[schrocat]

Puh-lease.

Here are the offenders...

[Ninong]

It's "registration required." Just copy the thing in this thread. You know how most of us HATE registering to newspaper websites.

[schrocat]

The Reaction....

Following a Valentine's Day demonstration by six grandmothers who attempted to enlist in the military, a U.S. Air Force recruiter filed a report on the incident, according to St. Johns County Sheriff's Office.
The women, who are part of Grandparents For Peace in St. Augustine, went to the Armed Forces Career Center, 1952 U.S. 1 S., about noon Tuesday.
They asked to be allowed to enlist so they could replace young people who are fighting in Iraq, said Peg McIntire, 95, on Tuesday. She founded the organization 20 years ago.
A couple of hours after the women were denied and left the building, Sgt. Casey Luedke, recruiter for the Air Force, called the Sheriff's Office and a general offense form was filled out. In the Sheriff's Office report, it said Luedke explained to his superiors what happened and they requested the report.
McIntire could not be reached for comment on Saturday for a response to the incident report.

To this...

Six St. Augustine grandmas, ages 54 to 95, marched into military recruiters' offices on a Valentine's Day mission.
"This is not a demonstration against war," said Peg McIntire, 95. "This is a gesture of love."
The theme of the day was to "Take Us Instead!" And the idea was for grandmothers, who are heartbroken over the loss of life in Iraq, to enlist and replace young people who are off fighting, said McIntire, who founded Grandparents For Peace in St. Augustine 20 years ago. McIntire called the media to let people know about the staged event.
"We don't expect to be enlisted although we'd be willing to," McIntire said as the group strategized outside Staples on U.S. 1 before marching into the Armed Forces Career Center nearby.
When the six grandmas invaded U.S. Air Force Recruiter Sgt. Casey Luedke's office, he was taken by surprise Tuesday afternoon.
"We want the young people to come home to their families," McIntire told him as she explained her desire to enlist.
Linda Anderson, 66, added, "We care about all of you. That's really why we are here."
Luedke calmly explained to the women that there was an age restriction and nothing he could do about it. They were a bit over the 27-year-old age limit for the Air Force and the 34-year-old age limit for the Navy.
"It's very disappointing," McIntire replied. "We came hoping you'd accept our services."
One of the participating grandmothers, Nancy Vines, 54, attached a picture of her son, Jason Burns, in uniform to her Grandmothers For Peace T-shirt.
He was an airborne ranger in the U.S. Army who fought in The Gulf War. Also, her son-in-law is currently in the Air Force and did a tour of East Pakistan.
"I'm the military mom for peace who marched every Friday during run-up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003," Vines said.
With her, Vines carried a published keepsake scrapbook of locals who were in the military and fought in the Gulf War in 1991. It honored them after they returned.
She said she is hoping to see a similar welcome home keepsake soon for those who are fighting in Iraq.
"I see a lot of support the troops talk, but I don't see a lot of support the troops action," Vines said about why she wanted to be part of the event.
After being rejected by the Air Force, the Navy was the next stop.
Navy Recruiter-In-Charge, Yousef Abdulsalam, greeted the grandmas with a giant smile.
"We appreciate all you guys supporting us," Abdulsalam said. "I wish everyone was like you ladies."
As the women persisted with their desire to leave with forms for enlistment he said, "I wish we could, but there's no way to get you enlisted."
The women continued to bargain, saying maybe four of them could replace one soldier.
The enlistment requests were denied for the second time, so McIntire decided she would really like to go into the Marines.
However, the recruiter escaped before the grandmas had a chance to explain their mission.
Anderson said she tried to talk to the Marine recruiter before he left, but he was not interested.
After the demonstration, Renee Mintz, 81, stood outside the office talking about what happened.
"It went as expected," she said. "They were very polite."

Maybe they left "suspicious cookies"?

[Steven Pro]

I don't get it. It says they were polite. What am I missing?

[schrocat]

Originally Posted by Steven Pro

I don't get it. It says they were polite. What am I missing?

Not a thing...
Did you see the pic in the article?

The ladies couldn't be nicer.

[johnny gray]

hu?

[Steven Pro]

I just read the above text. I did not register to read the article directly from the newspaper, so I didn't see any images.

The "they" I was referring to was the recruiting people. At the very end of the story, Rene Mintz is quote as saying the recruiters were very polite.

[schrocat]

Yes.

The recruiters were polite.

The women left without incident.

Then the Air Force called the cops.

[Steven Pro]

Originally Posted by schrocat

Then the Air Force called the cops.

So what? They filed an incident report, which is simply an official reporting of what occurred. If they filed a criminal complaint, I think we could both agree that would be over-reacting. But, an incident report seems prudent. It protects the recruiters from later false accusations as well as being useful if these women decided to come bach again tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that, etc.

I would argue they were treated much better by the recruiters than a similar organization might have been if they walked into the Gap to protest child labor or sweat shops or any other potential protest.

By the way, I find it offensive in the extreme when anyone exercises their free speech rights to denigrate the very people working to protect those very same rights. The term moron is totally unnecessary in a civilized debate/discussion.

[schrocat]

Then I apologize to any morons I offended.

They called the cops and an incident report was filed.

The complaint is filed, the State decides if the charges should be brought or not.


...why open the box in the first place.

That was my point.

[fordman460]

a general offense form was filled out. In the Sheriff's Office report, it said Luedke explained to his superiors what happened and they requested the report.

Thats why he filed it. I've been in the Army for over 16 years and a DOD civilian for 10. I can tell ya that the more rank you have the more paper you like to see.