Washington, D.C. – An Army sergeant from Alabama is refusing to deploy to Iraq and is not hiding his protest.
Matthis Chiroux, who grew up in Auburn and was honorably discharged last July, is one of thousands of Individual Ready Reserve troops recalled to combat. He contends the war is an illegal occupation and refused to report on Sunday to Fort Jackson, S.C.
The 24-year-old is in Washington lining up support from like-minded members of Congress.
Army officials say all who join the Army do so voluntarily and that the IRR is used in times of need. About 700 called up from IRR ranks have failed to report since the attacks of 2001. The Army says about half are being investigated while others have received general or less-than-honorable discharges. None have been court-martialed.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)