Second Chance
Michael Yon has a post up dealing with Scott Thomas Beauchamp, the soldier, and second chances.
Lapses of judgment are bound to happen, and accountability is critical, but that’s not the same thing as pulling out the hanging rope every time a soldier makes a mistake.
Beauchamp is young; under pressure he made a dumb mistake. In fact, he has not always been an ideal soldier. But to his credit, the young soldier decided to stay, and he is serving tonight in a dangerous part of Baghdad. He might well be seriously injured or killed here, and he knows it. He could have quit, but he did not. He faced his peers. I can only imagine the cold shoulders, and worse, he must have gotten. He could have left the unit, but LTC Glaze told me that Beauchamp wanted to stay and make it right. Whatever price he has to pay, he is paying it.
The Army gave Beauchamp the choice to go home or to stay with his unit and finish his tour. His decision was to stay. With that, my respect for him went up a fair amount. My respect for The New Republic, however, has dropped still further. For they are still hiding behind Scott Thomas Beauchamp, the writer.
But I think the second chance indicates he wants to reclaim his place as a soldier. TNR has no such honorable way out.
Other Links to this Post
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Public Secrets: from the files of the Irishspy — October 26, 2007 @ 12:03 am
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A Second Hand Conjecture » The Atonement of Beauchamp-Updated — October 26, 2007 @ 8:25 am
By quilly mammoth, October 25, 2007 @ 3:40 pm
I wonder what sort of man Scott Thomas Beauchamp will be when he is done with this ordeal? Certainly he can’t help but be a better one than the “men” that run TNR.
By Bleepless, October 26, 2007 @ 7:27 pm
The New Republic just posted a mendacious, unctous “update”, mostly dealing with how noble they are and what a bunch of sleazoids the Army is. Most of the comments are frivolous and not very bright — you know, like Franklin Foer.