Profiles of War Resisters
Army Captain, Peter Brown, who graduated from West Point in 2004 cited his religious beliefs in a lawsuit against the Army while serving in Iraq. He was granted conscientious objector status and given an honorable discharge October 2007. "I'm relieved the Army recognized that my religious beliefs made it impossible for me to serve as a soldier."
Army Communications Specialist Chris Capps went AWOL in March 2007 after returning from a full tour of duty in Baghdad, Iraq in 2006. Chris left the 440th Signal Battalion in Darmstadt, Germany in order to refuse immediate deployment to Afghanistan. "If the politicians refuse to listen to the people, then the people need to take action. If we had resistance throughout the military then we could finally end this war here and now."
23-year-old Army Lieutenant intelligence officer honorably discharged October 2007 from Fort Huachuca, Arizona--despite being scheduled and willing to deploy to Afghanistan in early 2008--after being investigated for expressing that “Vice President Dick Cheney should be impeached, in particular for his role in deliberately deceiving members of Congress regarding pre-war intelligence on Iraq” to fellow officers.
Afghanistan and Iraq Wars vet turned war resister/video producer arrested July 2007 in Oneonta, New York for allegedly "deserting the Army." Korey played a high-profile role in the “9-11 truth movement” since leaving the Army in June 2005. He co-produced the movie Loose Change, the central premise of which is that “the United States Government was, at the very least, criminally negligent in allowing the attacks of September 11th, 2001 to occur.”
Army Specialist Darrell Anderson, 24, served seven months in Baghdad in 2004, witnessing frequent abuse and killing of Iraqi civilians. He refused redeployment and fled to Canada, saying “ I believed it was my human right not to kill innocent people.” He was released from the military in October, 2006 with an “other than honorable” discharge. “By resisting,” he said, “I feel I made up for the sins I committed in this war.”
U.S. Marine Benjamin "Benji" Lewis served two tours of duty in Iraq and was honorably discharged in 2007. Recently, he received notification that he was a candidate to be recalled to active duty. In October, 2008 at a Winter Soldier event in Portland, Oregon, Lewis publicly announced his intention to refuse reactivation from the Inactive Ready Reserve (IRR).
U.S. Army Specialist Andre Shepherd, currently AWOL and seeking asylum in Germany, did not set out in life intending to build a career in the military. He grew up in Cleveland, Ohio and went to school at Kent State University, where he studied computer science. Yet, when he was unable to find a job in his field and thus support himself, he sought other options. In the summer of 2003, Shepherd ran into an army recruiter who told him of the army's benefits: free travel, healthcare, and free housing. "At the time, I was living in my car, so that sounded appealing," said Shepherd.
On January 27, 2004, Shepherd decided to join the army. Shepherd was trained in Apache helicopter repair and sent first to Achach Germany, then to Iraq, where he was stationed from September 2004 to February 2005. However, what he saw on his tour in Iraq made him question the legality of the U.S. occupation. While on leave in Germany after his first tour he took a stance against the illegal war and went AWOL. Unable to communicate with his family for fear of involving them in his case, he has lived underground in Germany until november of 2008 when he entered the public eye as a war resister and applied for asylum in Germany.
Tony Anderson
United States Army Private and 19-year old Wilkes Barre, PA native Tony Anderson, was never interested in joining the military but, in an effort to fulfill his father's wishes, he enlisted after high school. Once in the ranks, Anderson realized that he had made the wrong decision. During basic training, he found himself ethically opposed to taking a human life in a military conflict. He was disturbed by returning soldiers on his base deeply traumatized from their experience in Iraq. "I didn't want to mess myself up for the rest of my life doing something I didn't want to do to begin with," he says.
When he received deployment orders to Iraq he decided to desert, returning less than a month later to turn himself in. When an attempt was made to re-deploy him, Anderson spoke out against the war and publicly resisted. As a result, he was court martialed and sentenced to 14 months of confinement and given a dishonorable discharge from the military for "desertion with intent to avoid hazardous duty" and "disobeying a lawful order." The sentence, disproportionately severe, punished the teen for following his conscience and standing up for what he believed in, an act very few are brave enough to take.
29-year-old Army Spc. Rodney Watson from Kansas City, Mo. served 12-months in Iraq. He has refused to return and is currently seeking refuge near Vancouver, Canada. “I’d rather do my time in jail than be a party to the racism I saw in Iraq. As an African-American, I grew up with racism. But in Iraq, I saw the same kind of abuse and mistreatment, only this was U.S. enlisted soldiers and American contractors, like security forces, abusing Iraqis.”
Kevin Benderman
Kevin Benderman, born and raised in Alabama, first enlisted in the US army in 1987. In 2000 he reenlisted, was promoted to the rank of Sergeant, and served in Iraq for 7 months from March 2003 until September 2003 with the Fourth Infantry Division. He was awarded two Army Commendation medals for his actions in Iraq. However, during his first tour in Iraq, his views on the war changed. Having witnessed the atrocities being committed in Iraq, from mass graves of Iraqi women and children to commanding orders to shoot small children, Sgt. Benderman came to view the Iraq war as an unjust one, and one that he could not, in good conscious, support.
In December 2004 Sgt. Benderman applied for conscientious objector status but his application was rejected. It was around this same time he was passed over for promotion to Staff Sergeant. When his application was denied, Sgt. Benderman refused to deploy with his unit and was court martialed in July 2005 and was later sentenced to 15 months imprisonment, 13 of which he served, and given a dishonorable discharge. In February of 2006 Sgt. Benderman scheduled a parole hearing, but the parole board denied his request, citing that he had not been "sufficiently rehabilitated." The question was, for what was he being rehabilitated? Sgt. Benderman identifies as a conscientious objector to the war in Iraq.
Since serving his sentence the U.S. Army has upgraded Sgt. Benderman's discharge status to a bad conduct discharge, where it remains today.
Born in Boise, Idaho, Robin Long was raised in a military family, playing with G.I. Joes and dreaming of one day joining the service. Upon enlisting in the Army in June 2003, the recruiter promised that Long would not be sent to Iraq. Over the next few months, Long's enthusiasm began to wane. His drill sergeant repeatedly referred to Iraqi people as "ragheads" and led the troops in racist cadences. After basic training, Long was transferred to the nondeployable unit at Fort Knox. Upon meeting soldiers returning from Iraq, Long was horrified by their stories of violence and brutality.
In 2005, Long received orders to go to Iraq. The only soldier to be deployed from his unit, Long received a month's leave to check out of Fort Knox and report to Fort Carson, Colorado. He was scheduled to deploy to Iraq a few weeks later. Instead, on grounds of conscientous objection and to take a stance against a war he views as unjust and illegal, Long fled for Canada. Long spent the next three years building a life for himself in Canada. He met a woman, had a child and established contact with other war resisters in Canada.
Long applied for refugee status on the grounds that he was being asked to participate in an illegal war and would suffer irreparable harm if he returned to the United States. Not only was his bid rejected, but Canadian authorities responded by mandating that Long report his whereabouts every month. He eventually settled in Nelson, a small town in British Columbia.
Despite the fact that the Canadian Peace Alliance, the War Resisters Support Campaign, and the New Democratic Party have supported Robin, on July 15, 2008 Army PFC Robin Long became the first U.S. war resister since the Vietnam War forced to leave Canada and turned over to the U.S. military. Forced to leave what he came to call home in British Columbia, he is currently being held at the Naval Consolidated Brig at Miramar, CA where he is serving a 15-month sentence for his conscientious objection to what he felt to be an illegal and unjustwar in Iraq.
Contribute to Robin's Brig Account Here!
Ehren Watada
US Army First Lieutenant, was the first officer to publicly refuse to deploy to Iraq June 2006 while stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington. He was court martialed in February 2007, which resulted in a mistrial, and is still in the Army while legal proceedings play out.
When Watada discovered that his unit would be deploying to Iraq, in support of ongoing operations there, he began conducting research on the country, its culture, and the reasons for the U.S. involvement in Iraq. After reading several books and articles about the history of Iraq, international law, and the evidence used to justify the war, and speaking with veterans returning from Iraq, Watada claims that he ceased to believe in the legality and morality of the war.
In January 2006, he attempted to resign his commission. The Army denied his request. Watada even offered to serve in Afghanistan, which he regarded as "an unambiguous war linked to the Sept. 11 attacks." This was also refused. Based on his sincere beliefs about the illegality of the Iraq war, he refused an offer for a desk job in Iraq without direct combat involvement.
The military charged him with missing his unit's deployment to Iraq on June 22, 2006, and also charged him with conduct unbecoming an officer for denouncing then-President Bush and the war. Conviction on all counts could mean six years in prison and a dishonorable discharge.
His first court-martial resulted in a mistrial in February 2007 and he is still waiting to see if the Army can appeal and is stuck in the Army while legal deliberations continue. Watada's term of service in the military ended December 2006, but the legal proceedings have prevented his discharge. He is assigned to a desk job at I Corps at Fort Lewis.
Watada's Stryker unit — 3rd Stryker Combat Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division — served in Iraq for 18 months and returned in October 2007. It is scheduled to return to Iraq this summer (2009) for its third combat tour.
Matthis Chiroux
Army Sergeant and journalist, Matthis Chiroux, was honorably discharged after 5 years of active duty status in 2007 when he served in Afghanistan, Japan, Europe and the Phillipines. , Matthis was recalled to active duty in early 2008. At the time of his recall he was ordered to redeploy to Iraq on June 15th, 2008. On 5/15/08 Matthis made an announcement in the Cannon House Office Building Rotunda refusing orders to deploy to Iraq.
Matthis has said "As an Army journalist whose job it was to collect and filter service member's stories, I heard many stomach-churning testimonies of the horrors and crimes taking place in Iraq. For fear of retaliation from the military, I failed to report these crimes, but never again will I allow fear to silence me. Never again will I fail to stand.
In May 2008, he refused to go back to Iraq. In a hearing in April 2009, the army awarded him a recommendation for a general discharge under honorable conditions from the Individual Ready Reserve for his refusal to deploy to Iraq last summer. Matthis says "This landmark decision means not only am I a free man, I’m free to continue school this fall with the “new” G.I. Bill that I earned while on active duty." For updates and more info: http://matthisresists.us
Kimberly Rivera
After serving three months in Iraq, Private Kimberly Rivera fled to Canada in 2007 with her husband and two small children. For two years, they have lived as refugee claimants—receiving government assistance.
When her family fled to Canada, the Army told her mother-in-law "they’d put the kids away, put my husband into prison for aiding and abetting a deserter, and put me into a military prison. They said if they wanted to, they could kill me. I was thinking they wouldn’t have the gall or balls to do it."
On March 10, 2009 she was ordered to leave Canada, with her husband and three young children, by March 26 or face deportation. The Riveras have requested that their deportation date be postponed until June, when the school year is complete; however, the Canadian department of immigration pressed to have them deported as fast as possible, in order to speed up Kimberly's 'punishment' at the hands of the U.S. military authorities. If Kimberly returns to the US she faces military prison.
Take action! Phone and write to Canadian Minister of Immigration Kenney today, "Let the Riveras and all U.S. war resisters stay" - phone 613.954.1064
Camilo Mejia
Camilo was the first US combat veteran to publicly refuse to redeploy to Iraq. He was a Florida National Guard Sergeant, 32, served 6 months in Iraq in 2003. In Iraq, Mejia witnessed detainees being tortured and abused by US troops under the direction of American civilian contract employees.
After refusing to participate further in a war he considered immoral, he was sentenced to 1 year in prison for "desertion". He served 9 months in prison and was released in February 2005. Since then he has become an outspoken advocate for ending the oocupation of Iraq and withdrawing the troops. In August 2007 he was elected Chair of Iraq Veterans Against the War. He is author of a new book about his experience, "The Road from ar Ramadi: The Private Rebellion of Camilo Mejia." More info: http://freecamilo.com/
Suzanne Swift
When military police officer Suzanne Swift was in Iraq, she was sexually coerced by a superior, then harassed by him after she ended the unwanted relationship. Back in the States, she was ordered back to Iraq while serving under the command of the same individuals that allowed her to be raped and sexual harassed. She went AWOL rather than return to Iraq. She was arrested and confined to her base.
In January 2007, she faced court martial, where she was sentenced to 30 days in prison and was stripped of all her rank. She has since been released from the military. For more information visit http://www.suzanneswift.org
Bethany "Skylar" James
In September 2007, 19-year-old Army Spc Bethany "Skyler" James left Fort Campbell near Louisville, Kentucky, to seek refuge in Canada after hearing horror stories from fellow soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. "I just wanted to let everybody know, that if you are in the military and you've been thinking, why am I putting up with this? You don't have to put up with it." An "out" lesbian, Skyler was ridiculed daily by the other soldiers and even received hate letters.
Texas soldier Victor Agosto refuses Afghanistan deployment. “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.” The words were scrawled in black ink on the bottom of a military counseling statement, a routine piece of paperwork turned in May 1st to the commander of a Ft. Hood, Texas Army unit headed for Afghanistan. It was signed Victor Agosto, U.S. Army.
Agosto is publicly refusing orders to deploy to Afghanistan. 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.” Since May 11th, he has been refusing all orders directly connected to his unit's deployment to Afghanistan, including an order to track the serial numbers of trucks headed for Afghanistan. He has since been assigned to non-deployment tasks such as sweeping the motor pool and "company area beautification" as he waits to see what the military will do to him.
Steve Yoczik is a candid, smart, funny guy. Listening to him brought back childhood memories for me of a fictional M.A.S.H. character, Corporal Klinger. While in training he discovered that he had been recruited for an already moribund military job and was destined for general infantry deployment in Iraq (and further that the military was continuing to deceitfully recruit and train for this occupation with intentions of deploying every trainee in the same fashion). Steve waged a concerted bid to be kicked out of the army. Over a period of months, he deliberately failed between 50 and 100 physical tests. When it became obvious that the officers would not file three consecutive failing reports so as to have his status reviewed, Steve started to fail to appear for the tests and was flippant, if not outright insubordinate, if these absences brought any reproach. Steve figures he was gone for a while before anyone realized that he was AWOL. He found out about the War Resisters Support Campaign in Canada through a friend - a model soldier and US patriot who disagreed so strongly with the war in Iraq that he fled to Canada rather than participate in it. With only one passed physical between him and Iraq, Steve had to make the same choice.
