I joined the Army in 1997 and in just under ten years had risen to the rank of Staff Sergeant and held a position a Gunnery Sergeant of a firing platoon in the field artillery.

I knew from the start of the conflict that Iraq was wrong, and my suspicions were confirmed while I was deployed there during OIF III. I was witness to war profiteering, rampant corruption, and the dehumanization of the Iraqi population. I wasn't fighting for freedom, I wasn't keeping America safer, or spreading democracy. I was fighting for the lives of my fellow Soldiers. I was fighting to stay alive.

As I fought overseas in a war against the Iraqi people, the government had declared war at home against my people. I watched on television as peaceful pro immigration and anti war demonstrators were violently suppressed by police all over the country. George Bush had divided the country.

Soon after my return from Iraq, I began to suffer from PTSD. I suffered anxiety attacks, and agoraphobia. The Army said I had Indigestion. A fellow Non Commissioned Officer committed suicide, only to have our commander brand him a coward in front of the whole battalion. Two of my Soldiers attempted suicide soon after.

I deserted from Vilseck Germany one snowy day in January 2007. I could no longer in good conscience continue to aid in the destruction of a sovereign nation. Soldiers have an obligation to disobey Unlawful orders, including orders by the president that do not comply with the UCMJ. The moral and legal obligation is to the U.S. Constitution and not to those who would issue unlawful orders, especially if those orders are in direct violation of the Constitution and the UCMJ.

I highly encourage more Soldiers to have the courage to resist this war and demand the immediate withdrawal of all US Forces in Iraq.