Ehren Watada

Who is Ehren Watada?

Ehren K. Watada is a former First Lieutenant of the United States Army, best known as the first commissioned officer in the US armed forces to refuse to deploy to Iraq, in June, 2006. Watada refused to deploy for his unit's assigned rotation to Operation Iraqi Freedom, saying he believed the war to be illegal and that, under the doctrine of command responsibility, it would make him party to war crimes. At the time, he was assigned to duty with the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, part of the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, as a Fire Support Officer. He was brought before a court-martial in 2007 which ended in a mistrial, and was discharged in 2009.