Soldier gets shot to escape his duty

[fed-up]

Source: The Sun (San Bernadino and the Inland Empire, CA)

Stacia Glenn, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 02/25/2008 10:35:39 PM PST

APPLE VALLEY - A 20-year-old soldier had a friend shoot him in the leg Sunday to avoid redeployment to Iraq, authorities said, then concocted a story about a robbery to explain his injury.

..snip

"We were out looking for the suspect, and things just weren't adding up," said sheriff's spokeswoman Trish Hill. "It was determined that Matthew Myers and his friend, Daniel Dotterrer, came up with this plan to have his friend shoot him so (Myers) wouldn't have to return to Iraq for another tour."

Dotterrer, also 20 and a longtime friend of Myers', shot him in the leg with a .32-caliber revolver, deputies said. It was unclear Monday where Myers was shot before walking about a mile to the AM/PM

..snip

No information was immediately available on Myers' service in the Army, but officials confirmed he was stationed at Ft. Campbell, Ky., and was scheduled to return to Iraq.

This is the second such incident involving a soldier in more than two decades, said U.S. Army spokesman Paul Boyce.

Read more: http://www.sbsun.com/sanbernardino/ci_8363846

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another version with a few added details

http://www.pe.com/localnews/sbcounty/stories/PE_News_Local_B_iraq26.4368ae1.html
Detectives doubt wounded GI's account of being shot by a robber in Apple Valley

10:00 PM PST on Monday, February 25, 2008
By PAUL LAROCCO
The Press-Enterprise

An Army solider on leave from Iraq walked into a High Desert convenience story Sunday night with a gunshot wound to his thigh and an account of a confrontation with a robber.

..snip
Myers, a solider in the Army's 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Ky., is suspected of conspiring in the shooting while home on temporary military leave because of a family emergency, said San Bernardino County sheriff's spokeswoman Trish Hill. He is expected to return to active duty, she said.

..snip
Doctors did not remove the bullet because of possible complications, Hill said.

It wasn't immediately clear when Myers is to return to Iraq. A spokeswoman at Fort Campbell confirmed his assignment there Monday but could not provide further details.

[HereSince1628]

1. That ought to be good for at least a psych re-eval.

Not sure that will keep him from another rotation, but it might.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

2. I'de take a baseball bat to my childs kneecaps before I'de let them make him a killer

[BearSquirrel2]

3. I get the feeling ...

I get the feeling that this guys sentiments are not isolated.

[Name removed]

6. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ReformedChris]

4. But.. But.,.. Emperor Bu$h and his cronies say morale is high!!!

I thought the American Fighting Soliders all want to go in there and finish the job!:sarcasm:

This is a sad story. It is so terrible over there for our soliders and I can understand this young soliders sentiment. I hope he dosent get placed in a combat zone because he is likely to lose it again.

[damntexdem]

5. Whatever happened to taking personal responsiblity? It's a time-honored tradition for a soldier ...

to shoot him/herself to get out of duty!

And if one trusts it to someone else, one can get ratted on, as here. If one wants it done right, one needs to do the job oneself.