Saving Ratchet

Ratchet the dog

This may sound kind’a like “Saving Private Ryan” theme but its quite different than the movie per se.

This morning, while having coffee in my office cubicle, I happened to come across a particular article on Digg about US military threatening to kill a dog that is befriended by a soldier while she is on duty on Iraq. At first, I thought the article was too dramatic to be true but when I googled it, it was in fact, turned out to be HORRIBLY real.

The article revolves around the story of Sgt. Gwen Beberg who befriended a pup orphan during her active duty in Iraq. She named the pup Ratchet. I know the hardships of being a military personnel, coming from the experiences of my father who happens to have an experience in the military too. The horrible atrocities of war, the violence, surviving against the vicious attacks from the enemy lines - all of these are faced by soldiers everyday of their active stay in one of the battle-devastated areas in the world - Iraq.

Sgt. Beberg and Ratchet

I give credit to the heroism, bravery and patriotism of the soldiers out there in Iraq and in other battlefields today. They serve their country well and they deserve proper treatment when they return home - weary from the battle. However, in this case (and in so many others), most of the soldiers are not being treated very well by the government and main agency they serve - even resorting to the fact of killing a precious innocent life of a DOG.

Well, yeah. You read it right. A dog’s life. I know too, the importance of human life. But a dog’s life is also life. From my own perspective, the military - the soldiers are trained to protect and preserve life. But I dont know what kind of perspective did the military have in this case.

The article discusses the life of Sgt. Beberg in Iraq and how Ratchet, the dog, became her lifeline and provided a more sane side of her life during her stay. Unfortunately, because of the stop-loss, Sgt. Beberg was forced to stay longer than her agreed duration period over there. Ratchet provided something for Sgt. Beberg - that in life there is still hope. Ratchet was able to get accepted on Baghdad Pups, an organization that help in the transportation and logistics of befriended dogs of other soldiers. According to one article from getfreshminds.com, the dog will be shipped to Minnesotta to Sgt. Beberg’s family who will take care of Ratchet. Unfortunately, the dog’s journey was halted by Sgt. Beberg’s Commanding officers, confiscated the dog and sentenced it to face certain death. On the other hand, Sgt. Beberg is now under military investigation just for - befriending a dog in Iraq.

Ratchet - in his puppy days

According to the military, there is a regulation against soldiers befriending animals in enemy terrirtory or from battle lines and soldiers who happen to break this particular regulation will be court-martialed.

Honestly, I find it ridiculous. Why? The military does not refer to a particular section in the rules and regulations about this matter. This is the first time I’ve ever heard of this. I dont understand why they are more willing to punish a soldier (who want to keep her sanity during her hurrendous stay in Iraq) for JUST BEFRIENDING a dog than court martialling the rowdy soldiers who kill thousands of innocent civilians in Iraq, rape their women, destroying their cities etc. etc. There’s even a case of a soldier having fun while throwing an innocent pup over a cliff!

I am a dog owner too. And I empathized with Sgt. Beberg. I understand the atrocities all the soldier have gone through. All those atrocities are enough to make them insane, afflicted with war shock and even commit suicide when they gone home. Ratchet helped keep the sanity of Sgt. Beberg. So it is naturally devastating for her to see or hear if Ratchet got killed by the commanding officers she loyally served - not only the commanding officers but for the main agency, government and the COUNTRY she loyally served.

Jesus, I cant imagine why they would like to do atrocities even to their own soldiers. I thought the military is there to protect and preserve life. All forms of life, from what I understand. I dont want to see the military turning into heartless terminators - that they are trigger happy to kill any life - whether its human or canine.

I hope the military would do something about this. The military SHOULD uphold the highest ETHICAL behavior, the proper ways of engaging during a combat, to defend its country, to protect and preserve life. And that particular article on Digg is now at the top of the front page topics will almost 4,000 diggs and hundreds of comments. Man, are the military and its generals have GONE INSANE too? ARE THEY THAT TRIGGER HAPPY TO KILL EVEN A DOG?! The military should establish a program for this matter. They can set up clearing (screening), logistics and transporting stations for the befriended pets of the soldiers. In a psychological point of view, this will be REALLY helpful in keeping the sanity of the soldiers in the lines.

Right now, I am hoping that Ratchet would arrive safe and sound to Minnesota. I hope that Sgt. Beberg will be cleared from the investigation. I hope the military and its concerned authorities will get their sense of justice correct. If there is any particular regulation about befriending animals in the battlefield, they SHOULD explain what it is and why it is needed. I just hope that the soldiers like Sgt. Beberg would get the proper treatment they deserve.

The manner of treating even the simplest form of life reflects how you will treat the higher form of life - the way you treat a dog, a cat or any other animal life - domesticated or not - will surely reflect or give a psychological hint on the way you treat human life and handle interpersonal relationships.

I ask every reader of this blog to pass this to your senators, to everyone else. Let this be known to the rest of the world. The rowdy soldiers who killed innocent civilians, shot their dogs, raped their women, orphaned their children should be the ones COURT MARTIALLED rather than the ones like Sgt. Beberg who protected and preserved life in any form, and who duly served their country.

Here are the main articles that you can refer to: (PLEASE ALSO PASS THIS!)

http://www.getfreshminds.com/2008/10/baghdad-pups.html

http://www.spca.com/press/item/56

You can also go to Digg to digg this article: http://digg.com/political_opinion/US_Military_threatens_to_kill_pet_of_deployed_US_Soldier

You can also go to the Baghdad Pups website: http://www.baghdadpups.com/

To Sgt. Beberg,

I’m keeping up the best hopes for you and Ratchet. I hope you will overcome this dark episode of your life. I’ll pray for you both. God bless!