•  HOME 
  •  ARCHIVES 
  •  BOOKS 
  •  PDF ARCHIVE 
  •  WWP 
  •  SUBSCRIBE 
  •  DONATE 
  •  MUNDOOBRERO.ORG
  • Loading


Follow workers.org on
Twitter Facebook iGoogle




Ft. Stewart soldier speaks out against Iraq War

Published May 12, 2005 5:17 PM

“I’m not going to take part in it anymore,” Sgt. Kevin Benderman told an attentive audience at Georgia Tech on May 7, just days before he was scheduled to be court-martialed on charges of desertion and missing movement by design.

Benderman, a 40 year-old mechanic, explained that he came from a family with a long tradition of serving in the military. Born in Alabama and raised in Tennessee, he first joined the army in 1987 when he was 22 and served a four-year term. In 2000, Kevin re-upped and was part of the “shock and awe” invasion of Iraq in March 2003.

During those six months in Iraq, he says he “learned the truth about war, not the Hollywood version that is sold to recruits.” Memories of the total destruction of Iraqi homes and hospitals, schools and shops; the smell of death, burning buildings and explosives; the sight of mangled bodies, grief-stricken mothers and shell-shocked fathers haunted his sleep after his return to Georgia.

Benderman recalls that his commanding officer ordered his unit to shoot at six- and seven-year-old boys if they continued to throw pebbles at their armored vehicles. He still anguishes over the severely burned little girl by the side of the road, whose cries for help he was ordered to ignore. He identifies with the Iraqi men struggling to feed their families and keep them safe while a war is waging around them.

Ten days before his unit was scheduled to return to Iraq for a second tour, Sgt. Benderman applied for conscientious objector status and asked for an honorable discharge. Several others at Ft. Stewart went AWOL and two attempted suicide. One of them, Justin Burt, was scheduled to be discharged within weeks but the stop-loss order issued by the Pentagon voided his service completion date. Both of those men have since been deployed to Iraq.

Benderman and his wife, Monica, share a deep commitment to tell the truth about what is really happening in Iraq to U.S. troops and Iraqi civilians. They are critical about the lack of services and aid to the families of soldiers despite all the official government rhetoric. They especially want to make sure that young people are not taken in by the false promises and glib sales pitch of military recruiters.

Benderman’s application for CO status has been turned down. His court-martial is scheduled for May 12. He says that the army is trying to make an example of him by charging him with desertion because he has publicly explained why he now opposes war. “They don’t want one of their own to reveal the truth.”

For a person who faces seven years impris on ment if found guilty, Bender man’s manner is calm and steady. He has made up his mind. He will not take part in this war again.

For more information on
Kevin Benderman’s case, go to http://www.bendermandefense.org.