[djmcmath]

Reaching sergeant isn't necessarily a huge indication of doing anything right. I've known complete idiots who made sergeant, and I don't even have a particularly large sample population.

The bottom line is that this guy violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which he agreed to be bound by. In time of war, the UCMJ allows for the death penalty for deserters -- and it makes no concession for whether or not the soldier in question believed the war was legal or not.

The other side of the coin is that he's not facing hard time in Leavenworth, most likely. Chances are that he'll get less than a year, and will probably serve it out at a local brig instead of a full-fledged regional facility.

Dan