MAJ Hassan’s lawyer now indicates he may enter a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity.

I guess you might just say MAJ Hassan has demonstrated he is a conscientious objector to the entire purpose of the US Military, and his own oath of office, but…he’s at best “not guilty,” and, in my estimation of “worst,” just crazy. Not his fault. Not accountable. Just, you know, not down with the program.

First off, before contrasting begins, he is doing the opposite of what the military demands, because it only can work this way: Accountability.

Now, if he objected to the system, there were ways to deal with getting released from his obligations to support and defend The Constitution of The United States, had he done just a small bit of research. He could have requested a CO admin separation. Seen it done, and the good news, if the guy never came back to shoot us, but, he had no quals about becoming a much higher paid contractor, maintaining the same weapons systems without a uniform on. Another long story.

Now, I dig back in history to May 5th, 1945 for the basic culmination of a story of another man, a US Citizen, who believed his alliengance was to his God first, and his country second. He is a man of nobility in character, humble and remained true to his convictions across his lifetime, to his death in March, 2006: Cpl Desmond T. Doss, US Army.

The true story of the life and character of CPL Doss is all not contained in the post. The core of why he did what he did, to be awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor on May 5th, 1945 is not in the linked post, but in the documentary of his life, in the movie about him. Desmond Doss was extensively interviewed, as were several of the men he served with, including, the very officer who tried to have his discharged from the Army under a Section 8 separation.

In the movie “The Conscientious Objector,” Desmond Doss himself explains how he witnessed a fight between his parents when he was young, and had to stop his father from using a gun. from that moment forward, he took to heart the 6th Commandment: “Thou Shall Not Murder.” When WWII came along and he enlisted, he clearly indicated he was a CO and would not even touch a weapon. He did not. He asked to be a medic. He was refused and put in a CO Battalion. He asked to transfer. They send him to a line company as an infantryman, and he refused to handle any weapons. Finally, after much verbal and even physical abuse, they let him become a medic Along the way, his company commander tried to get him kicked out of the Army, stating he was crazy. Desmond said he told the board deciding his fate that to accept that condition, he would have to deny the message of his God, and therefore, he would have to call God crazy. He refused. They kept him in.

On the Meada escarpment, also called “Hacksaw Ridge,” he repeatedly went out into the battle to recover, treat and then lower men down a 400 foot cliff using a rope. They first tired to put that he had saved 150 men that day and he refused, saying that would have been impossible, yet almost every man in his company had become a casualty that day and he was the medic on scene. He compromised and let them put 75 men in the CMOH citation.

That’s how people object to things that conflict between their God and their Government, not by wearing the uniform, taking the check, then shooting your fellow soldiers, to make a point about how your god feels.

So, there you have it. The records of CPL Doss and MAJ Hassan are now open for the inspection and determination of history.

One man was honorble, the other one, well…I’d have to say he’s going to have to call his god crazy, or his defense has no merit, save that of a just plain sick individual. Somehow, he acted normally enough to plan out this attack, to include preparing himself for the most likely outcome of death b distributing his belongings and cleaning out his apartment. He had a plan.