To Serve or Not to Serve.

I’m submitting my story because I feel it’s one a lot of people need to hear. I have been getting some negative feedback on CopBlock’s Facebook page from the cops that visit it, so here we go.

I was a member of the united states marine corps for 14 years, I joined in 1996 and left in 2010. My decision to leave is the basis of this post.

When I joined I was 18 and right out of high school, I was given a choice from my parents, go to school, or get a full time job. Neither of these options seemed all that appealing to me at the time, so I wondered, what do I do? My grandfather was a marine in WW2, so I figure this was good option for me because I wanted adventure and was really into testing myself physically. I served my first 4 years and it was exactly what I expected, I got to test myself, had a lot of adventures all over the world. It was the perfect life for me at the time.

Then 9/11 happend and everything changed. I remember being angry and wanted to get those responsible. I got my chance when I was a part of the first marine expeditionary unit that went to Afghanistan. We thought we ousted the Taliban, we came home and I thought it was over. Then we were sent to the northern border of Kuwait for what was going to be the obvious invasion of Iraq, this is when I first started to question what I was doing. I started thinking, what does Iraq have to do with this, what will our mission be? Nevertheless, the invasion came and went, the mission according to “president bush” had been accomplished or so we thought.

Then something happend through the next four deployments to that country. I realized that we had become occupying invaders of another country. I saw the complete devastation, death, and destruction to these people. I started asking questions like, how would me our my family feel if we had foreign occupiers walking our streets and imposing a curfew on me at the end of an automatic weapon. We made the people of Iraq prisoners, we brought an iron fist and death way worse than ever before. These questions were still not enough to make me come to the conclusion I finally came to. I realized that the government was responsible for this, why was I protecting a government like this? I wasn’t protecting the american people, or the constitution I was sworn to protect.

I had two run ins with police when I was home on leave to the things at home, while I was on leave, that ultimately made my decision for me. First, I was working on my fathers classic camero in his garage and having a few beers while I was doing it. I noticed a cop roll by 3 times in about 10 minutes, finally he stopped in front of the house, walked up the driveway came into the garage and aske for my I’d. Now at this pont I started reading quite a bit, especially the constitution, so I knew right away my rights were being violated. I asked him what was he doing on my property and if he new the 4 th ammendment? He then called for back up told me to sit down, which my response to him was to stop trespassing. He then told me that he noticed the car running and I was drinking. I was working on my car in the garage and was starting it periodically because of the work I was doing. He then told me he could site me for DWI! Long story short, I never showed my ID, and after I started quoting the 4th ammendment and my rights they realized that I was an informed citizen and they left, but before he left he said “your a marine were on the same team you should be more cooperative next time”. This about floored me, I was on his team?

Last encounter came a year later. I was at a party it got loud, a neighbor called the police, a female was walking into the party I was walking out, the cops stopped her asked for her ID and she refused to give it because she obviously knew her rights. What happend next astonished me. The crew cut officer put in a half nelson and slammed her head into the ground, she picked her her head up and it was obvious right away that she had a giant gash in her forehead, she looked at me and screamed in desperation for help and that’s what I did. I grabbed the officer off of her and he then began to attack me. My instincts kicked in and I dislocated his elbow. I was arrested for 1st degree assault and obstruction.

Long story short, I got a good a lawyer and because of my distinguished service, and pending deployment, the obstruction was dropped and the assault charge was lessened. I remember being angry through the process, but then came to the realization that my military service helped protect the government and it’s agents from committing crimes against American citizens like this. I wasn’t only on their team, I was the protector of their violence and murder against the citizens I thought I was supposed to protect! I was protecting them! That was it, this was the last straw, I made the most important moral decision of my life, 6 years before retirement I did not reenlist. I felt I was lied to and would longer going to be an enforcer of an unjust government that cares nothing about their citizens or the constitution. I realized all the government and it’s agents cared about was control. Control over us while stealing by taxation and ticket to continue to fund their violence and oppresion at home and around the world. Since I’ve got out and started telling my story I have received positive and negative feedback, usually from the police officers. I am so thankful for this website and all you do, I will keep it up on my end.

– Andy

Videos added by Ademo: