War veteran barred from CCBC campus for frank words on killing
After publishing essay on addiction to war, Charles Whittington must obtain psychological evaluation before returning to classes
November 20, 2010|By Childs Walker, The Baltimore Sun
By writing the paper, Charles Whittington thought he would confront the anxieties that had tormented him since he returned from war.
He knew it wasn't normal to dwell on the pleasure of sticking his knife between an enemy soldier's ribs. But by recording his words, maybe he'd begin to purge the fixation.
So Whittington, an Iraq veteran, submitted an essay on the allure of combat for his English class at the Community College of Baltimore County in Catonsville. He called war a drug and wrote that killing "is something that I do not just want but something I really need so I can feel like myself."
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Whittington's instructor gave him an A and suggested that he seek publication for the piece. The essay appeared in the Oct. 26 edition of the campus newspaper.
Two weeks later, the former infantryman was called to a meeting with high-ranking college officials, who told him he would be barred from campus until he obtained a psychological evaluation. "We all believe in freedom of speech, but we have to really be cautious in this post- Virginia Tech world," says college spokesman Hope Davis, referring to the 2007 massacre of 32 people by a student gunman.
But Whittington, 24, says that he has his violent impulses under control with the help of counseling and medication and that the college is unfairly keeping him from moving forward with his life.
"Right now, that's all I have left," he says of his classes...
articles.baltimoresun.com
Iraq Vet Still Barred from Campus
January 5, 2011 5:34 P.M.
By David French
I haven’t written about Charles Whittington’s ordeal at the Community College of Baltimore County until now because I hadn’t read the essay that got him barred from campus (pending a psychological evaluation) nor had the opportunity to learn any additional details about his case. With word today that he won’t be returning to CCBC, I did a bit more digging. A few thoughts:
First, while his essay is undeniably extreme, I’m struck at the extent his story mirrors those of guys I knew in Iraq. Whittington was seriously wounded, fought to stay with his unit, and feels extreme guilt that he was called home and ultimately medically discharged (after an IED blast, he was unconscious for days). I have a good friend from my unit who suffered a serious wound in a rocket attack and absolutely would not allow the doctors to medevac him out of country. He demanded to be sent back into action. On other occasions medics had to physically restrain injured soldiers to prevent them from returning to the fight.
Second, non-military readers might be surprised at how many vets — at some level — long for their deployment days. As one friend put it, “Over there, we had had purpose, we had a brotherhood, and we had an enemy. I never felt more alive.” Or, as another put it to me just recently, “I feel like I was accomplishing the most important thing I’d ever do in my life.” When you see old vets put on uniforms for Veteran’s Day or Memorial Day — uniforms that have been in their closets for decades — they do it not just out of pride for their service but also because they’re remembering days that were utterly unique, an experience that few of their fellow citizens will ever understand. That’s not to say that war isn’t devastating to the human soul, but you’re sustained in those dark days by bonds that are tough to describe and nearly impossible to replicate in the civilian context.
Third — and the first two points notwithstanding — the essay is undeniably graphic and disturbing, especially to college administrators who can’t possibly fathom Whittington’s combat experience. At the same time, however, it is very clearly directed against our enemies and not against students or professors. It’s not a threat within the legal meaning of the term, and indeed he received an “A” for the paper. In the post-Virginia Tech world, I can understand asking Whittington some questions, but barring him from campus? On the basis of the essay alone? That’s a bridge too far.
I wasn’t in the infantry like Charles Whittington, I wasn’t wounded (thankfully), and I went on a fraction of the missions “outside the wire” that he did, but I did see and experience things that this 41-year-old father of three will never forget, and that haunt me to this day. And I do feel like I know more than one Charles Whittington. In fact, I’d be proud to teach him . . . and all the vets like him.
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