KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — An Iraq war veteran could lose his honorable discharge status after being photographed wearing fatigues at an anti-war protest.
Marine Cpl. Adam Kokesh and other veterans marked the fourth anniversary of the war in Iraq in March by wearing their uniforms — with military insignia removed — and roaming around Washington on a mock patrol.
After Cpl. Kokesh was identified in a photo caption in a newspaper, a superior officer sent him a letter saying he might have violated a rule prohibiting troops from wearing uniforms without authorization.
Cpl. Kokesh, a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, responded with an obscenity.
Now, a military panel has been scheduled to meet with Cpl. Kokesh on Monday to decide whether his discharge status should be changed from “honorable” to “other than honorable.”
“This is clearly a case of selective prosecution and intimidation of veterans who speak out against the war,” Cpl. Kokesh said. “To suggest that while as a veteran, you don’t have freedom of speech is absurd.”
Cpl. Kokesh is part of the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR), a segment of the Reserve that consists mainly of those who have left active duty but still have time remaining on their eight-year military obligation.
His attorney, Mike Lebowitz, said Cpl. Kokesh’s IRR status ends June 18. He said at least three other veterans have been investigated because of their involvement at demonstrations.
Cpl. Kokesh, 25, enlisted in the Marines while in high school in New Mexico. He was a reservist in an artillery unit, assigned to the November Battery, 5th Battalion, 14th Regiment of the 4th Division based out of Pico Rivera, Calif., near Los Angeles. Cpl. Kokesh said he had reservations about Iraq even before the U.S. invaded but wanted to go there to help rebuild schools and mosques after Saddam Hussein’s regime was toppled. He even learned Arabic.
He said he grew disillusioned with the war during his first tour and now thinks there is no way for the country to achieve the rule of law with a foreign military present. He was supposed to go to Iraq a second time but was demoted from sergeant to corporal and not allowed to return after it was learned that he brought a pistol back after his first tour in 2004.
Cpl. Kokesh argues that he was not representing the military at the protest in Washington, and he made that clear by removing his name tag and other military insignia from his uniform.
Mr. Lebowitz said Cpl. Kokesh technically is a civilian unless recalled to active duty and had the right to be disrespectful in his response to the officer. He called the proceedings against Cpl. Kokesh highly unusual and said the military usually seeks to change a veteran’s discharge status only if a crime has been committed.
If his discharge status is changed, Cpl. Kokesh said he could lose some health benefits and be forced to repay about $10,800 he received to obtain his undergraduate degree on the GI Bill.
The corporal said he holds no ill will toward the Marines.
“I love the Marine Corps,” he said. “I always have loved the Marine Corps, and that is why I’m particularly offended to see it being used for political ends.”
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