Army Specialist Justin Colby pled guilty to desertion at his court martial March 22, at Fort Carson, Colorado. He was sentenced to 15 months in prison, a bad conduct discharge, reduction to the lowest rank (E-1) and loss of all pay allowances. Thanks to a sealed pre-trial plea agreement, SPC Colby will only be serving a 9 month prison sentence.
Colby enlisted in 2003, and during his first post to Korea, he began learning more about the war in Iraq. When he was ordered to Iraq, Colby told his sergeant he could not make war on a country that had not attacked the United States, and asked to apply for conscientious objector status. His request was refused, and command punished and intimidated him into staying with his unit and entering the war. His experience of a year-long deployment only cemented Colby’s opposition to the war.
A family crisis following his return from Iraq added to his burden, and when Army orders for another eventual deployment to Iraq forced him to abandon efforts to gain custody of his infant son from an abusive mother, Colby went AWOL and eventually fled to Canada in the summer of 2006.
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