On Beauchamp

As a military veteran, I'm pretty sensitive to any unjustified criticism (or outright slander) of our men and women in uniform.

I've not posted on the whole New Republic/Scott Beauchamp debacle, mostly because it all came and went before I started this blog.

Until today, that is...

The Drudge Report had linked to some documents apparently showing Scott Beauchamp had essentially made up some stories published in The New Republic that asserted some serious misconduct by troops in Iraq. They were first published under a pseudonym; subsequently, Beauchamp came forward and claimed authorship.

There was suspicion from the beginning, and these documents seem to confirm what was suspected: Beauchamp fabricated the stories in an attempt to become "the next Hemingway."

His chain of command conducted an investigation and Beauchamp's punishment, whatever it was, is between them and him. His commander elected to keep him in the unit, and Beauchamp himself has stated he wants no more to do with the entire disaster because he feels it has harmed his fellow unit members, for whom he professes great love and devotion.

Too bad he didn't think about that BEFORE he slimed them.

Anyway, I don't have a whole lot to say about this. If his commander wants to keep him on, good for him. The commander certainly knows more about him and his attributes as a soldier than we do.

Maybe there's hope for Beauchamp, if he grows up and gets his priorities in order. I've known troops who were much like him, but turned out fine after they got a little more mature and a little less selfish.

And Beauchamp is doing his duty in Iraq, which, although he has screwed up, does mean something.

I guess what I'm trying to get at is that I kind of feel an odd mix of anger and pity towards the guy that makes me want to give him another chance; that maybe he's not a bad guy and he just had some asinine ideas and dopey notions.

One thing's for sure, though: after what he did, he'll have to make a career out of rebuilding trust.

UPDATE: Looks like Michael Yon feels the same as I do about second chances. I could hardly ask for better company.

http://www.michaelyon-online.com/wp/linking-policies-media-inquiries