Michael Izbicki

I’m always highly suspicious of sudden bedside conversions like this. The New York Slimes has a piece today about Michael Izbicki. He graduated top of his class from the US Naval Academy and then earned a master’s in computer engineering from John Hopkins University.

As soon as Uncle Sam was finished putting him through school he suddenly developed an acute case of pacifism. He filed for conscientious objector status with the Navy in hopes of getting an honorable discharge. Obviously, the Navy scoffed at that idea. The military spent millions in training and education on the man in return for guaranteed service.

The question that changed Michael Izbicki’s life appeared on a psychological exam he took not long after graduating in 2008 near the top of his class at the United States Naval Academy: If given the order, would he launch a missile carrying a nuclear warhead?

Ensign Izbicki said he would not — and his reply set in motion a two-year personal journey and legal battle that ended on Tuesday, when the Navy confirmed that he had been discharged from the service as a conscientious objector.

Then the ACLU got involved. It was all downhill from there.

To make a long story short, he finally got his walking papers from the Navy after a protracted court battle. Fortunately, he will likely have to reimburse the government for all that fancy education.

If you want to be a cowardly douche that’s fine with me. But don’t take a scholarship from the Naval Academy and then renege on your service after the fact. That’s called fraud.

What’s worse, Izbicki was in the nuclear submarine fleet. The sailors who command our nuclear submarines must be of the highest character and be willing to do what it necessary to defend this nation. Our most potent deterrent is our nuclear submarine fleet. We can strike any point on the globe with our submarine launched Trident II thermonuclear ballistic missiles. The Trident II is the most sophisticated nuclear warhead in our arsenal and arguably the finest in the world. Even if our other defenses were knocked out those subs could still erase a continent with their nuclear payload.

But if the guy in charge can’t push the button we’re dead. Kicking him out of the Navy was the right thing to do, but making him pay back the tax payers for his training and education is a must.

Navy Capt. Owen Honors has been “temporarily” relieved of his command of the USS Enterprise based on the video that surfaced yesterday. In an effort to boost morale during a deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom five years ago, Honors recorded a series of skits for the sailors aboard his ship. In the video leaked to the media, Honors is seen using so-called “homophobic slurs” and making off-color jokes.

[Click here to see extended footage from the video]

The video is clearly over-the-top and controversial, especially in the politically correct times we now find ourselves in. However, one must consider the context in which Honors made the video. It was an attempt to lighten the mood and boost morale during a long and difficult deployment in support of an active war. And by all accounts it was a success.

Honors has had a distinguished career in the US Navy and is beloved by those who know him and have served under him.

Just days before he was to set sail again, this time as commander of the USS Enterprise, this five-year old video surfaces in the media? Fat chance.

With the fire-breathing liberal media howling about “homophobia,” the man’s career is effectively over. With the repeal of DADT still fresh, the Navy won’t hesitate to throw Honors overboard.

The person or persons who leaked the video should be ashamed. The US military is already drowning under the weight of political correctness and this will only make things worse.

There’s always one vindictive cry-baby in the bunch who doesn’t think he or she should ever have to suffer the indignity of being “offended.”

Here’s a report from NBC News:

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