B W E

19 year old marine gets drunk at a party with another marine and a couple of girls. One girl eventually pulls out a marijuana pipe from her purse, and takes a hit. She offers the young man, now incredibly drunk, the pipe, and he too takes a hit.

Long story short, he is caught, admits to taking a hit, and gets discharged, OTH.

Fast forward 15 years. He is at a large public event, and in recognition of US Service members, the MC says "would all service members, past and present, stand to be recognized and thanked for your service".

Should the former Marine stand, in spite of his mistake which caused his service to be cut short, or remain seated?

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Amazing love, how can it be, that you, my King, would die for me?

Zog

Did "he" really serve or did this happen right after basic training or something along those lines?

user4818

Good question. There must be an official military policy on this, no?

mdfriday

What type of discharge?

Dishonorable?

B W E

Other than honorable, on a scale of 1-5, 1 being best, it's a 3.

He had a near perfect PR score, expert rifleman, high Pro/Cons. This happened around thanksgiving, and he graduated from boot camp in May.

1. Honorable
2. General, under honorable conditions
3. Other than honorable
4. Bad conduct discharge
5. Dishonorable

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Amazing love, how can it be, that you, my King, would die for me?

B W E

He was in the fleet for about 6 months.

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Amazing love, how can it be, that you, my King, would die for me?

480sparky

Members of the military are being recognized, not 'members of the military who managed to keep their noses perfectly clean'.

He stands.

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In winter, why do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in summer when we complained about the heat?

B4T

YES.. he should stand to honor those who have died or are permanently disabled..

That is not asking very much.. not matter what his personal agenda is..

You always support the troops doing the fighting.. not the morons pulling the strings..

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There comes a time when people who volunteer their service need to step back and see if it is better for them to retire. A red flag is when they become "cranky" and lose all sense of reality by making decisions that really don't make any sense..

Dennis Alwon

I think it is BS that he got discharged for taking a hit. If they did that during Vietnam days there would be no one left in the military-- what a crock.

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B W E

He is not standing in recognition of others, he is standing so that HE can be recognized for his service, which was cut short due to a stupid mistake.

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Amazing love, how can it be, that you, my King, would die for me?

Zog

Then stand.

BDB

He stands

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Proud Father of a newly honorably discharged US Army Soldier

B W E

He has spent the last 13 years petitioning the Department of Defense, Secretary of the Navy, senators and congressman for a chance to re-enlist. He offered to re-enlist in any branch, in whatever MOS has the most pressing need.

The last response he got, from the Secretary of the Navy was that "the passing of time does not erase past transgressions."

The piss test he took could not have turned up positive, and the only evidence against him was his honesty.

Life sentence. For one hit.

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Amazing love, how can it be, that you, my King, would die for me?

Zog

Yeah, like they never smoked a little weed.

John Valdes

Silly, stupid, marijuana/drug laws. This is only the tip of the iceberg.
Sickening to say the least.

B W E

His battalion Sgt. Maj. at the time had already racked up 6 DUI's. Alcohol isn't a "zero-tolerance" substance, so he was able to continue to serve. Found out that a couple years later, after his 9th DUI he got "forced retirement".... With an honorable discharge.

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Amazing love, how can it be, that you, my King, would die for me?

360max

I would have asked the Secretary about the past discriminatory practices of their "Don't Ask Don't Tell Policy." Ask if a dishonorable discharge for a lesbian member could be rescinded, and that former member be allowed reentry into the armed services?

wildleg

I think he should stand up, raise his right hand, and yell out " I am a long haired freaky dope smoker, SIR !"

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As President Roosevelt said: "We have nothing to fear but fear itself. And Chuck Norris. And 滿口胡言. And Grabthar's hammer. And Gort. and 江南 Style. and rotting in the street and Zombies . . . and Wayne Griffen "

B W E

I have a shaved head and haven't touched the stuff since. That would be funny though.

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Amazing love, how can it be, that you, my King, would die for me?

raider1

The war on drugs is an unmitigated disaster. We have prisons filled with people who's only crime is smoking a substance that has similar effects to alcohol. You can't OD on marijuana and many studies have shown that it is not as addictive as alcohol. Also many studies have shown that the health effects of smoking marijuana are not as severe as smoking tobacco.

Legalize and regulate it similar to the use of alcohol.

Chris