Army Soldier SPC Victor Agosto Refusing Afghanistan Deployment; Court Martial Likely
Fort Hood, TX – Victor Agosto, a Fort Hood, Texas soldier, is publicly
refusing orders to deploy to Afghanistan. "There is no way I will
deploy to Afghanistan. The occupation is immoral and unjust. It does
not make the American people any safer. It has the opposite effect,”
Agosto told his command.
Having served in the Army since 2005, including a tour in Iraq, Agosto
can no longer bear to serve and says that he is, “ready for the
consequences, whatever they are.” On April 30th he told his commanding
officer that he would not deploy with his unit to Afghanistan, and
since May 11th, he has been refusing all orders directly connected to
his unit's deployment.
Agosto is waiting to see what the military will do to him. A possible
outcome is military court martial and years in prison. Agosto hopes
that a strong legal defense, as well as an outpouring of public
support, could mitigate his punishment.
Nonetheless, Agosto says that it is a “liberating feeling” to refuse
deployment. “I don’t have this weighing down on my conscience
anymore,” he says.
Agosto is not the only GI refusing to fight in Afghanistan. Travis
Bishop, also stationed at Ft. Hood, Texas, is currently refusing to
deploy with his unit. And countless others have gone AWOL or escaped
to Canada rather than fight in Afghanistan.
Agosto has received overwhelming support from Under the Hood Café, an
anti-war GI coffeehouse just outside of Fort Hood. He has also been
met with a groundswell of support from national peace and anti-war
communities, and even from troops in his own unit.
“Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) strongly opposes the criminal
and immoral US occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq, and we fully stand
behind servicepeople who refuse to serve in those two conflicts,” said
Camilo Mejía, IVAW Board Chair. “In refusing deployment to
Afghanistan, Victor Agosto is following his conscience and deserves
the support of all service men and women and the American people.”
“Victor Agosto, and any other soldier who acts out of conscience,
deserves the support of all Americans,” says Buff Whitman-Bradley,
organizer with Courage to Resist, an organization that supports troops
who refuse to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan. “Those in the military
who are resisting are particularly courageous because the consequences
for them can be very severe.
