Victor Agosto
Encyclopedia
Victor Manuel Agosto is an anti-war activist and a former United States Army
Private
. He is noted for his direct and public resistance to the War in Afghanistan
as an active duty soldier.
mother and a Puerto Rican
father. He graduated from the School for Advanced Studies
in 2003. Agosto then attended Miami-Dade College for two years before enlisting in the Army. He entered military service in August 2005.
Agosto deployed to Iraq from September 2006 to October 2007, working as a communications specialist. It was during this deployment, through a process of "self-education," that Agosto came to oppose the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Agosto says he "never felt any danger" during his deployment and "never left the FOB." In the last months of the deployment, Agosto began to have strong feelings of guilt over his involvement in an "imperialist occupation." Months after returning from Iraq, in April 2008, Agosto became a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War
. He began attending meetings regularly and became a part of the central Texas peace community. He became a regular at Under the Hood Cafe
after its grand opening in March 2009.
in early 2009 so he could deploy with his unit to Afghanistan. On April 30, he informed his company commander that he would not deploy to Afghanistan. The following day, May 1, the commander gave Agosto a counseling statement in which he ordered Agosto to deploy with his unit. In the remarks section of that document, Agosto wrote, "There is no way I will deploy to Afghanistan. The occupation is immoral and unjust. It does not make the American people any safer. It has the opposite effect." He then posted a scanned copy of the counseling statement on his Facebook
page. Agosto's refusal to deploy did not yield any immediate consequences. Agosto grew frustrated with assisting his unit prepare for the deployment that he morally opposed. On May 11, he told his company commander that he would not obey any orders he felt assisted his unit in preparation for the deployment. On May 18, Agosto's unit was slated to begin Soldier Readiness Processing
(SRP), and he refused to go through that process. He would later be charged with refusing to obey a lawful order for this incident.
, whose book, Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance, turned Agosto against "imperialist foreign policy." He was demoted to the rank of Private, stripped of two thirds of his pay for a month, and sentenced to thirty days in jail. After his sentence was read, Agosto disdainfully ripped off the patch that displayed his specialist rank from his uniform. Agosto was released from Bell County Law Enforcement Center on August 29, 2009, after serving 24 days.
in Killeen, Texas. He is a Sociology/Anthropology major at Florida International University
.
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
Private
Private (rank)
A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...
. He is noted for his direct and public resistance to the War in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
as an active duty soldier.
Background
Agosto is the son of a HonduranHonduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
mother and a Puerto Rican
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
father. He graduated from the School for Advanced Studies
School for Advanced Studies
The School for Advanced Studies is a SACS accredited dual-enrollment secondary school in Miami, Florida. It is a part of the Miami-Dade County Public Schools System and is situated at four campuses of Miami Dade College...
in 2003. Agosto then attended Miami-Dade College for two years before enlisting in the Army. He entered military service in August 2005.
Agosto deployed to Iraq from September 2006 to October 2007, working as a communications specialist. It was during this deployment, through a process of "self-education," that Agosto came to oppose the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Agosto says he "never felt any danger" during his deployment and "never left the FOB." In the last months of the deployment, Agosto began to have strong feelings of guilt over his involvement in an "imperialist occupation." Months after returning from Iraq, in April 2008, Agosto became a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War
Iraq Veterans Against the War
Iraq Veterans Against the War is an advocacy group of active-duty United States military personnel, Iraq War veterans, Afghanistan War veterans, and other veterans who have served since the September 11, 2001 attacks who are opposed to the U.S. occupation of Iraq...
. He began attending meetings regularly and became a part of the central Texas peace community. He became a regular at Under the Hood Cafe
Under the Hood Café
Under the Hood Café is a coffee house located at 17 South College Street in Killeen, Texas. It provides services for soldiers located at Fort Hood, one of the largest American military installation in the world. Under the Hood Café is managed by Cynthia Thomas and is a project of the Fort Hood...
after its grand opening in March 2009.
Stop-loss and defiance
Agosto's Estimated Termination of Service (ETS) date was August 3, 2009, but he was stop-lossedStop-loss policy
Stop-loss is a term primarily used in the United States military. In the U.S. military, it is the involuntary extension of a service member's active duty service under the enlistment contract in order to retain them beyond their initial end of term of service date and up to their contractually...
in early 2009 so he could deploy with his unit to Afghanistan. On April 30, he informed his company commander that he would not deploy to Afghanistan. The following day, May 1, the commander gave Agosto a counseling statement in which he ordered Agosto to deploy with his unit. In the remarks section of that document, Agosto wrote, "There is no way I will deploy to Afghanistan. The occupation is immoral and unjust. It does not make the American people any safer. It has the opposite effect." He then posted a scanned copy of the counseling statement on his Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
page. Agosto's refusal to deploy did not yield any immediate consequences. Agosto grew frustrated with assisting his unit prepare for the deployment that he morally opposed. On May 11, he told his company commander that he would not obey any orders he felt assisted his unit in preparation for the deployment. On May 18, Agosto's unit was slated to begin Soldier Readiness Processing
Soldier Readiness Processing
Soldier Readiness Processing is a program within the United States Army, including its reserve components to qualify soldiers for pending deployments....
(SRP), and he refused to go through that process. He would later be charged with refusing to obey a lawful order for this incident.
Court-martial
Agosto was court-martialed on August 5, 2009. He pled guilty to the charge of disobeying a lawful order. During the sentencing phase of the proceedings, Agosto stated that he thought future courts would rule that the war in Afghanistan is illegal. He submitted a petition with the signatures of more than 2,000 people. Agosto also submitted a letter of support from Noam ChomskyNoam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and...
, whose book, Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance, turned Agosto against "imperialist foreign policy." He was demoted to the rank of Private, stripped of two thirds of his pay for a month, and sentenced to thirty days in jail. After his sentence was read, Agosto disdainfully ripped off the patch that displayed his specialist rank from his uniform. Agosto was released from Bell County Law Enforcement Center on August 29, 2009, after serving 24 days.
After release from jail
Agosto was discharged from the Army on October 20, 2009 and was barred from re-entering the Fort Hood Military Reservation. His discharge was characterized as "other than honorable." He served a term on the board of directors of Iraq Veterans Against the War. He currently is on the board of directors of Fort Hood Support Network, the governing body for Under the Hood CaféUnder the Hood Café
Under the Hood Café is a coffee house located at 17 South College Street in Killeen, Texas. It provides services for soldiers located at Fort Hood, one of the largest American military installation in the world. Under the Hood Café is managed by Cynthia Thomas and is a project of the Fort Hood...
in Killeen, Texas. He is a Sociology/Anthropology major at Florida International University
Florida International University
Florida International University is an American public research university in metropolitan Miami, Florida, in the United States, with its main campus in University Park...
.
See also
- List of resisters to the war in Afghanistan (2001-present)
- Iraq Veterans Against the WarIraq Veterans Against the WarIraq Veterans Against the War is an advocacy group of active-duty United States military personnel, Iraq War veterans, Afghanistan War veterans, and other veterans who have served since the September 11, 2001 attacks who are opposed to the U.S. occupation of Iraq...
- Under the Hood CaféUnder the Hood CaféUnder the Hood Café is a coffee house located at 17 South College Street in Killeen, Texas. It provides services for soldiers located at Fort Hood, one of the largest American military installation in the world. Under the Hood Café is managed by Cynthia Thomas and is a project of the Fort Hood...
- Travis Bishop
- Camilo MejiaCamilo MejíaCamilo Ernesto Mejía is a Nicaraguan American who was a former staff sergeant of the Florida National Guard, best known for being an anti-war activist and deserter...
- Ehren WatadaEhren WatadaEhren K. Watada was a First Lieutenant of the United States Army. He was the first commissioned officer in the US armed forces to refuse to deploy to Iraq, in June, 2006...