One of Ours

Yes, SSG Mejia was a member of my battalion. I don't know the guy personally though.
Mainstream media coverage of the return of SSG Mejia has ranged from straight ahead to simply fawning.

The hands-down winner so far: The Chicago Tribune [link no longer works].

It has nothing to do with whether I agree or disagree with the tone or slant of the Tribune. Any weakie reporter can make two phone calls: one to Mejia's lawyer and one to a Florida Guard spokesman and pretend he's doing his job.

(Oops--did I say two phone calls? The BBC doesn't even do that much. I guess that's what passes for reporting at the BBC these days.)

Of all the Mejia articles I've read, only the Chicago Tribune reporter bothered to check out Mejia's more sensational claims with Mejia's commanders who were actually there. The other news outlets relied on National Guard spokesmen who haven't left the U.S. the whole time, or just avoided those topics altogether.

Hats off to the Tribune for some good old-fashioned shoe-leather reporting.