OneWorld.net (U.S.)

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 21 (OneWorld) - A U.S. serviceman who went AWOL after refusing to return for a second tour of duty in Iraq is getting a court hearing Tuesday.

Army medic Augustin Aguayo turned himself in this September and is currently incarcerated at the U.S. military prison at Manheim, Germany.

After his first tour in Iraq, Aguayo filed for status as a conscientious objector (CO), which the Pentagon denied.

He faces up to seven years in prison for refusing to deploy for a second time to Iraq.

His hearing before United States Court of Appeals in Washington, DC is a habeas corpus petition against the Army for wrongfully denying him conscientious objector status. It is believed to be the first such case before a federal court since 1971, during the Vietnam War.

"Under Supreme Court precedent from the Vietnam War, if we prevail--if the civilian court rules that he is a conscientious objector--then the Army will have to terminate court martial proceedings and simply let him go," Aguayo's attorney Peter Goldberger told OneWorld.

That could have implications for other soldiers who apply for apply for CO status, Goldberger said.

"While there [in Iraq] as a non-combatant, I was still required to do guard duty, although I chose to carry only an unloaded gun," Aguayo said in court statements written for the hearing.

"While there as a non-combatant, I was still required to patch up, treat, and help countless soldiers for 'sick-call' in order to facilitate their prompt return to combatant duties. While there as a non-combatant, I was asked to drive soldiers around on patrols, patrols which could have been deadly to Americans and Iraqis alike."

Aguayo wrote he regrets his involvement in those activities because ultimately, he was contributing to and enabling others to do what he opposed.

"By doing guard duty," he wrote, "appearing to be armed, even without bullets, I gave the false impression that I would kill if need be. I am not willing to live a lie to satisfy any deployment operation. By helping countless soldiers for 'sick-call' as well as driving soldiers around on patrols I helped them get physically better and be able to go out and do the very thing I am against--kill.

"This is something my conscience will not allow me to do."

U.S. military records show that between 8,000 and 10,000 soldiers are currently unaccounted for. It is not known how many are AWOL for political or personal reasons.

Hundreds of antiwar soldiers are believed to be AWOL in Canada, however, and hundreds of soldiers who are still on duty have filed an "appeal for redress" under the Pentagon's whistleblower protection laws allowing for protected communication with Congress.

"As a patriotic American proud to serve the nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to support the prompt withdrawal of all American military forces and bases from Iraq," the petition reads. "Staying in Iraq will not work and is not worth the price. It is time for U.S. troops to come home."

David Cortright, who protested the Vietnam war from inside the military and later authored the book Soldiers in Revolt: GI Resistance During the Vietnam War, told OneWorld he sees many parallels between the two wars.

"Many of us who were in the military went in not knowing what we were getting into, maybe not believing in the mission," he said, "but once we saw what was actually happening on the ground and we could see the injustice of this war, we felt compelled to speak out to alert our fellow citizens that the war was unjust. And now we're seeing in Iraq a similar kind of feeling and expression from people in the ranks."

Cortright said during the Vietnam war, like today, the Pentagon did their best to dilute the impact of antiwar servicemen, with similar results.

"They kept transferring us to different bases," he recalled. "They tried to tar us as troublemakers and then send us away. But what we found when we were sent to other bases was that there were many soldiers at these other bases who opposed the war as well."

"When I was sent to Fort Bliss, Texas, within a week or two I hooked up with other soldiers that already opposed the war and began to work with an already existing antiwar committee at Fort Bliss. We're seeing the same thing today.

"There are antiwar networks at maybe six bases. There are groups of soldiers that are discovering that they're not alone. There are others out there that share these opinions and they're starting to connect."