Ricky Clousing: Following His Conscience
From Baghdad to the Brig		      
    
     
      On October 12, 2006, Sgt. Ricky Clousing faced a court martial at Ft. Bragg. He pled guilty to  going AWOL in June of 2005, and was sentenced to 86 days in the brig. He was also demoted to private, ordered to forfeit two-thirds of his pay, and will be given a Bad Conduct Discharge.
     But these bare facts barely hints at a story of conscience and spiritual steadfastness that is rare and inspiring. For one summary of this story, read this report from the New York Times, of October 13.

     When Ricky went AWOL from Ft. Bragg in June 2005, he left a note in his barracks room, with this quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.:

"Cowardice asks the question, ‘Is it safe?’
"Expediency asks the question, ‘Is it politic?’
"Vanity asks the question, ‘Is it popular?’
"But, conscience asks the question, ‘Is it right?’
"And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because one’s conscience tells one that it is right."

     For more about Ricky, his support website is here.

  
     

<< Home