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US soldier believed to be detained by North Korea after ‘willfully’ crossing border

theprestige said:
I mean, *I* don't have to wonder that. But Travis King probably should have wondered that before making his move. But this is a guy who seems to have made a whole-ass lifestyle out of "bad choices".
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Young enlisted aren't exactly known for their great decision making, but our man here seems to be cut from a different cloth entirely.
 
shemp said:
North Korea has expelled him:

US officials say Travis King, who crossed into North Korea, is in American custody
Earlier, North Korea said it would expel King, 23. That announcement surprised some observers who had expected the North to drag out his detention in the hopes of squeezing concessions from Washington at a time of high tensions between the rivals.
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He seems to have gotten off relatively easy, but he has been AWOL and could even be charged with desertion now. I'm sure they squeezed him for whatever information he could give them, which probably wasn't much. And I don't think our side would be or should be willing to make significant "concessions" for his release.

He was already going to be kicked out of the military, but now I think they need to make an example of him. He should do a spell in Ft. Leavenworth before being dishonorably discharged. He could be charged with desertion under the UCMJ, which is a very serious offense. If he had simply followed orders as he was supposed to he could have likely gotten off with a slap on the wrist, relatively speaking. There are probably some other crimes he committed by crossing over to North Korea, but I'll let the lawyers figure that out.
 
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Puppycow said:
He seems to have gotten off relatively easy, but he has been AWOL and could even be charged with desertion now. I'm sure they squeezed him for whatever information he could give them, which probably wasn't much. And I don't think our side would be or should be willing to make significant "concessions" for his release.

He was already going to be kicked out of the military, but now I think they need to make an example of him. He should do a spell in Ft. Leavenworth before being dishonorably discharged. He could be charged with desertion under the UCMJ, which is a very serious offense. If he had simply followed orders as he was supposed to he could have likely gotten off with a slap on the wrist, relatively speaking.
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Yeah, whatever problems he was worried about before must seem like small potatoes now. Often problem soldiers get separated without too much fanfare. After all, who wants to go through all the effort of a court martial just to dump some petty troublemaker?

He's in the big leagues now though. Some time in the pokey before getting thrown out of the military in disgrace seems pretty likely.
 
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Exclusive: US Army charges Private Travis King with desertion over dash into North Korea (Reuters)

The U.S. Army has charged Private Travis King with crimes ranging from desertion for running into North Korea in July to assault against fellow soldiers and solicitation of child pornography, according to documents obtained by Reuters.

The Army's case against King, which has not been previously reported, includes eight distinct charges under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, setting up a substantial legal battle for the 23-year-old soldier after his release from North Korean custody in September.
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ETA: Honestly, as a veteran I was starting to wonder about whether the Army still takes discipline seriously anymore. I guess we have our answer.
 
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Puppycow said:
Exclusive: US Army charges Private Travis King with desertion over dash into North Korea (Reuters)



ETA: Honestly, as a veteran I was starting to wonder about whether the Army still takes discipline seriously anymore. I guess we have our answer.
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Listening the news while driving they mentioned that one of the charges involves child porn.

If it was just desertion, I would have said convict him and kick him out with a BCD. But with the child porn charge, it won't be on the street anytime soon.
 
Yeah, it definitely makes things significantly worse for him because either of those would be very serious on its own.
 
Skeptical Greg said:
He will still be eligible for Veteran discounts.

Thank you for your service.
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Will he? Maybe that's a joke, idk.

Honestly, I'm a veteran (honorably discharged) but I don't think I've ever got a "veteran discount" for anything. That's partly because I live in Japan maybe, but I also don't typically walk around with anything in my pocket that would prove that I'm a veteran.
 
Puppycow said:
Will he? Maybe that's a joke, idk.

Honestly, I'm a veteran (honorably discharged) but I don't think I've ever got a "veteran discount" for anything. That's partly because I live in Japan maybe, but I also don't typically walk around with anything in my pocket that would prove that I'm a veteran.
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All kinds of businesses offer " veteran discounts" around here. Anywhere from 5 to 25%.
Whenever I have requested one, they never ask for any kind of verification. I guess they just figure .. " Hmm, Old Fart, must be a veteran. "
 
Skeptical Greg said:
All kinds of businesses offer " veteran discounts" around here. Anywhere from 5 to 25%.
Whenever I have requested one, they never ask for any kind of verification. I guess they just figure .. " Hmm, Old Fart, must be a veteran. "
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Funny, it never occurred to me to ask until I got a Driver's License with a little veteran's label. It was a complaint of my for decades, lots of folks offered veterans discounts but I never had any way to show I'm a veteran unless I kept a copy of my DD214 in my wallet.

Home Depot gives a 10% discount, you get free entrance to national parks, and possible the best, 40% discount on an epic ski pass for Vail Parks in Colorado.

Also, a decent discount on my mobile phone plan.

There is currently an online verification service, IIRC, for the mobile provider I just gave them the dates of my service and name and they looked it via the internet.
 
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I got in a bit of a minor mess in service and went the full program of reduced rank, a bit of a punishment and attempted rehabilitation. It's a fairly standard process. Others at the time were messed up in making drugs in a lab off base and distribution of it but I was not near that. They got serious consequences compared to me.
I had an honorable discharge with full benefits and never used any of it to any purpose. Didn't need to.
Another whom was Sargent rank and kept going awol for reasons I was never told befriended me during this time.
Busted to E2 with threats of E1 just like me, kept in minimum security yet had access to booze and relieved of any duty. Not like me. I was in T flight awaiting discharge and free to roam. We were assigned random emergency duties as need be to fix manpower problems.

They were very lax with me as long as I kept out of trouble and went where was told. The others didn't get a lot of freedom to roam the base.
 
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