Ehren K. Watada (born 1978) was a
First Lieutenant of the
United States Army. He was 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.
Lt. Ehren Watada speaking at the Veterans for Peace 2006 National Convention August 12, 2006 in Seattle about refusing to serve in Iraq: