Works In Progress - November 2005 - There's a new soldier in town

"Support the Troops," is a slogan no longer held captive by ultra-conservatives who believe if you do not support the war in Iraq, you do not support our troops. In reality, supporting our troops means working to end the war and bringing all of our military personnel safely home, as well as honoring soldiers refusing to participate in the Iraq war -a war that more than 50 percent of Americans no longer believe in.

Although Alabama-born and Tennessee-raised Sgt. Kevin Benderman served with distinction in Iraq during the initial invasion of 2003, when Benderman was tapped for a second tour late last year, he chose the moral high ground over further participation in a war he could no longer defend. As a result of his moral convictions, Benderman was criminally convicted at Fort Stewart, Georgia, landing him recently in the Fort Lewis stockade serving a 15-month sentence for "missing movement." Benderman also lost his hard-earned Sgt. stripes and upon release from prison, will be branded with a dishonorable discharge.

Benderman received two Army Commendation Medals during his first tour in Iraq because, among a list of other attributes, he served with "distinction." Medals aside, the reality of serving in Iraq is seared into Benderman's conscience. After witnessing a pack of dogs savage the bodies of dead Iraqi men, women and children and after hearing an officer's order not to care for a young girl screaming in pain from severe burns, Benderman would never be the same. Those experiences changed his values, morals and conscience. Ask any war veteran and most will acknowledge a similar path.

"I spent six months over there, and I came back and thought about it. What I know is that it's inhumane. It's turning 18-year-old men and women into soulless people," Benderman has stated. "I went to war, I never ran from it. I experienced it and I realized it's not what I should be doing. In my opinion, it's not what anybody should be doing . . . "

Benderman applied for conscientious objector's (C/O) status just ten days before he was to re-deploy to Iraq for a second tour. In fact, Benderman has applied for C/O status twice, both of which were flatly rejected even though a review of his applications appears to meet all the necessary criteria for C/O status as outlined in Army Regulation 600-43.

Kevin Benderman was charged with desertion, but was found guilty of a lesser charge, "missing movement." As a result, his distinguished tour of duty is being played-out at the Fort Lewis stockade under conditions not unlike Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay prisons. Benderman reports: prisoners' families not being officially informed where they are, severe overcrowding, denial of contact with lawyers, no heat, raw sewage leaking from overhead pipes, money stolen from confiscated bank cards, female guards who routinely watch male prisoners shower and use toilets and an exposed prostitution ring resulting in only minor disciplinary action.

According to an Amnesty International "Urgent Alert" declaration, "Amnesty International considers his (Kevin Benderman's) objection to war to be genuine and credible, and also that he took reasonable steps to secure release from his military obligations, and therefore considers him a prisoner of conscience."

Monica Benderman believes her husband is a hero, a champion of true morality and so do many others as confirmed by the hundreds of letters of support now pouring into Fort Lewis. She has launched a new website ( http://www.bendermantimeline.com ) which not only serves to expose her husband's journey to justice, but also offers a one-stop shop for soldiers and Marines who are interested in taking a stand against the war.

Kevin Benderman deserves our support for his courage and our outrage over his imprisonment. He represents the conscience of the majority of Americans who say, "No more."

David Lynn lives in Wauna, WA. He is an ex-Marine Sgt. and a combat Viet Nam veteran.