Agustin Aguayo

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Soldier of conscience

After serving in Iraq, Army Spc. Agustín Aguayo decided the war was wrong and refused to go back -- at a heavy price.

By Charles Hawley

March 09, 2007 Is it possible to become a conscientious objector once you have signed up to fight a war? According to U.S. military regulations, the answer is yes. But as confirmed by a U.S. Army court-martial in the case of former Army Spc. Agustín Aguayo near the western German city of Würzburg on Tuesday, the Army also reserves the right to answer no.

Aguayo, a 35-year-old Mexican-American from Los Angeles, served a tour of duty in Iraq as a combat medic from 2004 to 2005. Early on in basic training, however, he began to realize that he was opposed to war. When his unit was ordered to return to Iraq for a second tour of duty, Aguayo decided he could not obey with a clear conscience. He deserted from the military base in Germany.

On Tuesday, in a small cramped courtroom in the Leighton Barracks near Würzburg, Aguayo was found guilty of desertion, slapped with a bad-conduct discharge, stripped of pay and benefits, and sentenced to eight months' imprisonment. It could have been much worse -- the prosecution had asked for Aguayo to be locked away for two years.

"I never intended to cause any disruption," a visibly nervous Aguayo told the military judge hearing his case. "I always tried to do the best I could. I sincerely believe I am a conscientious objector. My life reflects that, and it's what I have become at the very core of myself."

In the days since he turned himself in to military authorities in California -- where he went after deserting his unit in early September last year -- Aguayo has also become something else: a symbol.

In closing arguments, an Army co-prosecutor made perfectly clear that the court-martial's message was for those increasing number of men and women in uniform who object to what they are being asked to do in Iraq: "It is not OK to abandon your brothers in arms."

But thrown in among the couple dozen journalists on hand for the trial were those for whom Aguayo symbolizes a much different message. They were representatives of the anti-Iraq war movement in the United States and Europe. For them, Aguayo is something of a hero.

It is a role that Aguayo is uncomfortable talking about. For him, it was always about his changing beliefs once he entered the Army. About his growing discomfort with picking up a weapon and his eventual refusal to carry a loaded gun even while serving in a war zone. Or, as his civilian defense attorney David Court put it: "This is a case of a man of conscience who did not want to break the law."

Whether he likes it or not, though, Aguayo has become the latest in an ever-growing list of U.S. soldiers making headlines for refusing to fight in Iraq. Some, like Lt. Ehren Watada -- who recently became the first U.S. officer to be court-martialed for opting not to obey orders sending him to Iraq -- argue that the fight is illegal. Others, like Aguayo and Mark Wilkerson, who was sentenced to seven months behind bars in February for desertion, choose the conscientious objector route, saying that their belief systems have changed.

All, though, are needed by an antiwar movement that -- despite widespread disapproval of the war -- has had difficulty gaining traction in the United States. Soldiers who oppose the war reason that those on the front lines of that movement could be just the representatives they need.

"Those who take a public stand give support to those [still in the military] who are against the war and thinking of resisting," said Kelly Dougherty, executive director of Iraq Veterans Against the War. "The only ones who can destroy the myth [that the Iraq war is necessary] are the military."

Dougherty -- in Germany this week for Aguayo's trial -- helped found Iraq Veterans Against the War three years ago. The group recently elected to focus more of its attention on fostering resistance within the military and counts more than 400 members -- all current or former soldiers.

Other peace and antiwar groups have also recognized the potential of supporting real soldiers as they try to turn their back on the military. Lori Hurlebaus of Courage to Resist was also in Würzburg on Tuesday. A number of antiwar groups based in Germany, including Tübingen Progressive Americans and American Voices Abroad, were also there.

Support for these organizations is increasing. Like Dougherty's group, Veterans for Peace is seeing rapid growth. Furthermore, nearly 1,600 active soldiers have signed a petition to the U.S. Congress that reads in part: "Staying in Iraq will not work and is not worth the price." Likewise, according to the War Resisters Support Campaign in Canada, there may be as many as 200 to 300 U.S. soldiers who have headed north across the border to escape deployment.

For his part, Aguayo is now heading to Mannheim for his prison term, after which he will be exactly where he has wanted to be since he filed his conscientious objector papers just days before his first deployment to Iraq: at home with his family. And far from any battlefields and orders to commit violence.

Indeed, he had been hoping to be granted conscientious objector status from the beginning. It was only after his application was refused, despite being initially approved by his immediate superiors, that Aguayo realized he had to move to plan B. Which wasn't much of a plan. On the evening of Sept. 1, 2006, his unit began its journey back to Iraq. And Aguayo elected not to join them. The next day, he turned himself in, only to be told that he might still be sent to Iraq. After being taken to his on-base apartment to collect his belongings, Aguayo took off out the bedroom window, leaving his wife Helga in the front room.

"Until he is back, our lives are at a standstill," Helga told the court during the sentencing proceedings. Because he has been in custody pending his trial, the standstill will be over in as little as 40 days.

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/03/09/objectors/

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Court denies Army medic's conscientious objector claim

February 17, 2007 WASHINGTON -- A federal appeals court refused on Friday to overturn the detention of a U.S. Army medic who declared his opposition to war on the eve of his deployment to Iraq.

Agustin Aguayo, who enlisted in 2002 during the run-up to the Iraq war, asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to release him from a military prison. He had sought an honorable discharge as a "conscientious objector."

Aguayo, who has been held in a U.S. prison in Germany since going absent without leave, said he enlisted as a way to earn money for his education. Though military operations in Afghanistan were under way and discussions about Iraq were ongoing, he said he never considered that he'd have to fight.

He faces up to seven years in prison on charges of desertion and missing movement and is scheduled to face trial next month, his attorney, Peter Goldberger said. Goldberger said he would ask the appeals court to reconsider the decision.

"It breaks my heart because I think he's sincere," the lawyer added.

Goldberger told the court in November that Aguayo's beliefs evolved over time and "crystallized" to the point that he could no longer take a life.

The Army said that wasn't enough. To receive conscientious-objector status, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin K. Robitaille said, a soldier must show a deeply rooted objection to war in any form.

"These cases are hard for people to believe because they involve a change in people's beliefs, but when you think about how old they were when they signed up, it's not that surprising at all," Goldberger said Friday.

Government attorneys noted that Aguayo applied as a conscientious objector only after receiving his orders to Iraq and did so at the same time as his best friend. They said there was not enough evidence to support Aguayo's argument.

The appeals court unanimously agreed, saying it could overturn the Army's decision only in the most extraordinary circumstances. The court found that the military had good reason to deny Aguayo's application.

The three-judge panel said Aguayo had little evidence to support his growing moral conviction against war and said the Army appropriately weighed the suspicious timing of his application.

"Though Aguayo stated that his Army training caused him anguish and guilt, we find little indication that his beliefs were accompanied by study or contemplation, whether before or after he joined the Army," Judge David B. Sentelle wrote.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/02/17/military/14_29_432_16_07.txt

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AWOL medic confined in Mannheim to await charges

1st AD soldier seeking conscientious objector status

October 04, 2006

Spc. Agustin Aguayo, center, a medic who surrendered to Army authorities in California last week after going AWOL to avoid a second tour in Iraq, arrived back in Germany on Tuesday. He was escorted by several soldiers as he made his way through Frankfurt International Airport.

FRANKFURT, Germany — Handcuffed and clad in camouflage fatigues, Army Spc. Agustin Aguayo arrived back in Germany on Tuesday after going absent without leave for 24 days and missing his unit’s deployment to Iraq.

Aguayo, a professed conscientious objector, was escorted by several uniformed soldiers as he walked through Frankfurt International Airport shortly after the commercial airliner carrying him landed at noon.

The handcuffs fastened to his wrist were obscured by a woodland-style field jacket. Under the coat, Aguayo gripped a small, plastic water bottle.

When asked if he could comment, Aguayo indicated that he couldn’t.

Several supporters were on hand to observe the 34-year-old combat veteran’s return, including members of the Military Counseling Network, an independent advocacy group for U.S. soldiers based in Europe. Airport commuters who noticed the procession looked on with puzzled expressions.

Aguayo surrendered to Army authorities at Fort Irwin National Training Center in California last week. Reared in Southern California, Aguayo sought sanctuary there after slipping away from his home base in Schweinfurt, Germany, on Sept. 2, the day after his unit began leaving for Iraq.

The Army could charge Aguayo, a medic for the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, with being AWOL and with missing a unit movement. Civilian attorneys for Aguayo have said that similar situations involving soldiers making similar claims have led to jail sentences ranging from a couple of months to a couple of years, as well as a bad-conduct discharge.

Aguayo was taken from the Frankfurt airport to the U.S. Army Confinement Facility-Europe in Mannheim, Germany, where he will be in pretrial confinement while Army officials review the evidence to determine the status of his case, according to 1st Armored Division spokesman Maj. Wayne Marotto.

Aguayo joined the Army for four years in late 2002 under the delayed entry program, according to his wife, Helga. He went to boot camp in January 2003 and eventually deployed to Iraq in February 2004, where he served a year with his unit in Tikrit.

In the months leading up to his first deployment to Iraq, Aguayo came to view himself as a conscientious objector, his wife has said. He applied for conscientious objector status in early 2004 and served with his unit in Iraq while waiting for his request to be processed. Aside from his regular duties as a medic, Aguayo pulled guard duty and went on patrols, his wife said. When he did, however, it was usually, if not always, without a loaded gun.

The Army ultimately rejected Aguayo’s application, but he appealed and continued to maintain he fit the definition even after his unit returned from Iraq in February 2005. The matter is currently before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C.

Supporters have maintained from the onset that Aguayo turned himself in to Schweinfurt military police on Sept. 2 with no intention of going AWOL. However, Aguayo went AWOL later that day, they said, because he was told by his superiors that he would deploy to Iraq regardless of his beliefs, even if that meant boarding a transport plane in handcuffs.

On Tuesday, the handcuffs were on, only Aguayo was stepping off of a commercial plane instead of stepping onto a military transport.

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War objector's appeal evokes Vietnam-era cases

November 21, 2006 WASHINGTON -- A federal appeals court is rereading cases from the Vietnam era as it considers whether to allow an honorable discharge for an Army medic who announced his objections to war on the eve of his deployment to Iraq.

Appeals courts heard several cases on "conscientious objectors" during the Vietnam War draft but such appeals are much more rare in an all-volunteer military.

Agustin Aguayo, who enlisted in 2002 during the lead-up to the Iraq war, is asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to release him from a military prison. It is believed to be the first federal appeal in a conscientious objector case during the Iraq war.

Aguayo, who is being held in a U.S. prison in Germany after going absent without leave, said he enlisted as a way to earn money for his education. Though military operations in Afghanistan were under way and discussions about Iraq were ongoing, he said he never considered that he'd have to fight.

Judge A. Raymond Randolph, one of three judges on the case, said he'd been reading up on the Vietnam appeals and asked how the case differs from those filed decades ago by people who realized their opposition to war only after receiving a draft card.

Attorney Peter Goldberger said the Aguayo's beliefs evolved over time and "crystalized" to the point that he could no longer take a life.

Government attorneys say that's not enough. To receive conscientious-objector status, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin K. Robitaille said, a soldier must show a deeply rooted objection to war in any form.

In a statement submitted to the court and released on a Web site dedicated to his cause, Aguayo said he is being guided by his principles.

"My beliefs and morals come from a transformation as a direct result of my combined religious/family upbringing, military experience, and new experiences I've created and sought," he said.

The government argued -- and a federal judge in August agreed -- that Aguayo's religious beliefs existed when he enlisted. A soldier may not hide his beliefs to obtain military benefits, then use them as a way to get out of service, the court said.

Attorneys also noted that Aguayo applied as a conscientious objector only after receiving his orders to Iraq and did so at the same time as his best friend.

Supporters said Aguayo's actions are not uncommon. They said beliefs frequently evolve over time.

"People change their hearts and the law allows for it," said J.E. McNeil, executive director of the Center on Conscience & War.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/11/22/military/15_30_2511_21_06.txt

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