Soldier’s Lawyers Appeal Ruling on Iraq Duty

Attorneys for a California National Guard soldier whose enlistment was involuntarily extended so he could be sent to Iraq said they would appeal a federal judge’s ruling Friday in a case that tests the military program described by critics as a “back-door draft.”

The soldier, identified in the lawsuit as “John Doe,” is currently undergoing training at Ft. Lewis in Washington as his unit prepares for a December or January deployment to Iraq.

On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Frank C. Damrell denied the soldier’s motion for a preliminary injunction. San Francisco attorney Michael S. Sorgen, who contends the “stop loss” enlistment extension violates federal law, said he would appeal.

Damrell pledged to make a decision on the case before the soldier leaves for Iraq. “There is no doubt that deployment to Iraq is fraught with considerable risk,” he said.