As I have said all along, Watada is a coward. His parents are both war protesters, leading me to believe his 'enlistment' was an extension of their protests, designed for the notoriety it is receiving.
He merits a dishonorable discharge and should be made to repay every single dime they spent training this worthless piece of scum.
I knew officers in Viet Nam who disagreed with that war, but still went to lead their men and keep them as safe as possible.
This coward simply ran.
Whether he's a coward or not, I wouldn't know. However I do think the whole thing is a set up, he joined so that he could refuse to go, get the publicity for the militant pacifist left and so forth. In this case the rotten apple didn't fall far from the tree.