Soldier gets month in jail for refusing deployment

[laststeamtrain]

Source: Houston Chronicle/AP

Soldier gets month in jail for refusing deployment
By ANGELA K. BROWN Associated Press Writer
Aug. 5, 2009, 12:26PM

FORT HOOD, Texas — A Fort Hood soldier was sentenced Wednesday to a month in jail for refusing to deploy to Afghanistan over his beliefs that the war violates international law.

Spc. Victor Agosto, 24, of Miami, pleaded guilty to disobeying lawful orders and was sentenced at the central Texas Army post. The judge also reduced his rank to the Army's lowest level, a private, which also was part of the maximum penalty he faced in his plea agreement with the military.

Also, Agosto cannot be discharged at a level lower than other-than-honorable conditions, an administrative discharge. A discharge was not mentioned in the hearing, but Agosto is expected to be released from the Army after completing his jail term.

Before he was sentenced during the hourlong military hearing, he told the judge he should not be jailed because he posed no threat to anyone.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6561589.html

[Politicalboi]

1. If only more would do this

Who would they send? 30 days in the hole to have a clear conscience is a deal

[pipoman]

33. An "other-than-honorable" discharge

will stick with him for the rest of his life. there is no way to expunge that label.

[hedgehog]

2. Geez, he should have questioned Obama's birth certificate instead!

[endarkenment]

3. So the birfer gets re-assigned and this guy gets jail?

That figures.

[Tx4obama]

4. well...

the birther case was different. The birther had volunteered to go and he was still within his legal time limit to retract his request to be deployed.

[No Elephants]

27. Yes, the birther was different. The birther acted in total bad faith.

[hack89]

6. The Birther was not active duty

He was a reservist that volunteered for an assignment. He had the option to "un-volunteer" any time up until he reported. Since he never actually reported for active duty the Army considered his lawsuit a voluntary withdrawal of his request for assignment.

He never actually refused to obey orders - he was simply asking "clarification" of Obama's status as CinC. The Army rightfully refused to play.

[zbdent]

10. and that was with an interesting timeline ...

According to Wikipedia:

hooked up with Oily Taintz 2/1/2009 ...

requested the 1-year Afghanistan assignment 5/8/2009, to begin 7/15/2009 ...

filed the lawsuit 7/8/2009 ... (hmm, instructed on how to proceed by O.T.???)

case dismissed 7/16/2009.

[hack89]

13. It was very much a set up

that's why the Army refused to play along - they didn't want to give him a platform to bash the CinC.

[windbreeze]

5. Now why would he refuse to be deployed...and then go for a plea agreement?

either you have the balls to stand up for your beliefs, or else ...WHY do it HALF WAY??which is exactly what he did...wb

[EFerrari]

11. Amy interviewed him about an hour before his trial. He said

he didn't go for CO status because he's not against all wars. It was a good interview.

http://www.democracynow.org/2009/8/5/hours_before_court_martial_army_resister

Audio, video, transcript at link.

[No Elephants]

29. Why does a plea agreement render him "ball-less"? Your conclusion is odd.

And, the existence or not of testicles has nothing to do with courage, either.

I don't know anything about this man's testicles, but he seems to have plenty of courage, both physical and moral. He signed up to serve and is not looking for either a discharge or a way out of combat missios. And I am sure his moral stand is not going to make his life in the military easier--and he knew that when he took his stand.

[pipoman]

34. The precident is pretty clear

the "other-than-honorable" discharge and 30 days in jail or if he fought and lost (and he would have lost), a dishonorable discharge and 10 years in Leavenworth...seems like a nobrainer to me...

[windbreeze]

38. you made my point for me...thanx...

So the guy refused a direct order, after he VOLUNTEERED himself into the service, while knowing what the consequences would be...IMO, IF it was important enough for him to refuse to deploy, then he should have taken whatever the resulting punishment was and proved just HOW important that decision was to him...he should not have been allowed a plea bargain...no brainer??? you are correct..it was a no brainer(in more ways than one)...he got out of going, and then he got out of paying for HIS DECISION TO DISOBEY an order, by using a plea bargain...so how about all the guys who went, and never gave a thought to disobeying the order to deploy???

I was a military wife for 10 years, way back...MY HUSBAND would have never gotten away with such a thing...had he disobeyed an order to report for duty somewhere, (it used to be called going AWOL)...the minute he was found, he would have been arrested and taken to the lock up....there would have been NO plea bargain...there'd have been a courts martial and they'd have sent him to Leavenworth and thrown away the key...AND he'd have gotten a dishonorable discharge to boot...even those who had been drafted would not have gotten away with this sort of thing..let alone someone who willingly entered the service and as of HIS enlistment date...AGREED to do what he was told..but then..things have obviously changed, and not necessarily for the better...

Disclaimer: I have never been for this "war" and have felt it was a mistake all along...I am sorry that our guys have gone over there and died as a result...I am sorry for the ones who come back mentally or physically damaged and still have their whole lives ahead of them...However, I don't believe that once they volunteer, they should be let off as easy as this kid has been..I am sure, no one held a gun to his head and told him to volunteer...HE CHOSE to do so..Just like he CHOSE to disobey a direct order to report for duty...and I don't think he should have been rewarded for conduct unbecoming, because to me that's what it is...nor is it fair to the rest of his fellow soldiers...

[pipoman]

41. I don't disagree

and had this long hard conversation with my own son before he enlisted.

[damntexdem]

7. Hey, would you rather spend a tour in Afghanistan or a month in jail?

And with the latter, you also get out of the army!

Well, duh, I wonder which is better.

[No Elephants]

28. I would rather spend ten years in jail than a month killing in Afghanistan--or

anywhere. But then, I did not sign up for the military. This guy did--and he refuses CO status. So, you really don't know what HE thinks is better, which is all that is relevant to his story.

[pipoman]

35. Unless CO status was offered as a plea option

it is almost impossible to attain. He has already stated he isn't CO or he wouldn't have been in the army in the first place. CO status is almost an impossible defense outside of the draft.

[florida08]

8. the article stated

He said he had remained on post and went to work every day since refusing to deploy after learning a few months ago that the Army was keeping him beyond his enlistment date. He said he did not use drugs or go absent without leave, as other soldiers have done to avoid deployment.

Now in an all volunteer army they should have an out or alternatives when they've served their time but of course they don't. They can just keep extending or repeat your tours regardless how stressed you are. At least they won't give him a dishonorable.

[K8-EEE]

9. Is this the one Orly was advising?

Good...! And can we deport her ass while we're at it for slandering the President and advising active military personnel to disobey orders?

[Ilsa]

21. No that idiot is a reservist who volunteered to go, then

protested going because of the bc issue. It was a set up to bring a lawsuit.

[RedCloud]

12. You cannot convert a man's heart which is rooted in the tree of justice.

Jail will only make him stronger.

[Uzybone]

14. Soldier Who Didn’t Obey Orders Is Jailed

Source: NYTimes

HOUSTON — A soldier at Fort Hood who fought his deployment to Afghanistan and stopped obeying orders was sentenced to a month in jail and demoted to private in a military court on Wednesday morning.

Victor Agosto, a 24-year-old signalman with the III Corps, ripped a patch showing his specialist rank off his uniform after an emotional hearing in front of an Army captain in which he had told the court he believed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan violated international law, his lawyer, James M. Branum, said. Later, about 20 antiwar protesters cheered Private Agosto as he was taken to jail, the lawyer said.

“He’s not opposed to all wars; he is opposed to this war, because it is not a war of self-defense,” Mr. Branum said.

Under a plea agreement, Private Agosto will be discharged after he serves his time in jail in Belton, Tex., Mr. Branum said.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/06/us/06soldier.html?hp

---

He stood up for his beliefs.

[ZombieHorde]

15. Takes some guts to go jail for your beliefs. nt

[Xipe Totec]

16. I wonder what part of his beliefs made him join the military

seems kind of unhinged, don't you think?

If he's so much against it, why join at all?

Bizarre, in my mind...

[AzNick]

17. Sorry, but he signed for it

And the war in Afghanistan was approved by UN resolution 1386.

Understood it was a peace keeping mission originally, but there is legitimacy anyway.

I know a few kids who signed up and are being sent there, some disagree, but are doing what they signed for.

And yes, I served.

[ZombieHorde]

18. I am not argueing that he should be allowed leave the military whenever he wants,

I just saying it takes some guts to put "your money (or freedom) where your mouth is."

[No Elephants]

25. Legitimacy or not, it is not a war of self-defense. Besides, UN Resolution 1386 doesn't

say Afghanistan is to become a puppet or client of the United States for as long as the US prefers.

Resolutio 1378 was adopted as one of several UN responses to 911. At what point does the rationale of hunting down the perps of 911 in Afghanistan wear out?

All that aside, if this guy truly has a conscience problem with Afghanistan, then he has a conscience problem and that is all that matters. If he is willing to go to jail to obey the dictates of his conscience, so be it. That is a lot more honorable in my eyes than requesting an assignment in order to challenge Obama's right to be President in court.

On the birther's theory, Obama, not being President, cannot order him to go anywhere or to do anything. So, his accepting reassignment proves how bogus all his actions were. In my view, he should be in jail.

Thank you for your service.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

20. War of self defense? I guess fighting the Germans in WW2 would have been out.

[No Elephants]

30. Since the issues involved are nothing alike, I don't know how you can jump to that conclusion.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

37. Just wondering about the statement. Quite strange.

[annm4peace]

22. He is very brave and I'm proud of him

He did two tours and was due to be out tomorrow. He was stop lost to Afghanistan.

that is BS. F the freaking Pentagon. No one signed up for this BS. They changed the contract on them and then call them cowards and other things cause they don't want to go back.

I have a cousin and know another guy who have been life long military. One is 46 the other 40.. neither have gone to Iraq or Afghanistan. one has been in Hawaii for the past 5 years.

I'm glad he only has to do 1 month. I hope more refuse, and I wish a was a politician so I could try to make sure they still get all there benefits.

[AnneD]

42. I was wondering if he was stop loss-ed......

Stop loss is akin to slavery in my book. You honoured your end of the deal and the army doesn't honour theirs. So they keep you there tour after tour. You have done your duty and they won't let you go. I could see him having a change of heart-people do. When I went in I was single. My daughter was born just months before the first Gulf War and they would have had to have to had armed guards drag me away (breast feeding moms can get really ugly really fast).

I found out (when the Gulf War first started) that even though I was in the IRR and had been for a long time (past my initial commitment) I could still be called up and made to serve due to my occupation-even though I had been out of service for 8 years. Well I got my butt out, never re upped, and didn't leave a fore warding address. I kept a low profile for a long time and although I could be grabbed again, the older I get the less desirable I become.

Stop-loss-ed and forced to do tours....the judge should have given even a lighter wrist slap but what he did was ok. He is a hero in my book for standing up for his rights.

[Big_Mike]

19. He got off too lightly

It could have and, IMHO, should have been much harsher. He should have been given at least a couple of years. Somebody must have thought he was otherwise a good troop. Yeah, they slammed him with a Summary Court-Martial. Only someone guilty or a fool takes a Summary Court, since the person preferring the charge against you is the judge convicting you. If he thought he was right, he should have refused that and gone for a trial by jury with a Special Court-Martial. However, at that level, he could get a Bad Conduct Discharge, or if it was moved to a General Court-Martial, a Dishonorable Discharge.

Basically, he got an Article 15 on steroids. He skated on this one.

[dschis]

24. Yep

I guess he wanted to get in the press. A lot of you don't know it, but when you sign up for thee years you are actually signing up for six years. Used to be you served the other three as inactive reserve, but they could call you up at any time. I seen that in the Gulf War Senior.

But then I'm retired and they can call me anyway

[No Elephants]

32. How long you sign up for has nothing to do with the issues in the OP. The man is not

saying he's not subject to being called to active duty, nor is he refusing combat missions anywhere but in Afghanistan.

[No Elephants]

31. Baloney, Big Mike. 212 posts since before July, 2003. All righty, then.

[Pavulon]

36. I agree with mike, Lots of people hated

our participation in IFOR/KFOR, lots of people said the same shit. Illegal to send NG overseas (really people said that), fuck bill clinton, etc, but at the end of the day everyone showed up, and bitched over there about a different range of topics.

Orders are given or taken, not negotiated. You join the military and figure this out.

[Echo In Light]

40. lol

[Solly Mack]

23. K&R

[No Elephants]

26. Guess this thread drew the cons.

[Zhade]

39. More heroic than any armchair chickenhawk who denounces him.

NT!