Ethan McCord is STILL a Jackass (and perhaps always was)

You know there are times that I hold my tongue, and there are times that it's just too fucking much to bare.  Ethan McCord, my one time friend, seems to know how to say all the things that ping my Douche Bag meter.  In all honestly every time his name seems to pop up someone says the most retarded ignorant things about the soldiers he once was a part of, and worse he encourages this, and somehow reinforces his "victimhood".  I can accept some of the things said about him by the unknowing, or the fools that sit on their thrones of excrement looking down on soldiers, after all I look down on those unknowing fools because I know if push came to shove Soldiers are the first ones they'd run to to save their worthless skins.  I learned a lot of things in the process of opposing him.  Things that made me wonder how I ever considered him a friend.  What set me off this time?  Well aside from this bulshit article, there's the constant stream of Kool-aid drinkers leaving dumb-ass comments on my last post about him.   

Where should I begin?  Well maybe we should talk about his children.  As far as I can tell he has 7 of them, not the three that all the write ups mention.  At least one of his ex spouses (to my knowledge he has at least two) explained to me that he was $20,000 in the hole for child support, and she will probably not see dollar one of that.  He has zero contact with his children by her, and she is quite happy about that.

She told me that his time in the Navy Reserves was not good time and he joined the Army, not so much because he wanted to go to war, but more because he was about to get the Boot from the Navy and the Army desperate for bodies was willing to take him.  She him the boot, and the same month the divorce papers were finalized he got remarried.  For some odd reason he called her while going through IET (Initial Entry Training) asking for her to fake a Red Cross message saying that one of his children was deathly sick so he could go home.  She (rightly) refused.  I was told a lot of other things about his first marriage but have refrained from mentioning most of those things, mostly because he's the type of jackass that would have minions howling at her door demanding she prove every single thing.

You'd think maybe he learned his lesson right?  No.  See, the wife that he had when I knew him told stories of the kind of emotional abuse that's difficult to really get around.  At one point while at the WTB, he faked a PTSD episode and told her something to the effect that he was going to kill himself.  The "episode" had her in a near panic and frantic to call for help.  Once she actually connected with someone, he "snapped out of it" and was completely fine.  He said something to the effect that he was just playing with her.  While at the WTB he had told me that she was leaving him because of PTSD, and I'm sure that this "episode" sure has a lot to do with the reason he got divorced  (again).  At the time, I felt for him, now I see that he was a manipulative jackass and put his wife through hell. 

Now how do you think I found out about the video "Collateral Murder"?  It was on MSNBC, I was in college and didn't really have time to do more than go to class.  He called me and told me about it.  Now he seemed a lot more calm and collected about it than I was.  I was freaking out, why?  Because I was certain that a vindictive DA would be busting down my door to drag me to jail.  Why?  Because former Marine Jose Luis Nazario, Jr. had gotten pinched under the MEJA (Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act) for something that every account that I'd read boiled down to "shooting guys in a battle".  Certain restive and politically motivated anti-war jack asses were pushing for more trials under this law.  I knew that Bravo Company would be prime targets.  Unpopular BC (Battalion  Commander), unpopular war, shitty situation, and shitty time.  

It was a situation rife for a witch hunt.  Unfortunately I was right.  Despite the fact that the 1-227 Avn pilots did everything right according to the ROE, they, and by extension all soldiers were castigated for their role in the incident.  At the beginning McCord somehow became the de facto mouth piece for the unit.  It was a little odd at the time, but I didn't really want to get involved.  He sought out the attention, and went from explaining what happened to reveling in the attention and even embellishing some of the stories.  In the end There was a film, and after I saw the previews I'd had enough.  I spoke up, and started to challenge, well everything he said about what happened.  

One of his compatriots from 3rd platoon who took the picture of him that has blood all over his IBA, told me at the time McCord thought it was pretty cool.  He was just as guilty of enjoying the "war porn" as everyone else.  He seemed to be always collecting the most horrific things he could find, and most of us didn't really pay any attention to it.  To be honest I don't remember anything serious happening to 3rd Platoon B Co, which is not to say that it didn't happen, just than none of them died or were injured while he was there.  B Co's combat deaths came from 1st (SFC Doster) and 2nd (PFC Craig, and PFC Harrelson) platoons.  To my knowledge he didn't even know Craig, or Harrelson, so the "agony" he might feel about Craig's death is probably greatly exaggerated.  I however was there and held him while he died.  

How McCord became the Darling of the Anti-War crowd, the exact sequence of events is unknown to me.  It gets kind of sickening some of the things he said about us. For instance the "rotational fire".  I got it straight from the BC at the time, none other than (now) Colonel Ralph Kauzlarich
who said told me in exact words 

"giving an order like that would have landed me in jail. It goes against every fiber in my body as that's not how I do business. Look at the source who said it. Rangers were surgical in how we did business and you were trained to do the right thing always. In a counter-intersurgency you have to influence people to give you information to capture the "bad man." By doing something as stupid as just shooting all over the place in an undisciplined manner would surely not make any friends, only hurt innocent people, and is straight up jackassery. I had to do an AR 15-6 Investigation for every person we hurt/killed - we didn't do a single one because a bomb went off and everyone just started shooting. Rangers didn't fight that way and would have been dealt with if they did."

Col K was a lot of things, but he was always brutally honest.  

He whines about "death threats," but everybody seems to ignore that these rational men, though pissed off would do little more than go Drill Sergeant mode on him.  Indeed he even feeds the meme of the psycho vet and adds to the misinformation about PTSD.  Look PTSD makes life hard.  It sucks.  I don't like to have to relive all the worst moments in my life, nor do I like not having the happy sheep sense of security everyone else seems to have.  The very real reality of PTSD is not the psychopath, or the rampage killer we're made out to be, but rather an individual who has to suffer near constant pain, and tries to deal with it daily.  His feeding the Anti War crowd this BS only makes actually treating the very real condition all the more difficult.  (Personally from me to Ethan: "thanks a lot asshole")

You know what really gets me though?  Despite the fact that I'm perfectly willing to tell anybody what happened, and even post on here exactly what I saw, and how I try to deal with it, everyone seems to assume that he's still a victim.  He's a deadbeat dad.  He claims PTSD I'm not sure he has.  He doesn't pay child support.  He a consummate narcissist who does anything he can to grab the spotlight. And yet, for some reason, he's treated like he's pure as a fresh snow.  He constantly lies about things, yet somehow anyone who calls him on it is deranged.  I bust my ass to make ends meet, and he somehow lives a very comfortable life. 

The constant scorn he shows for men who would have taken a bullet for him once upon a time shows he never got why Soldiers keep fighting.  It's not for Old Glory, the US of A, a great pay check, or almost any of the other happy bullshit people seem to think, Soldiers fight for each other.  It's a brotherhood, and had he ever really tried to be a part of it, had he remained with them, they would have gone to bat for him.  It doesn't matter that he was a substandard soldier that expected to be promoted to E-5 just because, the guys would have gone to hell and back to get him home alive.  McCord you are and always will be a douche bag, my only consolation is I will not have to see you at the reunion.   







I would now like to ass a nicely worded response from one of 2nd Platoon's NCOs to you after seeing the "thank you" Ethan McCord Facebook page

from James Davidson:

"Hello Ethan,

I have read, watched, and listened to your plight and your guilt ridden anguish you have had to endure in these past few years. I must say it does take a special kind of man to stand up and face an established system that may be contrary to what you personally believe in. We all admire the fact that not everyone can stand up and face the big right when the easy wrong is by far the more appealing path to take. But I am overwhelmed by the people on this site, who actually believe everything that is coming out of your mouth.

Try telling all these admirers of yours that you have a dark side. Let them know what kind of father you really are. Let them know how far behind you are in child support because you refuse to take care of your responsibilities as a father. Let them know that you have told over 500 lies just to cover up for one big lie. Let them know you are mentally exhausted because you don’t even know the truth from the lies and deceit you have spun, all for trying to make a profit. Let them know how long it took you to get into the actual combat zone, where all these "incidents" took place. Let the people know you were a below average Soldier who was recognized by most as a person who was just getting his check, and who went out of his way to avoid doing anything, let alone going on a combat patrol. Tell the people the whole story Ethan don’t tell them half truths. How dare you say you knew my Soldier, friend, and my brother Andre Craig. I would not have bothered wasting my time on you as you are not worth any decent person’s time, but you have crossed a line. Sooner or later karma will catch up with you.

But it is OK Ethan I forgive you for the lies you have told about my brothers.

I forgive the fact that I pay taxes every year to make up for the support you fail to provide you own children. I forgive the mindless sheep who admire your strength and think you are a hero without fully questioning or asking why. You all wonder what it is that is wrong with America.... try not being mindless sheep who believe anything, and never question and ask why... try it works.
To all of you who “Salute” this chronic Liar I feel nothing but regret, to know our society has been reduced to sheep that watch television all day and believe everything they read or see, without question.
To you Ethan I salute you for being hands down the most pathetic type of human being I know. You are the type that takes credit for the sadness and suffering of the ones who actually endured it. You will never have Honor, you will never have Integrity, you are a spineless coward and it must chew you up inside at night knowing you are not ¼ of the man you portray yourself as. Maybe one day the doctors will come up with a cure that will heal you of the major disease that you suffer from. But until then I will just call the disease like I see it ……..“You are a PUSSY”