Biography
Robert Weiss was a U.S. Army soldier and conscientious objector who refused to redeploy during the Iraq War. While serving on non-combatant duties at Forward Operating Base Prosperity in Iraq, he learned in early December 2007 that the Army had denied his application for conscientious-objector status and an honorable discharge. Rather than board his December 22, 2007 return flight to Iraq at the end of a leave — and the combat-patrol duties he expected to face on arrival — he stayed away. He was charged with desertion and missing movement, pleaded guilty under a pre-trial agreement, and was court-martialed at Rose Barracks in Vilseck, Germany on May 14, 2008. Military judge Masters sentenced him to seven months' confinement, a Bad Conduct Discharge, reduction to the lowest enlisted rank, and forfeiture of $898 per month for seven months. He served his sentence at the U.S. Military Detention Facility Europe at Coleman Barracks in Mannheim, Germany, and was released on November 9, 2008.
