Army Reserve Sgt. Erik Botta, here with his wife, Jennifer, has served in Iraq three times and in Afghanistan once. He is scheduled for a fifth deployment Sunday unless a court blocks the military's plans.
Posted on 07/14/2007 11:34:04 AM PDT by SkyPilot
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (July 14) - Army Reserve Sgt. Erik Botta has been sent to Iraq three times and to Afghanistan once. He thinks that's enough.
Botta wants a court to block the military's plan to deploy him for a fifth time Sunday, most likely to Iraq. He isn't against the war - but he thinks he can serve his country better now by working for a defense contractor and pursuing his education.
Army Reserve Sgt. Erik Botta, here with his wife, Jennifer, has served in Iraq three times and in Afghanistan once. He is scheduled for a fifth deployment Sunday unless a court blocks the military's plans.
"This has nothing to do with protest of the war ... I have nothing but respect for the people on the ground," Botta said Friday, one day after he filed his petition in U.S. District Court in West Palm Beach. "But I feel I do need a fair decision and a fair review."
Botta , 26, of Port St. Lucie, contends in his petition that the Army's refusal to exempt him from deployment "constitutes unlawful custody." Botta argues the Army did not consider the length and nature of his previous tours "to assure a sharing of exposure to the hazards of combat."
He was granted an initial exemption last year, allowing him to pursue an electrical engineering degree at Palm Beach Community College and work as a senior technician on Blackhawk and Seahawk helicopters at Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. But now his exemption has been denied.
Botta said he was shocked when he received notice of his latest deployment orders.
"My heart sank through the floor," he said. "I've sacrificed all my time into this new life I have now."
Botta enlisted in the Army Reserves in October 2000. After the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, he requested transfer to active duty, which was granted the next month, according to the petition.
Botta was deployed to Afghanistan for about seven months in 2002. He then had three deployments to Iraq - about a month in 2003, three months in 2004 and 15 days later that year.
Army spokeswoman Maj. Cheryl Phillips noted that Army Reserve units deploy for 12 consecutive months, and that Botta had only accumulated about 10 nonconsecutive months of deployment. She also noted that Botta was under an eight-year service contract.
"The Army leadership acknowledges the hardships and sacrifices of our soldiers and their families and is aggressively pursuing means to lessen their strain," Phillips wrote in an e-mail Friday. "We evaluate each request for deferment or exemption from mobilization independently to determine if a deployment will cause undue hardship for the soldier or the family."
Botta said he isn't against the war in Iraq, but that he thinks he's done his duty. When he received his deployment notice his "heart sank through the floor," he said. "I've sacrificed all my time into this new life I have now."
She said that out of 649 deployment delays requested by soldiers since the start of the Afghan war in 2001, the Army has granted 561 or 87 percent. Of the 5,708 exemptions that have been requested, 2,983 or 54 percent have been granted.
Botta 's previous deployments in Iraq were as a communications specialist with the 3rd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment and were shorter than most tours because they were "emergency deployments," said his attorney, Mark Waple.
After his release from active duty on Oct. 30, 2004, Botta has not been required to participate in any training, he said.
Botta now wants a federal judge to stop his deployment. If a resolution is not reached, he said he will follow orders and deploy Sunday to Fort Jackson near Columbia, S.C.
Waple said the Army's decision to redeploy Botta and to deny his request for exemption is arbitrary and goes against actions in similar cases where academic exemptions were granted.
"We're just concerned that they're granting these exemptions in some cases and denying them in others without any real meaningful methodology in making that decision," Waple said.
Waple also noted that Congress requires the Defense Department to "take into consideration the reservist's prior military service to be certain that there is uniform exposure among reservists to the hazards of combat and the Department of the Army has failed to do that in Sgt. Botta 's case."
There was no immediate word as to when the court would take up the case.
When I first began reading this story I was leaning towards this man’s point of view. Then I read the part about his actual time in the “sandbox” and he lost me. Up to that point I was thinking that he’d spent way more time than most soldiers (thinking wrongly that four tours would mean at least four years). Now I only view him as a “crybaby pee pants” who is trying to get out of fulfilling his obligation to his country (he did, after all, voluntarily enlist). Sorry, I cannot find sympathy for this man while my son (and many others) has served nearly continuously for the past 12 months with four months remaining before I see my son again. There have been soldiers and Marines who have actually served multiple tours (up to four) for at least 9 months for each tour (and up to 15 months) without crying about being sent.
Climb To Glory - Hooah 2nd BCT/10th Mountain (special recognition to A-Troop 1-89 Cav Regiment)
This is the "boat" my son is in. When he comes home in November, he'll be stateside for up to 12 months (no guarantee how long) and then redeploy to Iraq for another 15 months or longer.
No News Is Good News...BUMP for the 2/15...Go COMMANDO !!
I realize that you changed your view on this guy after finding out about his 8 year enlistment. However, I would like to take the time to contrast this man's 11 total months of "deployment" with the deployments of men and women from this nation during WWII. In that war a "deployment" was pretty much for the duration of the war unless a soldier was injured to the point that they were no longer combat effective, or some significant issue arose at home which allowed the military to give an early separation (rare). In Vietman many soldiers were deployed for much longer than 365 days on a tour, while some soldiers spent several tours there without a significant break. This comment is only meant to try and give another perspective on the issue.
News from the 1-89 Cav Reg is that they are at present not doing anymore “high profile” missions. Not sure how long that will last.
The news I received came yesterday. One bit of info was that a 500 pounder dropped out of the sky onto some terrorists (as guided and directed by my son’s troop). He stated that the rest of the terrorist lit out after realizing that the 10th means business. If John Edwards were to have his way (50,000 troops redeployed immediately), these terrorists would rejoice as they come back into these areas made secure by these brave heroes.
Uh, if he was a “regular” Reservist in peace time, he would have had “five deployments” in five years to meet his requirement to stay active. So you think ALL reservists shouldn’t have to “deploy” yearly even though it’s only for two weeks?
C’mon!
We have 40 of 70 months under our belt and you don’t see my husband hiring a lawyer. And he has a real job. It’s not just a hardship to our family (which we willingly accept, as he is a VOLUNTEER after all) but it’s a hardship to his hospital as well.
The news I received came yesterday. One bit of info was that a 500 pounder dropped out of the sky onto some terrorists (as guided and directed by my son’s troop). He stated that the rest of the terrorist lit out after realizing that the 10th means business. If John Edwards were to have his way (50,000 troops redeployed immediately), these terrorists would rejoice as they come back into these areas made secure by these brave heroes.
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Outstanding !! Gotta luv them 500 pounders...;0)
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