Posted on 07/29/2005 9:52:12 AM PDT by Former Military Chick
FORT STEWART, Ga. - An Army mechanic who refused to go to Iraq while he sought conscientious objector status was acquitted of desertion Thursday but found guilty of a lesser charge and sentenced to 15 months behind bars.
Sgt. Kevin Benderman, 40, also was given a dishonorable discharge and a reduction in rank to private on the charge of missing movement. If he had been found guilty of desertion, he could have faced five years in prison.
Benderman failed to deploy with his 3rd Infantry Division unit in January, 10 days after he told Fort Stewart commanders he was seeking a discharge as a conscientious objector. He has previously said he refused to deploy to Iraq after his first combat tour during the 2003 invasion made him opposed to war.
Benderman's company commander and direct supervisor in the division's 3rd Forward Support Battalion flew to Fort Stewart from Iraq to testify Thursday that the soldier disobeyed orders to deploy and demoralized his fellow troops after they left without him.
"He got what he deserved," said Capt. Gary Rowely said during a court-martial that lasted less than three hours. "He's doing 15 months; we're serving 12 months in Iraq."
But Benderman said he didn't mean for his actions to hurt his comrades.
"I am not against soldiers," he said. "I don't care what anyone says. Though some might take my actions as being against soldiers, I want everyone to be home and safe and raising their families. I don't want anyone to be hurt in a combat zone."
William Cassara, Benderman's civilian defense attorney, argued that Benderman believed he had been excused from deploying so he could work on his objector application.
"I think the sentence was overly harsh," said Cassara, who said the soldier would get an automatic appeal.
Capt. Rowely is being truly generous.
A few threads on this subject Soldier Seeking Conscientious Objector Status Loses A Round - Sgt. Kevin Benderman and Iraq War Objector May Face Court-Martial - Sgt. Kevin Benderman.
These kind od soldiers make me wanna Puke, you can't just quit because it's getting to intense. At least he'll lose all of his Vet bennies.
Let's hope he doesn't pull a Kerry and get his DD upgraded at some later point.
I expect that his only hope for employment in future will be as an opening act in the Michael Moore/Larry Johnson/Scott Ritter lecture circuit.
"I expect that his only hope for employment in future will be as an opening act in the Michael Moore/Larry Johnson/Scott Ritter lecture circuit"
With the DD, he is damaged goods and unexploitable by the antiwar industry. They won't even return his phone calls now.
Mickey D's will be about the only place he'll be able to get steady employment with that DD on his record.
I have read the spewage of Benderman and his wife at lewrockwell.com. They are a pair of psuedo-intellectualoids with no concept of fidelity, duty or honor or even libertarianism. it's all just about them. Wait a minute, it seems I just came up with the perfect description of lewrockwell.com
A 40 year old sergeant?...My guess is he is a reservist who wanted the easy weekend drilling, and the cash that goes with it, but did not really want to fulfil his contract..............
You nailed that one. My son enlisted on his 17th birthday. He made sergeant before his 20th birthday, while he was in Iraq! Makes me even more proud after reading about this coward.
Poster Child for the "I support the troops but not the war" gang ... LOL !!!
He'll get hired by some Liberal puke..trust me.
What used to happen in the ol' days of your dad are no more...unfortunately. Wish he were right though.
An "easy" way to get a steady income with incredible job security, but when called upon to actually DO the job he's been paid for all these years, he suddenly becomes a conscientious objector? 
Missing movement? That's a real legal term? Sounds like what you take ex lax for.
He will be hired by Howlin Dean- to give the pre-address
to the DEMONRAT convention-
He will be on the payroll of Soros and company and the
new york times will give a pre bonus of $$ to write a book
about our evil G W bush.
He got off easy, USSR had a great idea for this sortof people. Penalty batalion, I am sure there are some hellholes in Iraq to patrol (guarding Iraq police recritment centers sounds good) or some gas trucks to drive in Baghdad. Clearing some minefield also sounds like a good employment for him (by running through it that is).
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