Deception was Marine recruiter's game
Tempest
By MIKE KALIL
http://www.reformer.com/Stories/0,1413,102~8862~2298883,00.html
BRATTLEBORO -- When Staff Sgt. Jimmy Massey worked as a Marine
recruiter, he felt like a god.
Now, he prays to God for forgiveness.
"I pray to God every day for his forgiveness for what I've done," he
said Tuesday.
Massey, of Waynesville, N.C., encouraged people at the Robert H.
Gibson River Garden to be tough on military recruiters. He told a
crowd of roughly 100 to be there during every step if their child is
considering joining the military and to be aware that their children
need not remain on recruiters' prospect lists.
Massey recruited Marines for three years, during which time he said he
brought 75 men and three women on board. About 95 percent of those
recruits, he said, are most likely serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
That is not OK with him.
The war in Iraq is not legitimate, he said; the only war he considers
a just one was World War II.
Massey was part of the first wave of Marines that spearheaded the U.S.
invasion of Iraq last March. What he saw still disturbs him, he said.
His platoon killed innocent civilians, he said, and the news was
covered up. The military has used depleted uranium munitions in the
war, he said, shooting the armor-piercing ammo at vehicles.
"I saw children playing in and around these vehicles that we shot at,"
he said.
Much as the scenes of war have disturbed him, it was Massey's
recruitment methods that he spoke most forcefully about.
As a recruiter, he said he had access to a list of all the juniors and
seniors in a high school. He would start stalking potential recruits
early.
"As long as he's 17 and he's fixing to be a senior, I can sign him
up," he said.
He said he would feed off the student's desires and weaknesses --
money, self confidence. He would drive around in a brand-new Ford
Mustang to show that his way of life brings in the money, even though
Massey could hardly afford the car payments.
This was his job, he said, and not doing it brings punishment.
Nevertheless, he said parents and students have a choice: They can opt
out of allowing the military to get their children's name through
public schools.
His message was met with seemingly no opposition, and the groups
sponsoring the event are all for his cause. The event was sponsored by
the Brattleboro Area Peace and Justice Group, Alternatives to
Recruitment by the Military, American Friends Service Committee and
Veterans for Peace, Chapter 88.
"For the record, our group never tells (anyone) not to join the
military," said Ellen Kaye of the Brattleboro Area Peace and Justice
Group, adding that their mission is to help people make more informed
decisions about signing up.
The Iraq war has hit the Green Mountain state hard. So far, 10
Vermonters have died in combat in Iraq. An 11th man died in Kuwait of
natural causes.
Army Pfc. Kyle Gilbert, 20, was the first and so far the only Windham
County resident to die in Iraq. He was killed on Aug. 6, 2003.
Leo Fchiff, member of Alternatives to Recruitment by the Military,
acted as master of ceremonies Tuesday. The event also featured Nancy
Brown, a Rochester woman whose son in the Vermont Army National Guard,
Ryan, is presently stationed in Baghdad, and Windham's Gary Cheney, a
Vietnam War veteran who belongs to Veterans for Peace and Alternatives
to Recruitment by the Military.
Brown said it puzzles her how the United States can send Guardsmen
over to Iraq, when that is clearly not the job they signed up for. She
said she also struggles with the idea that Guardsmen have longer
deployments than actual active duty members.
Brown is the founder of the Vermont Chapter of Military Families Speak
Out, which is a national group whose members oppose the Iraq war and
have relatives or loved ones in the military. "They've got mothers.
They're with kids. They've got fathers," she said before she spoke. "I
don't understand the rationale of the whole thing."
Vermont National Guard members are preparing for what could be their
largest deployment since World War II. Guardsmen and women have been
put through a two-day screening process over the past few weeks.
Between 1,300 and 1,500 soldiers were expected to be prepared for
mobilization by the end of July.