The Marines have a saying, "You always have your 10%", which means that you will always have a certain contingent who are not exemplary Marines.  That happens in all branches of service, in fact it happens in all walks of life.  In the case of this soldier, he's apparently one of the "10%" (though I would argue that this current crop of military seems to have closer to 1%!).  I'm just happy they got rid of him when they did, before he could do further damage.

"He was deployed to Iraq from September 2005 to April 2006 as an infantry Soldier in B Company, 1st Battalion of the 502nd Infantry Regiment, which is part of the 101st Airborne Division, based at Fort Campbell, Ky.

It was there that he was sent to patrol the so-called "Triangle of Death," an area southwest of Baghdad known for its frequent roadside bombings. Military officials say more than 40 percent of the nearly 1,000 Soldiers in the region have been treated for mental or emotional anxiety. Green was apparently one of them.

He was given a discharge on May 16 for what military officials in Iraq told The Associated Press was an "anti-social personality disorder." The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case."

Most of these social misfits are washed out in basic, but this one slipped through the ranks.  I am not saying he's guilty, but it does not look good. 

We know the hatchett job the media has done to our heroes, but do the people of Iraq?  Yes, according to General Ali.  The general was asked,

"What would you say to the American people who think it was a bad idea for us to come to Iraq and whom think we should leave now?"

Here's part of his answer, I hope you'll go read the rest. [This link is for Part I of the interview]

"General Ali: This message is from the terrorists. The terrorists encourage the media and they encourage the U.S. people. The U.S. soldiers who came to Iraq are heroes. The media do not convey the real picture of what the US soldiers are doing. Our problem from the very beginning has been the media. They think the U.S. soldiers just came to fight the Iraqi people. After this interview we will go to Qayyarah and help the people. We will talk with the people and do things for them. The U.S. media only show the bad to the U.S. people. And also the U.S. media is very bad, they are against the US people because they make sure only to show the bad and not the good of what the US heroes do here. They help the Iraqi people, they make projects, they make the Iraqi army and police, and make jobs here but the media does not show this. They only show car bombs, and they even change digital pictures to show Americans attacking Iraqi families (Haditha). The US people only see the bad they don’t see Qayyarah, only the dangerous areas. They did not see how the US soldiers shop in our market and meet the people and help the kids. They don’t see how the soldiers give gifts to the kids. The media do not show this, or how they do projects for schools, water, and roads. They only show the units that fight the bad guys and do not show the other units. This is a big problem. We fight the terrorists, and the terrorists are not just against the Iraqis but also against the whole world, all humans. "

If a general in a country some Americans believe we are "occupying" can call our soldiers "heroes", why can't the left?  They would rather focus on what they perceive as bad behavior, i.e., Haditha, which is why I am going to join the blog storm on this soldier, and his comrades being so sorely mistreated by our own government before they are even charged.  The Pendleton 8, as they are being called, have been bullied, threatened, and coerced into making totally identical statements by their "superiors" at Camp Pendleton. 

The fact that Peter Pace is now the top man in the Joint Chiefs of Staff, IMHO, is not insignificant in the treatment of these young men.  (sorry, Sir, I will not use your rank until you have righted the wrong being done to these Marines!) On July 4, he was being interviewed in a soft-ball manner by Fox and Friends.  I was totally incensed that they did not ask him about these Marines, and why they were shackled and treated like condemned men before they had a single charge lodged against them. 

It's too bad that General Ali gave them more credit than their own branch of service has accorded them.  Having been the proud wife of a Marine, I must say I am ashamed at the behavior of these leaders, both in Washington D.C. and Camp Pendleton, in this proud branch of our military service, the United States Marine Corps.

I hope you will support them too:

The Pendleton 8

• HM3 Melson Bacos
• SGT Lawrence Hutchins
• LCPL Tyler Jackson
• PFC John Jodka
• CPL Marshall Magincalda
• LCPL Robert Pennington
• CPL Trent Thomas