I signed up for the Army while I was a high school senior in Warwick, NY in December of 2002. I was enlisted from August of 2003 until March of 2009 as a Radar Repairer for the Firefinder radar systems. I deployed to Iraq from January 2005 until January 2006. After coming home, I was sent to Camp Casey, South Korea for one year then Fort Carson, CO. My initial five-year enlistment ended in August of 2008, but I was stop-lossed and scheduled to deploy to Iraq that October for a year. I refused and was eventually referred to a medical board. After about six months of paperwork and appointments, I was honorably discharged and started terminal leave in January of 2009. I joined IVAW in 2007 after returning from Korea. I had come to accept the fact that the war in Iraq was not justified and that the justifications for invasion had been falsified. Being stop-lossed, dealing with the Fort Carson medical board, and watching other soldiers struggle to get help just further reinforced my membership in IVAW. Currently, I am a Post-9/11 GI Bill student at Fordham University - Lincoln Center and the Veterans Health and Wellness Intern for the IVAW National Office.
