In June 2007, while stationed at Camp Victory, Iraq, National Guard SPC Eli Israel, 26, refused further participation in the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Eli told his commanding officer and sergeants that he “will no longer be a combatant in this illegal, unjustified war.” He was court-martialed and given a less-than-honorable discharge. “The occupation is a disaster,” he says. ”I’m convinced that everyday it continues it makes America, and the Iraqis less safe.”