This is a well written interesting story about a Soldier being AWOL...
story.news.yahoo.com
Excerpt...
With several GI advocates and peace activists planning to support his surrender, Mejia seeks to become the first test case weighing the moral impact of the Iraq conflict as tens of thousands of guardsmen, reservists and Army regulars are returning to the U.S. after yearlong tours and as their replacements are being rotated into Iraq, said Tod Ensign, director of Citizen Soldier, a GI advocacy rights group working with Mejia.
One soldier recently convicted of deserting just before the Iraq deployment was Pfc. Kenneth Carter, 20, court-martialed at Ft. Benning, Ga. He received a six-month sentence in a Ft. Knox prison, his mother said.
Mejia's lawyer, Font, is a civilian who has practiced military law for 26 years. Based in Brookline, Mass., Font is a 1968 West Point graduate who became a conscientious objector and did not go to Vietnam. He received an honorable discharge in 1971, he said.
Font plans to compare the Iraq conflict to Vietnam and even refer to political accusations about President Bush (news - web sites)'s military service during the Vietnam War.
"We are asking the military to treat [Mejia] the same way that the military treated President George Bush when he was in the Texas National Guard. That is, his alleged AWOL or desertion and failure to report to Alabama was treated through administrative channels rather than acted upon judicially," he said.
The White House has disputed such characterizations of Bush's service, insisting that he fulfilled his military duties when the Texas Air National Guard allowed him to transfer to Alabama so he could help with a political campaign.
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