College Kids Laugh At Purple Heart Winner
I am not going to vilify those in the audience who laughed at the speaker, nor am I going to take their side. I’ve embedded the actual speech given by Mr. Anthony Maschek and I’ll let you come up with your own conclusions. I will say that while I thank Mr. Maschek for his service, I do not believe him to be the strongest orator, nor do I think his arguments held enough wait or sway to discourage dissent amongst those attending. This was not Mr. Smith Goes To Washington.
While I respect and admire those Americans courageous enough to serve and protect their country, that very trait does not give them a Pope-like infallibility for the rest of their life. Maschek was shot 9 times in Iraq. 50 Cent was shot 9 times in NY. I’m not prepared to take public policy advice from either man.
That being said there is absolutely no reason NOT to offer an ROTC program at Columbia University. Unlike many countries in the world, some of the countries Mr. Maschek was broadly mentioning in his statement, we have an all volunteer military. No one is going to be forced to join the ROTC, it would simply be another program offered to those attending Columbia like the Film Club or the French Honor Society.
If your college doesn’t have an ROTC program where are you going to steal a horse from when you want to pull an extra funny prank on your Dean?
Half Ninja 
I am a Disabled Veteran, A paratrooper, Ranger, Scout Recon and Sniper, formerly of US Army Rangers and the 82nd Airborne. I also run a home for Disabled Veterans here in Boston. No amount of service excludes people from the ability to be assholes, make poor decisions or act out of stupidity. To back that up; I have been lied to, had my apartment robbed by and even had to physically remove Disabled Veterans from this property because of said stupidity.
I believe prior service in our military affords an individual a certain amount of respect up until they open their mouths and then it’s up to them to prove or disprove they deserve that respect. Personally I believe in an individuals right to make their own decision and form their own opinions about anything and everything. Columbia has the right to disallow an ROTC program, students have the right to protest that decision and anyone that desires to be a part of an ROTC program has the right to choose a school that offers one. I also believe in the right to question any authority including that of these United States (although that should be reserved for Veterans and anyone not actively serving in our military as open dissent would be detrimental to our military’s ability to remain effective).
Do civilians afford the same respect to janitors as they do to CEO’s because they work in the same company? People need to remember there are many levels of military. A truck driver in the Marines is still a fucking truck driver and a guy in the Air Force could be Para Rescue operating within Special Operations Command. Respect the position not the name or the association. Most people in the military support the small percentage that actually fight, there are many more cooks, supply, truck drivers, medical personnel, accountants, record keepers, plumbers, carpenters, engineers, pilots, service technicians and even IT positions than there are people that fight. I’m sorry but just because every Marine goes through 8 weeks of coed rifle training does not make them “Marines first, truck drivers second”.
I get very tired of the misplaced lack of respect for people in the Navy that may have been on gunboats deep in the shit or Army regular Infantry kicking in doors and taking out city blocks in Iraq and Air Force pilots taking rounds and delivering Rangers to enemy airfields when some shitty cook from the Marine Corps was serving up sloppy joe’s in an air conditioned fully secured campus on a cushy base in the rear getting treated like a bad ass when he comes home.
If people really respect Veterans they would learn something about them and not just blindly label and classify them with the stereotypes we hate.
Personally I am disgusted by our countries current state of affairs and political system for many, many reasons. Mostly because, like many Veterans, I have been declared disabled by a doctor from the Veterans Administration Hospital but have been denied my pension for the last 6 years on the basis that they claim I was never in the service, deployed or have not been diagnosed even when I have massive amounts of evidence in the form of military records, photographs, witness statements, awards, decorations, medals and official military orders, flight logs that include my name and social security number showing me coming and going from several countries and combat zones the world over. Not to mention my diagnoses for PTSD comes from the chief of Psychiatry for the VA for all of New England (the highest level of physician to possibly diagnose me and their own doctor, hospital and medical records system). My appeal is still active and although they have admitted to being wrong on every account and accusation they have used to deny my pension in the past they still have not agreed to pay my pension and keep me hanging, waiting and hoping.
Bottom line: Columbia has a right to do whatever they want, the students have a right to influence Columbia as much as they can and people that want ROTC have a right to go to a school that has one.
Well said.