Army Allegedly Reneges on Deal With GI Who Fled

Kyle Snyder fled to Canada when the Army threatened to send him back to Iraq, where he says he had been made to perform duties for which he was not trained. Snyder’s lawyer says the Army had agreed to discharge his client if he came home but now intends to return him to his original unit.

AP via SFGate:

A soldier who fled to Canada rather than accept a second tour in Iraq turned himself over to military authorities at Fort Knox on Tuesday, his attorney said.

Kyle Snyder, a former combat engineer, left the U.S. in April 2005 while on leave. He said he worked as a welder and at a children’s health clinic in Canada.

Snyder’s lawyer, James Fennerty, said he had reached a deal with Army officials to allow Snyder to be processed back into uniform at Fort Knox, southwest of Louisville, and then be discharged. But he said Snyder told him Tuesday afternoon the Army wants to send him back to his original unit at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., where commanders would determine his future.

“We wouldn’t have brought him back here if we knew this was going to happen,” Fennerty said.

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