Biography
Lance Corporal Stephen Funk was the first U.S. service member to publicly refuse to participate in the Iraq War. A Marine Corps reservist, he failed to report when his unit was activated in February 2003 and held a press conference in San Francisco announcing his refusal on conscientious-objector grounds. He was court-martialed at Camp Pendleton in September 2003, convicted of unauthorized absence, and sentenced to six months in the brig, hard labor, forfeiture of pay, and a bad-conduct discharge. His public refusal helped catalyze the wider Iraq War resistance movement among U.S. service members.
Case
Camp Pendleton brig
