Soldier who fled U.S. to avoid Iraq war faces trial

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The first female soldier to flee the U.S. military for Canada to avoid the Iraq war will face a court-martial Monday.

The Gazette reported that Pfc. Kimberly Rivera is charged with desertion and faces up to five years in prison and a dishonorable discharge if convicted.

Rivera, who was assigned to Fort Carson’s 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, served in Iraq in 2006. She says she became disillusioned with the mission and, while on a two-week leave in the U.S. in February 2007, she crossed the border into Canada after she was ordered to serve another tour there.

Rivera applied for permanent residency, but Canadian immigration officials ordered the mother of four to leave the country or face deportation.

She was arrested at the U.S. border last year.