Joe Glenton

Joe Glenton (born 1982) is a British journalist and veteran. He is most famous for serving four months in a military prison in 2010 after going AWOL in Afghanistan and for returning his Veteran's Badge.[1], with both acts in protest of continued British involvement in the Afghan conflict.

L/Cpl

Joe Glenton
Glenton in 2009

Biography

Glenton was born in Norwich[2] and raised in York, joining the military in 2004, allegedly for economic purposes. He was based at Dalton Barracks in Oxfordshire and served for one tour of duty in Afghanistan before deserting in 2007 due to being ordered to serve a second tour after half of the suggested break in deployment time.[3] He then fled to southeast Asia and Australia, returning to the UK in 2009 to hand himself in.[4]

He promptly delivered a letter to Downing Street calling for the withdrawal of British troops in Afghanistan[5] and returned to his regimental duties but became under investigation for his desertion.[6] He was sentenced in March 2010[7] to nine months in a military prison after admitting to going absent without leave, however served only four months before being released in July the same year.[8]

Glenton stated that after fourteen armed forces members were killed in an aircrash in 2006 and having to carry the deceased's coffins by forklift, he was left disillusioned by the war in Afghanistan.[9] Consultant psychiatrist Lars Davidsson suggested that PTSD from events in Glenton's Afghanistan tour may have contributed to his decision to desert.[7][10]

After being released from prison in 2010, Glenton began studying at the former Leeds Metropolitan University.[11] He also returned his Veteran's badge in protest of continued British involvement in Afghanistan, stating he wanted troops withdrawn at present rather than what would be five years in the future, according to David Cameron's plan to withdraw British soldiers by 2015.

Views

Glenton is a republican[12] and argued for the abolition of the monarchy after Queen Elizabeth II's death.

He is a member of the Stop the War Coalition[4] and was a member of Veterans for Peace UK until its closure in 2022.

Glenton has criticised the British Armed Forces itself several times. In 2014, this was due to a perceived lack of justice within the army in dealing with sexual harassment offenders.[13] In 2018, he was a critic of a photo of Tommy Robinson, former member of the BNP and former leader of the EDL, surrounded by a group of British soldiers, and a critic of the wider politics within the army, stating "the institution [...] is itself a far-right organisation".[14]

Glenton has written for several newspapers, including Declassified UK,[15] Vice News,[16] The Independent,[17] The Mirror[18] and The Guardian[19]

Works
  • Soldier Box: Why I Won't Return to the War on Terror (2013)[19][2]
  • Veteranhood: Rage and Hope in British Ex-Military Life (2021)[20]

References
  1. "Anti-war soldier Joe Glenton in medal return protest". BBC News. 2010-11-19. Retrieved 2023-08-03.
  2. Glenton, Joe (2013-06-04). Soldier Box: Why I Won't Return to the War on Terror. Verso Books. ISBN 978-1-78168-092-6.
  3. "Anti-war soldier Lance Corporal Joe Glenton jailed for nine months". York Press. 2010-03-06. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  4. "Runaway soldier admits going Awol". 2010-01-29. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  5. "Soldier takes war protest to PM". 2009-07-30. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  6. "Awol accused soldier faces court". 2009-08-03. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  7. "Afghanistan Awol soldier jailed". 2010-03-05. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  8. "Anti-Afghan War soldier Joe Glenton is released". BBC News. 2010-07-12. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  9. "Soldier takes war protest to PM". 2009-07-30. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  10. Mirror.co.uk (2010-03-06). "Soldier Joe Glenton who went absent rather than face a second tour in Afghanistan jailed". mirror. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  11. "Anti-war soldier Joe Glenton in medal return protest". BBC News. 2010-11-19. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  12. Glenton, Joe (2023-01-08). "If Harry sounds callous about killing, he is. All of us who served were – at least he knows why". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  13. Glenton, Joe (2014-03-03). "Rape and sexual assaults in the military need more than 'kangaroo court' justice". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  14. Glenton, Joe (2018-10-11). "The Tommy Robinson photos show how far right the British army is". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  15. "JOE GLENTON". Declassified Media Ltd. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  16. "Joe Glenton". www.vice.com. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  17. "Joe Glenton". The Independent. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  18. Glenton, Joe (2012-03-08). "British intervention in Afghanistan has been a failure and a disaster, writes Joe Glenton". mirror. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  19. "Joe Glenton | The Guardian". the Guardian. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  20. Glenton, Joe (2021-11-09). Veteranhood: Rage and Hope in British Ex-Military Life. Watkins Media Limited. ISBN 978-1-913462-55-0.
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