Can i refuse deployment

Ehren Watanda refused to deploy to Iraq because he believed the war was illegal. His arguments fell on unsympathetic ears. In fact, Watanda was not even permitted to present his preferred defense because. Courts are not empowered to second-guess policy decisions made by the political branches.

In the end, Watanda was administratively discharged under other than honorable conditions for his refusal to deploy. In , Capt. Nathan Michael Smith deployed to Kuwait to support the fight against ISIL, but he also filed a lawsuit in federal district court challenging the legality of the order.

The fundamental problem in both the Watanda and Smith cases was that the order to deploy was not palpably illegal. As My Lai shows, however, there are cases where an order would clearly violate the law. An order to torture a detainee would be one. Every soldier is trained to know that torture is illegal. The U. Convention Against Torture , to which the United States is a party, prohibits cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment of detainees. Army Field Manual It permits 19 types of interrogation techniques, none of which could be considered torture, and two of which require special authorization to use.

Torture is also explicitly prohibited by DoD Directive It would be palpably illegal to give an order to torture a prisoner. There is no defensible legal argument that interrogation techniques such as waterboarding are permitted. No soldier, sailor, or airman would be in a position to plead ignorance of the law.

Any member of the military who received such an order would not just be allowed to disobey it — they would be required to do so. Otherwise, they would face the threat of criminal charges under Article 92 of the UCMJ, for dereliction of duty in failing to follow lawful regulations and for cruelty and maltreatment, and Article , for general misconduct to the prejudice of good order and discipline.

The officer would also be at risk of being charged for conduct unbecoming under Article This is exactly what happened after the conditions at Abu Ghraib prison were made public in The lurid details of widespread abuse of prisoners, including sexual abuse and humiliation, are by now well-known.

He later was escorted out of the building and taken to the county jail, where he will start serving his sentence. Also, Agosto cannot be discharged at a level lower than other-than-honorable conditions, an administrative discharge. A discharge was not mentioned in the hearing, but Agosto is expected to be released from the Army after completing his jail term.

Before he was sentenced during the hourlong military hearing at the central Texas Army post, he told the judge he should not be jailed because he posed no threat to anyone. He said he had remained on post and went to work every day since refusing to deploy after learning a few months ago that the Army was keeping him beyond his enlistment date. Often people find the status of reserve components confusing.

The military maintains reserve components for the express purpose of having extra forces available for mobilization whenever it is believed that these extra forces would be useful. Although it can be waived, the Defense Authorization Act requires that mobilized reservists be given a minimum of 30 days and preferably 90 days advance notice for contingency operations. Receiving orders for mobilization to full time active duty often causes reservists to reexamine their relationship to the military.

GI Rights Hotline counselors are available to provide a free, confidential consultation regarding the options for someone who is mobilized. These can include. Other laws include The Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act, which protects reservists employed by US owned companies from losing their jobs based on membership in the military.

It requires that employers give time off for drills and training as well as deployment. In addition, it requires that reservists who complete a deployment be given back their job with no loss of seniority or pay grade and with reinstated health insurance. Self-employed reservists can potentially suffer greater financial adversity in the event of deployment and could explore the possibility of a hardship discharge with a GI Rights Hotline Counselor.

Despite these special protections, being mobilized can cause serious complications for GIs. Many of the different discharges mentioned elsewhere in this site can help mobilized service members deal with the complications of being called to active duty.

Family hardship and parenthood status, conscientious objection, medical issues, and sexual identity can all be avenues a reservist could use to avoid mobilization when applicable. Counselors are available to discuss any of these issues. Members of the IRR can apply for a delay or exemption and may follow with an appeal if the first decision is unfavorable. GI Rights Hotline counselors can give information about contacting the military for these issues.

While it is illegal for GI Rights Hotline counselors to encourage or assist someone in breaking the law, counselors are able to inform callers of the likely consequences of breaking the law.

Since then, veterans service organizations and GI rights groups have been fielding calls from troops asking about their options for refusing orders. He said troops have expressed concerns about the risk of moral injury, their lack of riot control training, and the possibility of acting against the Constitution.

At the peak of the protests, Galvin said, he took several calls a day. Refusal to deploy can bring consequences, though there are still a lot of unknowns about how command structures will treat it.

So we're just going to forget about this. Veterans peace advocacy group About Face said it knows of about 10 service members who've taken concrete steps to avoid deployment. Many more have asked for support in resisting orders they think are illegal. One is an active-duty Army soldier stationed in the Midwest. Though his unit never deployed, he said he wouldn't have gone if they had.

The soldier asked for anonymity because he expects reprisal from his command and the public. He said some of the riot control tactics and equipment used in D.