Let’s Face It, Sometimes There Is One Man Who Should Be Left Behind
28th July 2023
Like many other Americans, I’ve been following the strange (with a factor of 10) odyssey of Army Private Travis King. In case you’re not familiar with that name, this is the young man who voluntarily left his unit and ran to the benevolent arms of the North Koreans.
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To me, it seems as if the ball was dropped by several sets of hands. Assuming that he really did graduate from BCT and AIT with no problems, did he believe that everything was going to be roses from there? Did he not understand that at each juncture of his Army career, he would be required to prove his fitness all over again? Where were his Training NCOs, First Shirts, and other assorted personnel who were supposed to be overseeing his development as a Soldier? When Pvt. King again and again proved his unfitness as a Soldier, why wasn’t he cashiered earlier? And, finally, why was this dud trusted to simply fly back to CONUS on his own?