The Associated Press reports that Pablo Paredes the U.S. sailor who refused to ship out for the Persian Gulf in a protest against the war in Iraq, was sentenced to three months of hard labor. Paredes was also busted from petty officer third class to seaman recruit, the lowest rank in the Navy.
A military judge, imposed the sentence a day after finding Paredes guilty of refusing to board the board the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Paredes guilty of refusing to board after it received orders for the Persian Gulf in December.
Prosecutors had asked the judge to sentence Paredes to nine months of confinement. I'm no expert on military justice but three months hardly seems long enough to be an effective deterrent.
According to the Navy Times, Paredes' request for conscientious objector status is still pending:
Although an investigating officer recommended rejection of his request for C.O. status, Paredes remains hopeful that the Navy will approve his request. “It’s still in processing,” he said after court ended Wednesday.
As I posted in December, the actions of Paredes and others who chose not to follow deployment orders will only encourage our enemies to fight harder and longer.
For more background on Paredes, read Smash's "An Open Letter to Pablo Paredes"
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