Vet Who Was AWOL Won't Be Courtmartialed

[Ghost in the Machine]

Published: 7/7/07, 4:45 AM EDT
By BEN DOBBIN
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) - An Iraq war veteran will not be court-martialed for leaving his post without permission for 15 months to undergo treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, the Army said.

Instead of facing a bad conduct discharge - a felony punishable by up to a year in military prison - Spc. Eugene Cherry admitted he was absent without leave and was granted a general discharge, rather than an honorable discharge, the Army said Friday.

"It really wasn't about proving I went AWOL - that's a given," Cherry said in a telephone interview from Fort Drum in northern New York.

Cherry, 24, was to be tried by court-martial Monday, encountered horrific battle experiences during 13 months as a combat medic in Iraq. Five months after his return in June 2005, he says he went home to Chicago to find mental health treatment after the Army failed to provide him with adequate help.

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