“When the U.S. went to war with Iraq, I was confident that my country was doing the right thing. I couldn't see why [our politicians] would lie to us. One week after I graduated I was sent off to Marine Corps boot camp. At the end of boot camp the only thing we were told about Iraq was that we were going there to die (that's was the Drill Instructor's joke).”

Lance Corporal Ivan Brobeck, U.S. Marine Corps

Ivan Brobeck enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corp's Delayed Enlistment Program (DEP) at age 17 while still in high school in Arlington, Virginia. In June, 2003, one week after he graduated, he entered boot camp, completed infantry training, and joined his permanent unit stationed at Camp Lejeune. In March, 2004 Ivan deployed to Iraq.

During his tour of duty in Iraq Lance Corporal Ivan Brobeck witnessed regular instances of U.S. military personnel abusing Iraqi detainees as well as killing Iraqi civilians at military checkpoints in the cities of Mahmudiyah and Fallujah. After returning to the U.S., he came to believe that the war was illegal and contrary to the interests and moral standards of most Americans. He went UA and fled to Canada rather than return to Iraq for a second tour.

After his friend, Darrel Anderson, returned from Canada to the U.S. and turned himself into Army custody at Ft. Sill (see the case history, above) Ivan decided to turn himself into the U.S. Marine Corps. Ivan and his wife, Lisa, expected their first child in February 2007 and, like Darrel, Ivan was eager to “get on with his life” and receive medical care for the diagnosed PTSD he’d sustained during his service in Iraq. Ivan purchased airfare from Toronto to Washington, D.C. for November 7, 2006 (mid-term Election Day in the U.S.) then contacted Courage to Resist.

Since I’d counseled Darrel and Anita and worked with their lawyer I did the same for Ivan and Lisa from the point of view of a GI Rights counselor and a representative of Courage to Resist. It is important to stress that these two organizations perform different services. The GI Rights Hotline counsels service members from the point of view of the UCMJ, does not advocate a particular point of view, and does not encourage any particular action over another. Courage to Resist is an anti-war organization that does not aid and abet troops (this is a federal crime) but assists troops in their desire to speak publicly about why they refuse to fight.

Ivan’s case took a very different trajectory to both Darrel and Agustin’s cases:

§ Ivan returned from Canada to the U.S. by air. Since he’d been UA for over 180 days a federal warrant for his arrest had been issued. This meant he’d be apprehended at the airport and taken to a Canadian jail until a Marine Corps “catcher” could retrieve him to Camp Lejeune. To avoid arrest, Ivan contacted the Marines and arranged for a temporary lifting of the warrant so that he could pass through the airport unmolested. This also, however, allowed the Marine Corps time to review a letter Ivan had written to the White House and Congress and proffer an additional charge of Missing Movement.

§ Ivan returned to the U.S. on Election Day. Once back in Marine Corps custody Ivan remained in telephone contact with his wife. Lisa contacted the Marine Corps lawyer daily to track Ivan’s case. This apparently annoyed Ivan’s NCO who expressed his belief that “real men are in charge of their wives and don’t allow their wives to tell them what to do.”

§ Since Ivan had been diagnosed with PTSD by a civilian doctor the Marine Corps was obliged to send him for diagnosis and treatment by a military doctor. This did not happen and Ivan’s stress level escalated; so did Lisa’s phone calls expressing her concern.

§ After an array of contradictory agreements between the Brobecks and the USMC, a final offer was presented to Ivan: take a Bad Conduct Discharge and the USMC will release you after 60 days in the brig (instead of two years) and you’ll be home for the birth of your first child.

After Ivan accepted this arrangement, Lisa Brobeck stated: “The USMC has been diligent in resolving this matter quickly in order for Ivan to be released in time for the birth of his son. Ivan has been treated fairly, within the confines of the military, but there is a bigger picture here that is overlooked when focusing on an individual circumstance. The American public has been lied to and bullied by an administration with little regard for the welfare of the service men and women who put their lives on the line everyday. I ask that the American public demand an end to this war and then demand answers from the very government that started it.”

As a counselor and a “military mom,” I find it extraordinary that the American public allows the Marine Corps to discharge this honorable young man with a Bad Conduct Discharge.

Learn more about Ivan and Lisa and make donations to Ivan’s legal fees and related expenses: www.couragetoresist.org/donate

"We kill people in the name of keeping the peace – an oxymoron if there ever was one. After months of contemplation I concluded I no longer wanted to contribute to the ultimate violence toward other human beings that war is."

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