Female U.S. military deserter to Canada arrested at U.S. border

(Reuters) - The first female U.S. soldier to seek refuge in Canada rather than return to duty in Iraq was arrested at the U.S. border in northern New York State on Thursday after losing her bid to remain in Canada, according to an advocacy group that had campaigned on her behalf.

Kimberly Rivera, a 30-year-old private who served three months in Iraq and came to Canada while on leave in 2007, was taken into custody at the Thousand Islands Bridge border station about 30 miles north of Watertown, N.Y., said Michelle Robidoux, spokeswoman with the War Resisters Support Campaign.

ca.news.yahoo.com...

I suppose legally this is something Canada has agreed upon with the US to deport all war-dodgers, but if I were PM I'd do everything in my power to allow her to stay and grant asylum; however, I'm sure it would spark a dash to the border for all those soldiers who are sick of the war and have nothing nailing them down.

Considering her age, and supposedly her intelligence, there is no draft ATM or during her tenure, in the USA. I have to wonder what her agenda is.

Of course, nothing about this story in U.S. mainstream news...not that I have seen or heard anyway.

She wasn't forced to sign up for military service. Canada has an unjustified reputation as a haven for cowards shirking their duties - actions like sending this lady packing will go a ways toward fixing that reputation.

Originally posted by CALGARIAN

(Reuters) - The first female U.S. soldier to seek refuge in Canada rather than return to duty in Iraq was arrested at the U.S. border in northern New York State on Thursday after losing her bid to remain in Canada, according to an advocacy group that had campaigned on her behalf.

Kimberly Rivera, a 30-year-old private who served three months in Iraq and came to Canada while on leave in 2007, was taken into custody at the Thousand Islands Bridge border station about 30 miles north of Watertown, N.Y., said Michelle Robidoux, spokeswoman with the War Resisters Support Campaign.

ca.news.yahoo.com...

I suppose legally this is something Canada has agreed upon with the US to deport all war-dodgers, but if I were PM I'd do everything in my power to allow her to stay and grant asylum; however, I'm sure it would spark a dash to the border for all those soldiers who are sick of the war and have nothing nailing them down.

Canada lets in scum from countries where no one in their right mind would want to live (thus them coming to Canada) wanting age old Canadian laws changed to suit their sensibilities, bizzare or other, but won't let someone who was willing to die for freedom while a US soldier stay in Canada.

Governments and the brain dead bueraucrats that hold god fearing, hard working citizens hostage in their own countries should be forced to go and live in those god forsaken countries that the scum are leaving in droves...

I suppose legally this is something Canada has agreed upon with the US to deport all war-dodgers, but if I were PM I'd do everything in my power to allow her to stay and grant asylum; however, I'm sure it would spark a dash to the border for all those soldiers who are sick of the war and have nothing nailing them down.

She is not a dodger she is a deserter. There is a major difference.

She joined the US military knowing full well what she was getting into, and decided she did NOT want to go back to Iraq. That is desertion.

Had she been a dodger she would have fled to Canada, or another country, to avoid being drafted.

She was tired of participating in state sponcered terrorism. A bomb is a bomb, no matter who drops it. She won't be the last person to wise up. What are they really fighting for?

We're volunteer, all the way. 30yr old PRIVATE? Lol... Yeah. she was volunteer and then had to be assertive and determined just to get through and make it. What agenda, indeed.....?

Personally, outside of a time of compulsory service (a whole different thread) I say I have ZERO sympathy. Absolutely 100% ZERO sympathy for people inside the Military who don't want to play where they CHOSE to go. Uncle Sam spends no small amount of money, as only one area of concern and reason they ought to get the book thrown at them if they don't fulfill their contracts.

If they can't handle the service, go be a burger flipper or something less challenging. Whatever....but don't go until it gets real and then go over the hill on everyone. That's about as low class as it comes and earns no sympathy of any kind in my book. NOT in a 100% volunteer Military as we have now.

Do we know what branch she was in?
How long was she in the service be for her last three month deployment?

I kind of wonder what she saw or what happened to her during her last deployment.

point is, it's a choice.

why can someone chose to go to the military, but they can't change their mind later and quit.

it's a job, not a dictatorship.

she broke her contract, do what every other employer does in america, sue for back wages.

if it was a world war 2 scenario, where your very existence and country is threatened, its a duty to defend it, unless you like speaking a foreign language.

when a formal declaration of war is passed by the senate, then its a different story. but the last time that happened, hitler was rallying the troops.

but fighting for oil fields in iraq and risking your life for exxon, is just stupid.

everybody's free, america claims. so you should be free to quit the military any time you want.

i guarantee you suicide rates and ptsd in the u.s. military would go down 99%.

the american fighting force would served better, be more efficient and have better moral if only the people who truly wanted to be there served.

reply to post by CALGARIAN


She had a choice on joining the military and being its all volunteer she should have spent more time thinking about her decision to join.

She has the ability to argue conciensous objector status.. Did she do that?

She took an oath to obey those appointed above her and in case anyone forgot our military is required by the Constitution to have civilian leadership.

If anything one could argue the citizens of the US have failed to protect her by refusing to get off their asses and vote people into office who can effect the change people think should be occurring. She failed herself by knowingly breaking the law by refusing to deploy.

Secondly I dont think its appropriate for a country who is also involved in the same war to offer protection to US military personnel while their own military members are engaged.

reply to post by randomname

She could have quit and she should have had all that explained to her in boot camp with regard to making good decisions and the UCMJ. She knew the contract she was signing and what it would mean to break it.

So.. Rather than run like a coward from a contract freely and willingly signed, she could have stood tall and said No!. She might have just gotten run out with minimal fuss and a dishonorable...perhaps even a General discharge these days. Now it's an example case and she had to be caught. Well, doom on her and I hope she likes the tune because it's sure time to face the music.

Declarations of war and peace are distinctions for a court room, not the real world where she had obligations to her service and her unit. She bailed on it all and ran for another country. She deserves whatever they throw at her now. At least under a draft, one can't be said to have been 100% FOR the choice to become a soldier ahead of time.

"She had a choice, she had a choice blah blah blah"

Reality Check time....

Not everyone has a choice, they join the military hoping for training and a better life when they get out. For those of you calling her a coward, I would suggest if she were truly a "coward" she would have never went to Iraq in the first place and she would have ran to Canada before her original deployment. Instead she went to Iraq- saw first hand what was going on and decided she wanted no part of our Nation Building.

Fact is, the Iraq War was and still is completely unjust and was based on lies. We are not there "fighting for freedom". We are not there "bring democracy to the Iraqi people". Regardless of how you choose to label and attack this women- you can not change the fact that we have no business being in Iraq. Iraq did not attack us on 9/11. Osama Bin Hiden was not in Iraq. Iraq had no WMD's. It is a war that has cost billions of dollars and millions of lives and it was all based on a lie... yet you people want to attack her for choosing not to participate in an unjust, illegal occupation? What happened to a Soldiers right to refuse unlawful orders? Can anyone explain to me how going to Iraq and following orders to kill people who have not attacked you, done nothing to you to deserve being attack, is actually a "lawful order" when Congress did not declare War on Iraq?

reply to post by MrWendal

You speak of her as if she'd been to war, done a tour and was going back when she said 'screw it' and headed for the hills.

She'd been in Iraq and serving all of THREE WHOLE MONTHS....when she came back on leave and then went over the hill. I mean this isn't even someone deciding to refuse to deploy. She literally went over the hill under active deployment....while on leave.

It's because of people like HER, leave for troops is a thing approached with caution for where and under what conditions it comes sometimes.

Again, she's going to face justice one way or another. If she 'suddenly' developed feelings SO deep and strong against Military service after 90 whole days of seeing what it was about, good for her. There are even avenues to declare C.O. status from within the Army once in there.

No... She couldn't deal with doing anything the right or honorable way though. That takes time, effort and might not go quite her way. Better to head for the border and run from her nation...WHILE in the armed forces of it and WHILE assigned on active deployment. Oh it's pretty clear how clear an example she's made herself. Now she can hopefully face justice from the system she swore loyalty to then turned her back on, by choice....both times.

reply to post by eNaR


Like the soccer team we decided was "too poor" to come to Canada for a tournament?

Yeah, we have 'great' reasons to have people not immigrate to Canada...

I hope we would take in folks who didn't agree with murdering innnocents for the ideas of oligarchs, but alas, Canada is NO better than the US in this field.

~Tenth

Originally posted by Monger
She wasn't forced to sign up for military service. Canada has an unjustified reputation as a haven for cowards shirking their duties - actions like sending this lady packing will go a ways toward fixing that reputation.

She is NOT a coward.

Originally posted by CALGARIAN

Originally posted by Monger
She wasn't forced to sign up for military service. Canada has an unjustified reputation as a haven for cowards shirking their duties - actions like sending this lady packing will go a ways toward fixing that reputation.

She is NOT a coward.

No offense here... but yes, she absolutely, 100% IS a coward. Nothing but a worthless coward.

Courage and Conviction would have been standing to her C.O. and saying NO Sir. I will NOT go back and here is why. It's been done. Others HAVE shown that level of courage and they've paid different levels of cost for taking the stand one can be proud of. Right or Wrong, I respect those that do take a stand.

All she did was go long enough to say she'd been.....came home the first possible chance....then jumped the fence, so to speak, and ran for the nearest international border to hide behind and say 'Come and get me'.

One is the actions of a man or woman of honor, even if they've lost all will to fight.\

The other is the action of a coward.

She made her choice and it is the choice as clear as any may come on such an issue, in my opinion. Let her serve the remainder of her time....however many years she signed on for...at Leavenworth. It's about time an example be made, IMO.

reply to post by CALGARIAN


Opinion is not fact. It's your opinion that she's not a coward. It's my opinion that she is, or at least made a cowardly decision, when she tried to hide behind the maple leaf after coming to the conclusion that the Iraq War wasn't much to her liking. Let's agree to disagree. She's in US custody now - she'll do some token prison time and then be free to live the rest of her life to her liking.

Originally posted by Wrabbit2000
Now she can hopefully face justice from the system she swore loyalty to then turned her back on, by choice....both times.

Umm you do realize this same system turned it's back on her and every other Soldier as well don't you? The system certainly has no loyalty to our troops. Of course they claim they do when it is an election year, but we all know that is not the case at all. Go ask some of our returning troops how good their healthcare is now that they are back home. Go ask our troops how well this Government has taken care of them and how much loyalty they feel now that they have come home. Of course that may be tough to do since many of them put a bullet in their head after coming home cause death looked like the better option.

reply to post by MrWendal

Umm you do realize this same system turned it's back on her and every other Soldier as well don't you? The system certainly has no loyalty to our troops. Of course they claim they do when it is an election year, but we all know that is not the case at all.

She should have thought of that or considered the idea of the system being less than ideal before willingly joining it. If we had a draft and women like this were being called up to serve, I might see some very good logic in how they'd head for parts unknown rather than go die for the glory of a few.

She wasn't drafted though, she was a volunteer and what IS society coming to now that we just don't seem to figure agreements or contracts or word mean ANYTHING anymore? It isn't even enough to agree that someone just break it whenever they choose....yet stand for the consequences as I do. It seems you'd suggest we have to accept people like her get NO consequence for making those choices and breaking those words given at all?


This isn't the Red Army of World War II. No one is FORCED to fight in this nation's military. Anyone can say no. Anyone can quit and there are no Secret Police to machine gun down the soldiers who come back from a frontal assault. Slinking off in the night to hide in another nation.....to hide from consequence for one's actions....deserves contempt. Not respect.