By Rob Gillies – The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Aug 14, 2008 6:29:25 EDT
TORONTO — A U.S. Army specialist who fled Fort Bragg for Canada after learning his unit was to be deployed to Iraq was ordered deported Wednesday.
Jeremy Hinzman, 29, is likely to be court-martialed when he returns to the United States and could face up to five years in prison. Hinzman said Canada’s Border Services Agency ordered him to leave the country by Sept. 23 and he would be handed over to U.S. authorities.
Before he fled Fort Bragg, North Carolina, in January 2004, Hinzman had already served a tour of duty with the 82nd Airborne Division in Afghanistan. He served in a non-combat position because before his unit left in 2002, he applied for conscientious objector status.