In a matter of days, 1st Lt. Ehren Watada's Army unit will gather at Fort Lewis in Washington state for roll call before its departure for northern Iraq.

They'll draw equipment, including weapons and nightvision goggles, and spend time with family before getting on buses and heading to nearby McChord Air Force Base and their yearlong deployment to a war zone.

Watada says he won't be one of them.

His now highly publicized refusal to participate in a war that he thinks is illegal and immoral will move from words to deeds, and it may result in court-martial and prison.

The 28-year-old Kalani High School graduate said the firestorm of e-mail and commentary — both vehemently for and against what he's doing — has been a little surprising, but the man whose father described as "stubborn" isn't budging from his plan.

"If I could do anything, however fruitless it may seem on the outside, to try and end this war a lot sooner, to save one more American life or Iraqi and having these soldiers back home with their families, I would do that," Watada said in a phone interview from Washington state.

Just days before what he hopes won't be a big confrontation, he seemed calm.

"I'm pretty resolute," he said. "I have no regrets with the decision I've made."

'WHAT I BELIEVE'

The Army fire-support officer's job is to call for artillery or aircraft fire from his battalion's headquarters. He said he knew the potential consequences when he gave his commander a letter attempting to resign his commission saying, "This is what I believe, and because of that, I can't participate in something that is morally and legally wrong in my eyes."

Honolulu attorney Eric Seitz, who is representing Watada, previously said his client could be court-martialed for violating an order as an officer and receive a dishonorable discharge and be sentenced to five years in prison.

The Army also could charge Watada with "missing a movement," which could add on extra years, Seitz said.

"It doesn't (usually) come to that, but if they want to posture, and apparently they do, they could certainly throw some very serious charges at him," Seitz had said.

Watada is believed to be the first military officer to publicly take steps to refuse his deployment orders in the three-year-old Iraq war. Others have done so privately, the Pentagon said. The Honolulu man is not a conscientious objector because he does not oppose all wars.

He said he would have gone to Afghanistan. "If they sent me tomorrow, I would go," he said.

Watada is with the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry, at Fort Lewis. The unit is part of a larger 3,600-soldier Stryker brigade combat team. The deployment already has begun, with forces expected to continue to depart through the first week of July.

Joseph Piek, a Fort Lewis spokesman, said he's not sure what exactly will happen to Watada.

"I can't speculate on what would happen because it hasn't happened," Piek said.

Watada said he will report for duty on the day of deployment, but he'll remain in his office instead of going to the airport.

Seitz said he tried to negotiate with Army officials so Watada's refusal to deploy doesn't become an "out-of-control confrontation."

"I talked to my commanders and I said I'm not going to make this a media event," Watada said yesterday. "I'm going to respect the fact that these soldiers will be spending the last day with their families before they are gone for a year."

'A LOT OF TENSION'

Watada acknowledged his life has been pretty hectic since announcing his decision earlier this month. There has been "a lot of tension" within his unit, but no overt hostility, he said.

A few military people have come up to him, asked to shake his hand and said they agree with what he is doing. He's also received "numerous hate e-mails" from people in the military.

"I expected it to be a big mix ... but that's (the reaction to) the war in general," he said. It's been "kind of the same thing in Hawai'i."

"Definitely, there have been a lot of groups that have stepped up in support," he said, "and reading the letters to the editor, there are a lot of people who don't look too kindly upon me."

Watada said his chain of command "has made it very clear that they will bring up charges on me as soon as I don't board that plane."

Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com.