"Shepherd gained international attention when he applied for asylum on November 26, 2008. His case raises significant issues in international and in German law:  the German constitution forbids the preparation of aggressive war from German soil, a provision that some jurists believe applies also to the U.S. military.  A number of U.S. soldiers have resisted and faced court martial and jail in Germany since 2005. In the U.S. recent resisters currently facing court martial are Victor Agosto and Travis Bishop from Fort Hood in Texas, who both last month refused to deploy to Afghanistan. But since the "war on terror" began, Shepherd is the first U.S. resister to turn to the German government for help; his case is presently before the German Federal Office of Migration. He says that if his application is rejected, he will appeal within the German court system.  (See http://www.commondreams.<wbr></wbr>org/headline/2009/05/28-4 [1])  

"Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Shepherd joined the U.S. Army in 2004, was trained as a helicopter mechanic  and then stationed in Germany, where there are ca. 68,000 U.S. soldiers.  After a six-month tour of duty in Iraq, he fled the U.S. base in Ansbach, Germany, rather than be deployed a second time to Iraq.  He says that, on grounds of conscience, he could not again serve in combat.  He now lives together with other asylum-seekers, mainly Iraqis and Afghans, in a facility provided by the German government. Shepherd does not expect to be able to rejoin his family in the U.S. until the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been ended.