André Shepherd joined the U.S. army in 2004 and after 6 months’ training was stationed in Iraq as a mechanic for Apache helicopters. When he returned to his unit in Katterbach (Bavaria), he began intensively to research, to come to terms with what the U.S. military was doing to the civilian population in Iraq. “In the end, I knew the truth: if I went (to Iraq) again, I would be responsible for the death and misery of innocent people. Then the path for me was clear: I had to get out of the army.“ André Shepherd applied in November 2008 for asylum in Germany.

At the beginning of April 2011, the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees has denied AWOL U.S. soldier André Shepherd's application for asylum. April 7 he instructed his attorney to institute legal proceedings against the negative ruling. “We will keep on,” André Shepherd said. “Other soldiers should also feel sure that their decision not to participate in wars or crimes in violation of international law will be supported. They must be able to count on receiving protection in case of doubt.”