http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/deserter/ en-us Wed, 23 Dec 2009 21:43:04 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414037/posts ABC News' Jonathan Karl reports: Over the weekend, Oklahoma Republican Sen. Tom Coburn said “the American people ought to pray that somebody can’t make the vote” on health care. Well, it seems Coburn’s prayers may have been answered, although not in the way he had in mind. Since yesterday, there has been a single senator missing every vote the health care bill: James Inhofe, Coburn’s fellow Oklahoma Republican. Calls and emails to Inhofe’s press office have not been returned, but it appears that Inhofe has left town for the holiday. Sources say Inhofe has told his colleagues simply that he... ABC News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414037/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 21:43:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2353935/posts <p>An Army lieutenant who refused to deploy to Iraq in 2006, saying he believed the war was illegal, has officially left the service. Fort Lewis spokesman Joseph Piek confirmed that Ehren Watada was discharged Friday.</p> <p>Watada was charged with missing his unit's deployment and with conduct unbecoming an officer for denouncing President Bush and the war—statements he made while explaining his actions.</p> AP via Breitbart http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2353935/posts#comment Sat, 3 Oct 2009 03:47:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2294489/posts Charles Robert Jenkins was an Army sergeant when he sneaked across the DMZ in 1965. Allowed to leave the North in 2004, he lives on a Japanese island with his family, working as a greeter in a shop. LA Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2294489/posts#comment Fri, 17 Jul 2009 02:42:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2267042/posts SPC Reynaldo Jimenez, 31, an Army deserter compromised military computer systems to reroute soldiers' pay to Dominican Republic bank accounts he opened with fake NY drivers' licenses....... DOD traced the scam to Jimenez computer trespassing at Bronx Community College. Jimenez enlisted in 2005 and was trained on military myPay computer systems. He went AWOL March 2008, fleeing to the Dominican Republic......he pleaded guilty April 2009. NY POST http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2267042/posts#comment Mon, 8 Jun 2009 10:23:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2192529/posts BOULDER, Colo. — A 21-year-old man wanted by the U.S. Army for desertion was arrested in Boulder over the weekend. In a strange twist, he was found wearing a woman’s thong and had three pairs of women’s underpants stuffed in his shirt pocket. Boulder police said they received an anonymous tip Saturday that Christopher Mauger, who has a nationwide felony warrant for desertion, could be found in an apartment unit at 770 29th St. in Boulder. Police went to the apartment around 4 p.m. and caught Mauger, who was wearing Army camouflage pants, at the back of the building trying... dailycamera.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2192529/posts#comment Tue, 24 Feb 2009 03:35:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2185273/posts HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, Canada (AP) -- A Marine wanted by the U.S. military for abandoning his unit sneaked across the border into Canada and fatally shot himself outside his mother's farmhouse, police said Friday. Timothy Scott, 22, was holding a pistol when police found him in the road outside his mother's home in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, Sgt. Mark Gallagher of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said. "Police spoke to him to try to talk him out of using the gun ... and unfortunately the circumstances unfolded and he took his life," Gallagher said. The Marine had served at Camp Lejeune,... AP via SFGate http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2185273/posts#comment Sat, 14 Feb 2009 00:14:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2182237/posts Sporting a dragon tattoo on his forearm and skulls on both biceps, Cliff Cornell's looks tough. But he dissolves into tears as he reflects on his return to the Army four years after he fled to Canada to avoid the war in Iraq. "I'm nervous, scared," Cornell said, wiping puffy eyes beneath his sunglasses Monday at a Savannah hotel after a three-day bus ride from Seattle. "I'm just not a fighter. I know it sounds funny, but I have a really soft heart." Cornell, 29, of Mountain Home, Ark., planned to turn himself in to military police Tuesday at nearby... Associated Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2182237/posts#comment Tue, 10 Feb 2009 13:03:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2174110/posts Germany has been very good to Spec. André L. Shepherd since he deserted the U.S. Army. The 31-year-old former mechanic of the 601st Aviation Support Battalion is enjoying perks that eluded him back home in Ohio: a bed, a bank account, a cellphone and friends. Best of all from his standpoint, he isn't back in Iraq. "I'm having the time of my life," says Mr. Shepherd, the only American bunking at a refugee-processing center in southern Germany. The U.S. deserter enters uncharted legal territory on Wednesday, when Germany begins weighing his request for political asylum. The case will put to... WSJ Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2174110/posts#comment Thu, 29 Jan 2009 12:55:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2160703/posts Canada has ordered the deportation of the first woman US soldier to have sought asylum in the country to avoid being deployed to Iraq. Kimberly Rivera, a mother of three, had requested permission to remain in Canada on humanitarian grounds but her appeal was rejected. She could face up to five years in prison when she returns to the US. Some 200 deserters from the US military are believed to have fled to Canada, some living incognito. Mrs Rivera served in Iraq in 2006 but deserted a year later after refusing to be redeployed. The War Resisters Supporters Campaign, who... BBC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2160703/posts#comment Thu, 8 Jan 2009 03:35:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2160270/posts The first female U.S. Iraq war resister to seek refuge in Canada has been ordered to leave the country before the end of the month or face deportation. Kimberley Rivera, who served in Iraq in 2006 and fled to Canada in 2007 after refusing redeployment, was told this morning she has until Jan. 27 to return to the U.S., said Michelle Rubidoux of the War Resisters Support Campaign. "It's ridiculous," said Rubidoux, who accompanied Rivera to her hearing at the Greater Toronto Enforcement Centre on Airport Road. The decision will force Rivera to uproot her family – her husband Mario... The Toronto Star http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2160270/posts#comment Wed, 7 Jan 2009 16:19:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2139375/posts FRANKFURT (Reuters) – A U.S. soldier who deserted his unit to avoid returning to Iraq has applied for asylum in Germany, saying the Iraq war was illegal and that he could not support the "heinous acts" taking place. Andre Shepherd, 31, who served in Iraq between September 2004 and February 2005 as an Apache helicopter mechanic in the 412th Aviation Support Battalion, has been living in Germany since deserting last year. Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2139375/posts#comment Fri, 28 Nov 2008 02:53:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2139303/posts MUNICH, Germany — An American soldier who deserted the Army 18 months ago to avoid a second tour to Iraq has asked the German government for political asylum, making him the first U.S. servicemember to go that route over Iraq. Army Spc. Andrè L. Shepherd submitted his petition Wednesday to a German federal office in Giessen that handles migration and refugee issues. Worried the Army might attempt to arrest him, Shepherd didn't publicly disclose the time and place of his filing until he held a press conference Thursday morning in Frankfurt. In a seven-page letter written earlier this year for... Stars and Stripes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2139303/posts#comment Thu, 27 Nov 2008 22:35:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2088034/posts A U.S. Army soldier who fled to Canada after learning his unit was being deployed to Iraq won a last-minute stay of deportation Monday. Federal Court Judge Richard Mosley ruled Jeremy Hinzman can stay in Canada while the court decides whether he can appeal his deportation order. "We're elated," Hinzman said moments after the decision was released. "(But) we're not out of the woods at all. We just have a stay of removal." ... In his three-page ruling, Mosley wrote, "Based on the evidence and submissions before me, I am satisfied that the applicants would suffer irreparable harm if a... AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2088034/posts#comment Mon, 22 Sep 2008 22:57:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2066628/posts An American soldier who fled to Canada rather than fight in Iraq pleaded guilty to a desertion charge Friday and was sentenced by an Army judge to 15 months in a military prison. The soldier, Pfc. Robin Long, 25, of Boise, Idaho, who left his unit in 2005 on grounds of moral opposition to the war, will also be dishonorably discharged and demoted to private E-1, the Army’s lowest rank. New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2066628/posts#comment Sat, 23 Aug 2008 11:28:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2063340/posts Deserter may fare worse because of flight Former 82nd Airborne Division paratrooper Jeremy Hinzman has been ordered out of Canada By Jay Price, Staff Writer A deserter from Fort Bragg who was ordered deported from Canada last week would probably have gotten a lighter punishment if he had simply stayed in the United States and quietly turned himself in, Army statistics suggest.Former 82nd Airborne Division paratrooper Jeremy Hinzman, 29, and his supporters in the United States and Canada think he'll be court-martialed for desertion if he is forced to return, in part because he fled to Canada and in... News Observer http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2063340/posts#comment Sun, 17 Aug 2008 18:12:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2061694/posts Jeremy Hinzman, a deserter from the United States Army, was ordered Wednesday to leave Canada by Sept. 23... Although the Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper has not backed the Iraq war, it has shown little sympathy for American deserters, a significant change from the Vietnam War era. New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2061694/posts#comment Thu, 14 Aug 2008 12:28:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2061229/posts MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — One of the first U.S. army deserters from Iraq to seek refugee status in Canada has been ordered deported. Jeremy Hinzman deserted the army in 2004 after learning his unit was to be deployed to Iraq. He refused to participate in what he calls an immoral and illegal war. Hinzman fled to Canada along with his wife and son and sought refugee status. Today, he was ordered out of the country by Sept. 23. The Immigration and Refugee Board rejected his claim in 2005 and the Federal Court of Appeal held that he wouldn’t face any serious... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2061229/posts#comment Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:05:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2053431/posts July 29, 2008 at 5:23 PM EDT FORT ERIE, Ont. — An American man wanted in the U.S. on desertion charges who had apparently been living for months in Canada has been arrested while trying to cross the border back into the U.S. American customs officials apprehended 23-year-old Tyrone Pachauer of Deltona, Fla., at the Peace Bridge border crossing in Fort Erie, Ont., as he tried to cross into Buffalo, N.Y., on Monday. Globe and Mail http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2053431/posts#comment Wed, 30 Jul 2008 01:37:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048877/posts U.S. soldier who fled to Canada because he refused to serve in Iraq has been deported, and now faces a possible court martial. Robin Long crossed the border into Canada in 2005. Last October, he was arrested in Nelson, B.C., on a Canada-wide warrant. He called military operations in Iraq "an illegal war of aggression." On Monday, Federal Court of Canada Justice Anne Mactavish said Long did not provide enough convincing evidence that he will face irreparable harm if he's sent back to the United States. She noted that the percentage of American military deserters prosecuted in the U.S.... CTV News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048877/posts#comment Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:37:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046734/posts A U.S. Navy deserter nabbed at the border is being shipped back to his base in California to face charges of desertion. At the same time, rallies were staged in Toronto and Vancouver yesterday to try to prevent Robin Long, a failed refugee claimant and deserter, from being deported to the U.S. In the first case, naval officer Jeffrey Mitchell, 24, was crossing the Peace Bridge late Saturday with his wife after a two-day Niagara Falls getaway when he was nabbed in a computer check, said Chief Kevin Corsaro, of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Corsaro said Mitchell had been... Toronto Sun http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046734/posts#comment Thu, 17 Jul 2008 04:41:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046185/posts A US soldier who deserted to Canada and sought refugee status for opposing the war in Iraq has been extradited to the United States, officials said, in Canada's first such case since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. "I can confirm that he has been expelled from Canada and returned to his country of origin," Shakila Manzoor, a spokeswoman for the Canada Border Services Agency (ASFC) said. US citizen Robin Long, 25, fled to Canada in 2005 and demanded refugee status, claiming he would suffer irreparable harm if he were sent back to the United States. He also argued that he... Herald Sun http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046185/posts#comment Wed, 16 Jul 2008 06:27:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046003/posts VANCOUVER - A U.S. Army deserter who fled to Canada three years ago has been deported back to America to face possible court martial. The Canada Border Services Agency confirmed Robin Long was removed from Canada Tuesday. Long claimed refugee status in Canada, saying he didn't want to take part in a U.S. war in Iraq he called "an illegal war of aggression." Sarah Bjoknas, a co-ordinator for the War Resisters Support Campaign, says Long will be returned to his unit based in Fort Knox, Kentucky. She says Long's punishment for deserting will be up to the company commander and... Canoe.ca http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046003/posts#comment Tue, 15 Jul 2008 22:30:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044553/posts James Corey Glass, apprentice mortician and United States Army deserter, was keeping an unusually close eye on the text messages coming into his cellphone. He was hoping to hear that a court had blocked the Canadian government’s attempt to send him back to the United States. On Wednesday afternoon, the message came: Mr. Glass, 25, could remain in Canada while he appealed his removal order by the country’s Immigration Department. It was a welcome reprieve, he said, but well short of a guarantee that he and other deserters could make Canada their new home. The Canadian government’s effort to remove... New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044553/posts#comment Sat, 12 Jul 2008 21:30:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2041307/posts OTTAWA, July 5 (UPI) -- A Canadian federal judge has decided Canada's refugee board made a mistake when it rejected a U.S. soldier's request for asylum. Justice Robert Barnes said the Immigration and Refugee Board was incorrect when it decided Joshua Key was unable to seek asylum in Canada because the military actions he was dodging weren't extreme enough to be considered war crimes. The Friday ruling may pave the way for other American deserters who try to claim refugee status in Canada, The Globe and Mail in Toronto reported. The judge said evading military orders that are "contrary to... UPI http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2041307/posts#comment Sun, 6 Jul 2008 02:29:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2040060/posts Since deserting his unit in Iraq and fleeing to Canada two years ago, Corey Glass has become the poster boy of the war resisters movement. Thursday in Toronto, supporters are planning to protest his scheduled deportation back to the United States. Corey Glass, 25, who deserted the U.S. Army while his unit was in Iraq and fled to Canada has become a cause celebre there. The American's impending deportation has led to protests and a parliamentary resolution. (ABC News Photo Illustration)But it turns out Glass has had little reason to be on the lam, ABC News has learned. Unknown to... ABC News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2040060/posts#comment Thu, 3 Jul 2008 02:08:13 GMT