His tumultuous military career now officially over, Ehren Watada is preparing for a new life away from the national spotlight.
The former Army lieutenant and Honolulu native, who made headlines worldwide for refusing to deploy to Iraq on the grounds that the U.S. invasion and subsequent occupation of the country violated international law, was officially discharged “under other than honorable conditions” on Friday.

Fort Lewis spokesman Joseph Piek confirmed the discharge to the Washington-based newspaper The Olympian.
In keeping with his desire to no longer be a “story,” Watada, 31, is declining all requests for interviews and public appearances, according to his lawyer, Ken Kagan.
“While it is true that he has no fear of retribution from the Army, and made no agreements of any kind to remain silent, he has been under a microscope for more than three years, and has decided he wishes to shun any further limelight or attention, and wants to reclaim his privacy and anonymity,” Kagan wrote in an e-mail to The Advertiser.
For more on this story, see tomorrow’s Honolulu Advertiser.