Scar of War in Sierra Leone

Our struggle to end military training at Marquette University and all Catholic universities came home to me today when I heard a few stories on America Public Radio on a show called The Story . The theme today was “Living with the Scars of War” The first story was an Iraqi woman who, while traveling with her husband to a family event was shot in the face by an American soldier in the turret of humvee. She nearly died and was badly disfigured. Some months later when American soldiers raided her house she told the military officer in charge her story. He reported back to her later that the young soldier who shot her in the face was having some ‘nervous’ problems and was no longer in Iraq. She never received any compensation or even an apology from the USA government. She and her family live in deep fear.

The second story was with a Captain in the military who was struggling with a decision he made to call in mortars on a suspected Al Qaeda house, only to find out later that the house belonged to a family with six children. On his return to the USA he suffered from post traumatic stress syndrome as a result of this incident and has met with other former soldiers from Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan who have similar stories and suffer.

The ‘reflexive killing’, Killing without conscience taught in military training programs, like at Marquette, may have increased the rate of soldiers firing their weapon from 25% in World War II to 95% in the present wars, but it has wreacked havoc with the minds of soldiers and caused death and suffering to the innocent.

Also with the release on wikileaks of classified military records we have discovered there are a lot more stories of the suffering and death of civilians, like these two above, that have been kept from us.

I sent a ‘courtesy copy’ of the Letter to the Provost of Marquette University to all those that were named in the letter. The only named person that responded was CPT Pete Kilner, instructor at the U.S. Military Academy. Although I only used his definition of ‘reflexive killing’, which he wants the military to teach soldiers as justification for the policy, he was upset. It seems he is a Catholic, as I am, and did not want to hear my facts and “opinions of truth” on this subject which I believe are in accordance with the Gospel and Catholic Church teaching. Not knowing my extensive Catholic education and background as a religious educator in the church he told me to read the bible and the Catholic catechism. I wrote him back with a gentle message but doubt if it will be the beginning of a dialog as it has with other letters, largely complimentary, that I have received about this letter.

All our words and our mild nonviolent actions about teaching war at a university are merely words. Getting shot in the face or killing an innocent family are the realities and consequences of teaching war.

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