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| -Short Attention Span Theater- | |
| Conscientious objector guilty of unauthorized absence | |
| 2003-09-08 | |
A Marine reservist who said he failed to report for duty because he is a conscientious objector was found guilty of unauthorized absence but innocent of desertion Saturday. Lance Cpl. Stephen Funk was sentenced to six months in prison and will receive a bad-conduct discharge, which results in his losing all military benefits, after he gets out of prison. Funk’s rank will be dropped from lance corporal to private, the lowest rank in the Marines, and two-thirds of his pay will be docked for six months. "It seems a bit harsh for the crime," said Stephen Collier, Funk’s lawyer, about the punishment.
He objected to loading cargo??? Funk said he became a conscientious objector after several months of being trained to kill. Funk, who attended anti-war rallies while absent and later announced he was gay, has said that the Marines were trying to make an example of him. Why not, sounds like a well-rounded individual. The Seattle native argued that he did not believe he was going to be required to go to San Diego because those who declare themselves conscientious objectors are usually separated from their unit. If so, he argued, then he would not have had to perform the "important duty." But the Marine prosecutor, Maj. Mike Sayegh, argued that during wartime, any presidential order to report for duty is important. Sayegh told a jury of an officer and three enlisted personnel that the case "is about a kid who thought he could beat the system." Funk testified that he joined the Marines to earn money for college and that he did not think it likely he’d be activated for war. Oops. | |
| Posted by:Rafael |
| #27 The best part - the best part of ALL - is that he is going to discover what the term 'disciplinary barracks' means. BWHAHAHAHAHA...... Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2003-9-9 12:44:36 AM |
| #26 Hmm--but doesn't it have to be a "real war" declared by Congress instead of a NeoCon exercise to qualify for the firing squad? |
| Posted by: Not Mike Moore 2003-9-8 10:52:04 PM |
| #25 On his next imployment application I bet he has an interesting time with the Military Service section. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-9-8 7:56:11 PM |
| #24 Hmm desertion during wartime is a capital offense, not 6 months. A C.O. as a marine? Did he think the marines were a social club or what? |
| Posted by: flash91 - fatwah you talkin bout willis 2003-9-8 7:20:26 PM |
| #23 Barbara: Yup, had his sister carrying his seabag, too. |
| Posted by: BH 2003-9-8 6:20:46 PM |
| #22 This is the clown who, when he turned himself in, was holding his Mommie's hand! (photo in the news) What a pathetic loser. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2003-9-8 4:33:44 PM |
| #21 Sounds like they just want him to go away. They'll make him pay a bit of a price though. Good riddance, dickweed. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-9-8 2:56:06 PM |
| #20 Dress the kid in a Speedoand make the kid watch a video of some greased up Chippendales doing their stuff. Then we won't have to speculate on whether he's gay. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2003-9-8 2:52:44 PM |
| #19 Cyber Sarge, I'm sure you're right on that, and I doubt he's gay too...just trying anything to get out of his duty...I was just being snarky (and a little over the top now that I had my coffee and reread my comment - my apologies) |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-9-8 2:23:58 PM |
| #18 ... guilty of unauthorized absence but innocent of desertion... The verdict seems to be a case of political expediency. It doesn't make "Funk-up" a martyr. The sentence is about what a deserter would get. One officer and three enlisted on the jury? And his lawyer wonders why this clown got the sentence he did? Ten to one he goes before a discharge review board to get his BCD upgraded. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2003-9-8 2:03:41 PM |
| #17 We are fighting a war -- this sounds like a firing squad case to me. Moronic as this Marine is, I suspect his conduct falls well short of the standard of a capital offense. Even in WWII, only one soldier was ever executed for desertion (the rest of the 70 were for rape or murder). More deserving of a firing squad is the Muslim soldier who fragged his officers while they were stationed in Kuwait. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2003-9-8 1:54:01 PM |
| #16 This guy was probably so deluded, he didn't realize he would be loading things such as: Medical supplies, food, clothing, building equitment, and other REASONABLE things. What he objected to was helping to get medical supplies and humanitarian aid to Iraq. |
| Posted by: Charles 2003-9-8 1:50:29 PM |
| #15 We are fighting a war -- this sounds like a firing squad case to me. Or at least a cell in gitmo until we decide what to do. |
| Posted by: Tom 2003-9-8 12:43:37 PM |
| #14 I only hope that after review the sentence is not reduced. This guy failed his contract and he should face the music. FYI Frank, Military prisons are a LOT more supervised than say 'OZ'. So Pvt Funk probably will not have to become the barracks boy toy. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge (VRWC CA Chapter) 2003-9-8 11:57:04 AM |
| #13 Now I'm confused! In my Navy, being UA for over 30 days was automatically desertion. Per the UCMJ. What is so special about this little fuckup to bend the rules? Oh, well, it's a brave new world we're living in now. So, let's not upset anybody by applying the rules and regulations as written. |
| Posted by: Bubblehead 2003-9-8 11:20:36 AM |
| #12 MEPS should require signature on a form stating that "I understand that the Marine Corps is not a money-for-college program, and that I may be required, from time to time, to actually do my duty." 'course, he obviously lied on the "I am not a homosexual" portion, so this probably won't help either. |
| Posted by: BH 2003-9-8 11:16:30 AM |
| #11 We have developed the concept that a contract has effect only when it delivers something one wants; i.e. tuition and reserve pay. When one decides that the contract will now deliver something that one does not want; i.e., working on the docks, then one can unilaterally abrogate the contract. This abrogation is termed "fairness" in New Speak. The concept applies to earning grades - "You mean I have to turn in a paper? How unfair!" Or meeting debts. "You want me pay my credit card bill. But I don't have any money. How unfair!". So our young Private played the fairness card. After all, he'd been trained to use it. But let's make one thing clear -- he is not a Marine. Maybe in the world of legalism he is, but in the world of us who earned that title, he discarded it along with his honor. No Semper Fi for him. |
| Posted by: Highlander 2003-9-8 11:00:07 AM |
| #10 Correct, Bomb. The Medal of Honor winner Don spoke of was a draftee in World War II and served in the Pacific Theatre. CO status makes sense in a draft, but not in a volunteer army. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2003-9-8 10:54:20 AM |
| #9 This just kills me. A "conscientious objector" in a volunteer force? Please. If one doesn't like to shoot people, then DON'T JOIN UP. What an idiot. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-9-8 10:35:43 AM |
| #8 good thing he's gay I'm not sure he's even gay - I suspect he said he was gay to take advantage of the "don't ask, don't tell" automatic discharge policy for people who say they are coming out of the closet. Unfortunately, this no-fault disclosure rule is going to have people making false claims of being gay, just to get out of their term of enlistment. This is one unfortunate byproduct of no-fault disclosure - an automatic court martial would be more of a deterrent to false claims of homosexuality. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2003-9-8 10:11:25 AM |
| #7 Obviously, a deeply confused young lad... he thought he was joining the Boy Scouts, or something. Schmuck!!! |
| Posted by: Sgt. Mom 2003-9-8 10:05:46 AM |
| #6 Idiot, he'd get practice and could get a job starting at $100K a year. But he probably doesn't want to do "manual labor." |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-9-8 10:04:47 AM |
| #5 A good example of modern schooling at its worst. Words have meaning. Swearing an oath has meaning. This useless idiot thought that he could say the words, and not follow through. He's paying the price for it. I only wish the teachers and others who have taught him he doesn't have to respect his oath, that words mean what the speaker thinks they do and everything is relative, won't be serving time with him. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-9-8 9:54:05 AM |
| #4 In short this deserter thought he would get the benefits (collage, money, etc...) without having to pay the price for it (in this case the low risk of loading ships). When he was called up (oh my! That wasn't supposed to happen! Where's my Prozac and Lattie?) he turned objector (and probably became gay too) and refused to load ships. "It seems a bit harsh for the crime," said Stephen Collier, Funk’s lawyer, about the punishment. How does a firing squad sound? Isn't that the punishment for desertion during time of war? |
| Posted by: GregJ 2003-9-8 9:02:56 AM |
| #3 Yep Robert. In fact there is a Medal of Honor winner who was a medic and a CO. |
| Posted by: Don 2003-9-8 8:58:47 AM |
| #2 Anyone remember when a conscientious objector would still do their duty as a medic, ambulance driver, or -- as in this case -- longshoreman? Well, neither do I. I understand it was once like that, though. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2003-9-8 8:42:30 AM |
| #1 Why would someone confused about their patriotism choose the Marine Corps? A marine's purpose of becoming a killing machine is made pretty clear by the gunnies within about 15 of the old head shaving. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2003-9-8 8:00:32 AM |