Court-martial says U.S. medic guilty of desertion

06 Mar 2007 17:14:27 GMT
Source: Reuters

WUERZBURG, Germany, March 6 (Reuters) - A U.S. Army medic who refused to
return to Iraq with his unit was sentenced on Tuesday to eight months in jail for
desertion.

A U.S. military court also ruled that Mexican-born combat medic Agustin Aguayo,
who has already spent 161 days behind bars, should forfeit paid allowances and
be given a bad conduct discharge. His rank would also be reduced to the lowest
grade.

Aguayo, 35, had pleaded guilty to going absent without leave and missing his
deployment but denied charges of full desertion.

(Reporting by Catherine Hornby, via Berlin Newsroom, )