7 Years After Turning in His Gear, Soldier Arrested for Desertion

[alphafemale]

HINESVILLE - Merlyn Seeley turned in his gear and - with a stamped clearance certificate in hand - figured he had left the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division free and clear.

He never suspected a federal warrant for desertion would follow him out Fort Stewart's gates and into his civilian life.

More than seven years later, Uncle Sam has caught up with Seeley. He has been plucked from his suburban life in Arizona and put back in uniform at Fort Stewart, where he awaits a general court martial on desertion charges.

"I went off, got married, had a little girl and started a business in Arizona," said Seeley, who was forced to move his wife, Angel, and 6-year-old daughter to Hinesville after being apprehended in December.

"When they picked me up on that warrant, it destroyed everything. My family went homeless. We basically went broke. Every day that goes by is worse and worse."

http://savannahnow.com/node/286497

[TechBear_Seattle]

1. Situation normal: all f-ed up

Did you know that SNAFU is actually a military acronym?

[Squatch]

2. Without a DD-214, you're still in the service.

The "stamped clearance record" is just an outprocessing checklist showing that you've returned all your gear to CIF, paid a visit to ACAP, etc. In other words, that's a document that says you've cleared the installation, it's not a document saying you've been discharged.

[Monkeyman]

4. Hey anyone ever see Bush's DD-214

[Squatch]

8. Can a person request his records under FOIA?

[lies and propaganda]

10. hahahahahah!

I dont even want to tll you WHAT I requested and HOW many times I requested it, they dont give a FUCK. I was flatly told a half dozen times taht I could go to hell.

If you want to know, Ill PM you. Its so bizarre its hard to comprehend, but it was the hell my life was for a few years.

[Monkeyman]

11. I have mine copied put in places I can find . I keep the Org. is a safe

[lies and propaganda]

19. well, they plainly told me to go F Myself.

so mine are still floating around Christknowswhere.

[ATK]

3. what idiot doesn't keep copies of his paperwork? You get orders

upon discharge, depending on your time and your option to fulfill your obligations.

I feel for the guy but his story seems a little fishy.

[ieoeja]

13. Me. n/t

[mike_c]

5. interesting comments by armywife05292002 after the article....

Sounds like there is more to this story than originally reported. Seeley certainly pissed off that woman!

[AllegroRondo]

6. there are two sides to every story

and its good to hear more about this than just the media version.

[alphafemale]

7. Those sort of responses are common

More often seen with CO's though. (Conscientious Objectors) It's almost as if those rapid responses to stories like this were "organized" or something. But I'm certain nothing like that is behind this detailed, rapid response. :sarcasm:

The guy was certainly careless, though. You'd think he'd of kept records and be able to produce records of a discharge. But then again, neither can *.

Whatever happens to him should happen to *.

How's that for a deal?

[rodeodance]

9. well, here in the other side of the story:

ser Comments
Seeley
Submitted by armywife05292002 on Thu, 2007-05-17 12:23.

I am not sure how people are able to have bogus reports done. Was there any research done about what this man was claiming? My husband was one of the first people at Ft Stewart that came to Mr Seeley's aid. If you would allow me, I would like to set the record straight on a few things. My husband is assigned to the same unit as Mr. Seeley. I will let you know that I will not be referring to him as a SPC but as Mr because he does not deserve the rank.

Mr Seeley came to Ft Stewart in Dec 06. He was here approximately two weeks before he brought his family out here which was against what his Noncommissioned Officers(NCO) advised him. They went to live with a family of a fellow soldier. Once there, they caused problems between family members and were told to leave. The Seeleys then began living in Mr Seeley's barracks room. This is not permittable and my husband was tasked to take his family and find other shelter for them. At the time, having them live in my house was not possible and we did not have money to put them up in a hotel. So my husband's only other option was a homeless shelter in Savannah. He was telling me and my best friend about the situation. We were heartbroken to have a "soldier's" family in a homeless shelter and my friend offered her house. She sheltered them, gave them her food, and expected nothing in return. I personally drove Mrs Seeley around Hinesville for three days helping her find a job. My husband was driving Mr Seeley to and from work. My husband is a hard working soldier & NCO and many days this required him to work late. Mr Seeley was not happy about this and began making my friend take him to and from work. It so happened that one day my friends went out, drank alcohol, and were unable to come home. Mr Seeley needed to go to work (he was receiving pay from the Army at this point and still not helping out with food) and was forced to take a cab. Well, his wife called my husband and told him that she came home from work and my friend's beloved bulldog who was scared of her own shadow and never left the yard had disappeared. Of course, we had no evidence but we all know from the bottom of our hearts, he did something to that dog.

Well, while they were living with my friend, they became comfortable with us and told us their story:

Mr Seeley was clearing out of the Army. He was down to getting his final clearing stamp from the division when he was told that there was a problem with his paperwork and needed to report back to his first sergeant. Mr Seeley said "Screw this. I am leaving." (he has told this part to several people) and left the army anyway. That was 6-8 years ago depending on what he was feeling when he told the story. He and Mrs Seeley were married and had their daughter. They lived in many places and were constantly moving (Mrs Seeley was glad it was over and they could finally stay in one place). Why would you need to be constantly moving if you did nothing wrong and had nothing to hide? Mr Seeley never held a job the entire time he was gone from the Army. His wife was upset that she had to get a job when she got here because he told her that it would be her vacation from working. Why did he not have a job? Well, common sense tells me that you have to give a SSN to get one and that would tell the Army where you are. Mr Seeley knew the whole time he was AWOL. They did not live in suburan AZ. They lived in a motel that happened to have a kitchenette. She was a waitress. The Child Protective Services does not do door to door checks. They investigate when a report is filed. Unfortunately, I know this because my sister has a terrible ex husband. Mrs Seeley told me that a coworker of hers filed a report because of the living conditions the child lived in and because she was not being properly homeschooled. She was not enrolled in an accredited program. She still is not but the state of GA does not care. They buy her "schoolbooks" off the Wal-Mart shelf..........

[melnjones]

12. thanks for posting this...nt

[alphafemale]

18. Actually, that was included in the link...

But it's ok to post it again in it's entirety too.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

15. Yep, much of what he claimed makes no sense

For one thing you can bet your best shirt the CPS was not doing a door to door survey which just happened to run a background check on him and discover the warrant. They're too understaffed and why in the world would a mere survey require a background check?

This was the first thing that stood out to me regarding his claims. Thanks for posting this.

[ieoeja]

17. 99.99999% speculation.

I know quite a few people who said, "no longer my problem," on their way out the door, or even latter, when informed some paperwork SNAFU had occured. Maybe he's a useless human being, a waste of space and a user of others, but it's still stupid going after some guy because of some bureaucratic fuck up or paperwork negligence six years ago.

People who say, "why didn't this guy take more care," reminds me of the people who say they could not imagine serving alongside open homosexuals in the military. I keep wondering in what country's military they served cause this was practically SOP in my experience.

[sam sarrha]

14. they are getting hard up for excuses for drafting soldiers

[alphafemale]

16. dingdingDING!

That was exactly my thoughts.

The guy could very well be a slacker/loser. Who didn't make sure he had officially "cleared."

But what are the odds he'll be given a choice between a 5 yr prison term or a 15 month tour of Iraq?