Army Veteran Recalls the Unforgettable Moment When a Judge Told Him: “Your Time in Iraq Makes You a Threat to Society”
Jason Howerton
The Blaze
11/12/2013
Army veteran Andrew Chambers recently shared the story of how he was sentenced to ten years in prison after a judge allegedly told him that his service in the Iraq war makes him a “threat to society.” Video of his speech from prison for TEDxMarionCorrectional’s TEDxTalks is now going viral after being posted on Oct. 31.
After explaining that he decided to join the Army following the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, Chambers talked about the positive side of joining the U.S. military — traveling the world and experiencing different cultures. He was deployed to Iraq in 2004 after spending a year in Central America.
However, his experience in the devastated country took its toll. Chambers told his audience about the time he was working as a turret gunner on the top of a Humvee when gunfire erupted. He said he heard someone laughing and remembers asking himself, “who could be laughing at a time like this?”
As it turns out, it was he who was laughing…
The article continues, with Andrew’s video, at The Blaze.
Related: Locked Away Army struggles with wounded soldiers
Sgt. Paul Sasse arrived at Fort Carson in February in a uniform glistening with decorations from three combat tours: five medals for heroism, four for excellence, three for good conduct and one for nearly getting killed in Iraq. The 32-year-old Special Forces soldier also wore shackles. He was facing court-martial for assaulting his wife and two cialis order military police officers. Sasse had been sitting in solitary confinement at the El Paso County jail for months without military charge and had been brought to the Colorado Springs Army post to be arraigned. “I just need someone to help me,” he said, reaching with bound hands to show a Gazette reporter his medical files.
Sasse was hit by a roadside bomb in 2007 in Iraq and diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury. He kept soldiering through another tour even though he struggled with shattered memory and concentration, depression, nightmares and rage…
Sgt. Paul Sasse smokes a cigarette while in handcuffs Feb. 12 outside a courtroom at Fort Carson as he waits to be arraigned on assault charges. Sasse, who did three combat tours, went back to the El Paso County jail, still without charge, after the hearing was canceled.
Michael Ciaglo / The Gazette
