TT, let's just agree the guy's a cunt and leave it at that.

TT, let's just agree the guy's a cunt and leave it at that.

Excellent letter by Wedge35.

I cannot feel anything but profound distaste for this individual and his attempts to find some grand moral justification for going AWOL. I fervently hope he receives all he deserves.

But Glenton should make the most of his moment in the sun. He will soon be forgotten by his current supporters, by the media, by the military. And I cannot help but wonder at the employment market for ex-RLC L/Cpls who take 'principled stands'. He is a seven days wonder, who will not even be a footnote in history - can anyone recall the name of the RAF MO who refused to soldier in Iraq?

C_C

Wedge 35, I think many here would agree with those sentiments.

Could I also say, that if you really were a sapper in the RE then you were clearly wasted. There's many a Rupert that couldn't put together a letter with that quality of erudition and depth of argument.

stacker1 & Fugly: agree. see below.

TalaveraTom: disagree. he doesn't have the right to communicate with the media unless cleared through the CoC. he doesn't have the right to free speech like a civvy. oh, and screw the anti-war lobby. we work for Her Majesty, not them.

wedge35: excellent letter. however, i feel you have taken a tack which reinforces the impression that this clown is a conscientious objector, because you fail to mention the "elephant in the room" voiced by stacker1 and Fugly.

this guy is a coward. he went AWOL for two years: any mention during that time of an illegal war? any publicity? nope, only when facing punishment on his return to the UK. he may or may not have gone AWOL because he was scared of deploying again - i know what i believe, we've probably all seen guys have the occasional wobble about going on ops.

this "illegal war" stance - it's a convenient excuse; it's retrospective justification. "oh dear, i'm for it now. rather than admit i was shitting bricks about going back on ops at some point in the future, and rather than simply signing off if i claim i genuinely disagreed with this 'illegal war'... i will now, after two years AWOL, try to reduce my punishment and improve my self-esteem by claiming it was a principled stand against government policy."

bollocks. if you are reading this, Glenton... you know, when you go to bed at night, what the truth is. I have seen principled objections to deployments before; your actions bear no resemblance. you are simply a coward, utterly lacking in moral fibre, who went AWOL. when your actions caught up with you, you then compounded your cowardice by dragging the name of the British Army down with your association with the "Stop the War" mob. you may occasionally forget the real reason you did this - fear of imprisonment - with your letters to the PM and publicity-whore status. you may be able to fool elements friendly to your "cause", that you are a conscientious objector and that is why you went AWOL: "it was all in protest." was it bollocks.

every soldier and ex-soldier can see through your pathetic facade in a second. you went AWOL, and this is a piss-poor attempt to salvage some self-respect by trying to assign some dignified motive to your cowardice and lack of professionalism.

man up, stop acting like a twat, and take your punishment like the soldier you claim to be. you might actually get some respect from your former colleagues for finally being honest about your motives.

and to the CM - i firmly believe that jailing this morally bankrupt specimen would see you applauded by every single serving soldier and officer. screw the press, screw the solicitors, screw the STM movement: he went AWOL and deserves to be punished. the aggravating factors merit the strongest punishment possible. so please send the snivelling wretch to jail to think about the error of his ways; you'll probably get dozens of pages of congratulations on Arrse, for standing up to this subversive, cowardly little shite.

"Dear coward, if you cant take a joke you shouldn't have joined. Heres your white feather and blindfold"