Marine Vet Faces Hearing for Wearing Uniform at Protest

May 31, 07:20 PM

Current Headlines: A US veteran who served in the Iraq War could lose his honorable discharge status after being photographed wearing fatigues at an anti-war protest.

Marine Corporal Adam Kokesh and other veterans marked the fourth anniversary of the war in Iraq in April by wearing their uniforms - with military insignia removed - and roaming around the nation's capital on a mock patrol.

After Kokesh was identified in a photo caption in The Washington Post, a superior officer sent him a letter saying he might have violated a rule prohibiting troops from wearing uniforms without authorization.

Kokesh, a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, responded with an obscenity.

Now, a military panel has been scheduled to meet with 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," Kokesh said. "To suggest that while as a veteran you don't have freedom of speech is absurd."

Kokesh, 25, enlisted in the Marines while still at high school in New Mexico. He was a reservist in an artillery unit.

Kokesh said he had reservations about Iraq even before the US 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 believes there is no way for the country to achieve the rule of law with a foreign military imposing martial law.

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.

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.

If his discharge status is changed, Kokesh could lose some health benefits and be forced to repay about $11,000 he received to obtain his undergraduate degree on veterans benefits.

But Kokesh 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."

Agencies

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