donahoe himself. So is this hypocrisy? Nay it is the constant onslaught of hierarchy. The little people are accountable to everyone but he is accountable to no one.

But let’s continue. As we all know suicide is a tragic problem within our force. So when a friend, a team member my husband spent 9 months deployed with committed suicide in the spring of 2020 a reasonable response would be green light travel and consider the well being of the unit. Nope. Red tape and ass jumping through was the order of the day. Because no tragedy is bigger than the tragedy of maybe getting the flu. They eventually were given the go ahead, but this should have never been the ordeal it was and was a dire foreshadowing of the impending mitigation efforts.

So the summer marches on and into the fall we find ourselves in another tragic situation. Travis, my husband, his father is diagnosed with cancer and has made its way to his brain. The prognosis was grim but we remained hopeful. The problem was he lived in Louisiana. Under the thumb of Donahoe if you wanted to travel outside of a 50 mile radius from Fort Benning, well that was going to require permission from the Gods aka the assholes in their ivory towers. So while my husband had to get special permission to go see his father and ultimately settle his estate, the leadership was putting on parades and hosting parties at their residences. Simple things were made purposefully more painful and the worst part is, they did not and they do not care.

These are just two incidences but we have seen countless instances of this type of action. Every service member probably has some variation of this experience, I do not claim our situation to be unique just heart breaking. But worse is what it has done to confidence of our military. When your leadership loses your confidence where do you go? Well, for all the shitty Generals you just go get some cush job where you can continue your service to cuckery, for everyone else you find the door and run out. The Covid 19 pandemic has made our service members free prisoners of public health frenzied generals. They have done everything they can to break your spirit by violating your rights.

The law is irrelevant you see. The laws that protect you cannot when they are not RELEVANT.

The overreach has been outrageous. Court martials for people for not wearing masks or taking tests when these things are so obviously outside the scope of authority for the DoD. Flagging personnel for not taking an EUA product making it impossible for them to progress their careers, serious incident reports and ridiculous contact tracing every time someone tests positive for covid, using vaccine status to discriminate against soldiers at DoD facilities and even in their place of work. GOMORs and letters of reprimand for speaking the truth (even if it is on Fox) And on and on.

The military has tried its darnedest to dehumanize those they view as political others while simultaneously being a political entity. Gone are the days of neutrality if those days ever existed. And maybe by separating my husband because of some perceived political affiliation or maybe because they’re stupid makes them happy in their pants thats great, but ultimately we are the beneficiaries. Fighting for the freedom of others while yours is being stripped away is not the intention of your service. There are many ways to defend our nation, our rights and our freedom without having to dawn the uniform of an institution that has lost its virtue and sight of its mission.

The military has become a place where you can spend your life fighting for freedoms that the whimsy of unaccountable leadership can take away from you with the threat of ending your career because we know that there are no rules and the points don’t matter. This is where we find ourselves. My husband has repeatedly said “I have never served this way,” and after 15 years I would imagine the disappointment he feels is impossible to ascertain.

While we are waiting on some paperwork to officially remove ourselves from this life we have been building I am a bit terrified. I am also a lot relieved. There is no more wondering what is the next ridiculous thing they will try to get away with or how another refusal will be handled. No member or family member should ever have to feel the way that the military leadership has made many of us feel. I have found in this time a passion, and group and a purpose. The rose colored glasses are gone but I still remain hopeful. Freedom is coming.