Published on Tuesday, May 26, 2009 by Inter Press Service
"There's No Way I'm Going to Deploy to
by Dahr Jamail
MARFA,
Agosto, who returned from a 13-month deployment to
While in
"I never had any traumatic experiences, never fired my weapon," Agosto told IPS in a phone interview. "I mostly worked in information technology, working on computers and keeping the network functioning well. But it was in
Agosto added, "What I did there, I know I contributed to death and human suffering. It's hard to quantify how much I caused, but I know I contributed to it."
Having served three years and nine months in the
Stop-loss is a program the military uses to keep soldiers enlisted beyond the terms of their contracts. Since Sep. 11, 2001, more than 140,000 troops have had tours extended by stop-loss.
A copy of his Counseling Form from the Army, dated May 1, reads, "You will deploy in support of OEF [Operation Enduring Freedom] on or about [XXXXX] with 57th ESB. This is a direct order from your Company Commander CPT Michael J. Pederson."
Agosto posted copies of the Counseling Statements issued by the Army on his Facebook page. Counseling Statements outline actions taken by the Army to discipline Agosto for his refusal to obey a direct order from his company commander.
On one of them, dated May 1, Agosto's written statement appears: "There is no way I will deploy to
In another, dated May 18, he wrote: "I will not obey any orders I deem to be immoral or illegal."
On that day, Agosto was ordered to get his medical records in preparation to deploy to
If Agosto continues to refuse orders, he almost assuredly will face court martial, and likely jail time.
When IPS asked Agosto if he is willing to take whatever consequences the Army is prepared to mete out, he replied, "Yes. I'm fully prepared for this. I have concluded that the wars [in
Agosto added, "The only way to make them responsive to the needs of the people is if soldiers won't fight their wars, and if soldiers won't fight their wars, the wars won't happen. I hope I'm setting an example for other soldiers."
Agosto has overtly refused to follow any order that has anything to do with his taking an action that would support the occupation of
"They switched that recently," he told IPS, "I've continued to be fairly defiant, so on Tuesday I have to meet with Trial Defense Services, which then begins the process of getting an Article 15, which is movement towards being court-martialed, if these reprimands continue."
"If I take the Article 15, I'll take a reduction in rank and pay. I don't' know what is going to happen. I agreed to sweep the motor pool and pull weeds, but nothing else that I feel directly supports the war. I'm not going to follow orders I'm not comfortable with."
Agosto's case is not unique. The group Courage to Resist, based in
"Although the efforts of Courage to Resist are primarily focused on supporting public GI resisters, the organization also strives to provide political, emotional, and material support to all military objectors critical of our government's current policies of empire," reads a portion of the group's mission statement.
IPS spoke with Adam Szyper-Seibert, an office manager and counselor with Courage to Resist.
"Currently we are actively supporting over 50 military resisters like Victor Agosto," Szyper-Seibert told IPS, "They are all over the world, including André Shepherd in
U.S. Army Specialist André Shepherd, who went AWOL after serving in Iraq, has applied for asylum in
The IRR is composed of former military personnel who still have time remaining on their enlistment agreements but have returned to civilian life. They are eligible to be called up in "states of emergency." The Army is currently undertaking the largest IRR recall since 2004, despite the recent inauguration of a so-called anti-war president.
Szyper-Seibert said that the number of soldiers contacting Courage to Resist has been increasing dramatically in the last year, and particularly in recent months.
"The number of soldiers contacting us is increasing," he explained, "With five to six IRR's contacting us a week, plus others going absent without leave [AWOL], the numbers are all climbing, as compared to a year ago. Since May 2008, we've had a 200 percent jump in how many soldiers are contacting us."
According to Courage to Resist, there have been at least 15,000 IRR call-ups since Sept. 11, 2001, for deployments to
Sgt. Travis Bishop, who served 14 months in Baghdad and is also stationed at Fort Hood, recently went AWOL when his unit deployed to
Like Agosto, Bishop feels it is immoral for him to deploy to support an occupation he morally opposes.
"I love my country, but I believe that this particular war is unjust, unconstitutional and a total abuse of our nation's power and influence," Bishop's blog reads, "And so, in the next few days, I will be speaking with my lawyer, and taking actions that will more than likely result in my discharge from the military, and possible jail time... and I am prepared to live with that."
The reason he made this decision is addressed in his blog.
"My father said, ‘Do only what you can live with, because every morning you have to look at your face in the mirror when you shave. Ten years from now, you'll still be shaving the same face.' If I had deployed to
Copyright © 2009 IPS-Inter Press Service
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"The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives." Eugene Victor Debs
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