MIAMI — The U.S. Army has finally sent Erik Botta home.
The young reservist, who was sent to war four times, then went to court to challenge his fifth deployment, heard the news military style: a barked order at 7 a.m. Monday during morning formation at Fort Jackson in South Carolina.
"They said, `Where's Botta? Pack your bags, you're going home,'" he said Tuesday. "It was a completely unexpected turn of events. This happened spur of the moment."
He sent a text message to his wife, Jennifer — "I'm coming home" — and hit the road to Port St. Lucie, Fla.
"It was a pretty good ride," he said. "A lot better than the one on the way there."
The decision came so quickly that his wife couldn't get time off — she works an evening shift at a restaurant — but she made a hasty trip to the grocery store to stock up on Botta's favorites: fruit, fresh vegetables and brownies.
And when she finally saw him, she said, "I dived into his arms and cried."
The Army released Botta from active duty after determining he was "not medically qualified," his lawyer, Mark Waple, said. Botta is now pursuing an honorable discharge that could come in the next few months, the lawyer said.
"The Army dodged the lawsuit by coming to a very sudden and totally unexpected decision that Erik was not medically qualified to remain on active duty or be deployed," Waple said. "It was a complete surprise to Erik and his family."
Waple was taken aback, he said, because Botta never claimed any medical disqualification and suffers from no illnesses.
Botta, a sergeant, had spent two weeks in training at Fort Jackson. He said he'd been sent to several medical specialists for evaluations in that time.
"He is very mindful ... of the fact that reservists are currently deployed in a combat environment," said Waple, a West Point graduate and former military judge advocate who practices in Fayetteville, N.C. "This does not suggest that Erik's hardship is special, just that this was an unlawful and arbitrary mobilization."
Botta, 26, argued in the suit filed July 12 in federal court that the Army's refusal to exempt him from deployment was unconstitutional and didn't take into account his previous deployments — once to Afghanistan and three times to Iraq. Botta withdrew his lawsuit Tuesday after he returned from Fort Jackson, where he had reported as ordered on July 15.
He joined the Army Reserve in 2000 but asked to be activated after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. His deployments totaled about 11 { months, according to his suit. In his last three deployments, Botta was assigned to a special operations aviation regiment based at Fort Stewart, Ga.
He served his first deployment in Afghanistan for about 6 { months, according to the suit, followed by three shorter deployments to Iraq as part of a special operations team, which is considered especially hazardous.
Since his release from active duty in October 2004, he had not been required to participate in any training, he said. He has served about seven years of an eight-year reserve contract.
Now married and a homeowner with a mortgage, Botta has been pursuing his electrical engineering degree full time while also working full time for Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a defense contractor. He was granted a 287-day delay last year, but the Army sent new orders requiring him to report for duty in July.
Army spokeswoman Maj. Cheryl Phillips did not comment directly on Botta's case, but in an e-mail wrote, in part, that "the Army has policies and procedures in place to handle situations when a soldier is determined to be in a non-deployable status ... Each soldier is handled on an individual basis."
She also noted that soldiers who signed a contract "are statutorily obligated to serve the term of the contract."
Previously, the Army said it has granted 87 percent of delays requested by soldiers — most are 90 days or less — and 54 percent of exemptions.
The lawsuit contended that the Army had already granted academic exemptions — Botta is halfway through his engineering studies — in at least one other similar situation: A 24-year-old North Carolina enlisted Army reservist with two combat tours under his belt was involuntarily mobilized while pursuing a degree in chemical engineering at a community college in Raleigh. His first appeal was denied, but after Waple filed a second appeal, he was given an exemption and honorably discharged, Waple said.
The suit also argued that when the military involuntarily mobilizes troops, federal law requires it to consider "the length and nature of previous service, to assure sharing of exposure to the hazards of combat."
Additionally, it said the military must take into account Botta's employment with Sikorsky, "which is necessary to maintain the national interest."
Botta, a first-generation American who was a signal support systems specialist in the Army, said he remains proud of his service and never wanted it to end in a lawsuit.
"I still fully support all the guys on the ground and everyone in uniform," he said Tuesday. "I hope they return safely to their families. ... I did my part when I was in the military. Now it's time to serve in a different capacity."
Deployment would have meant that he could no longer afford his house and his wife would probably have to move in with her parents. Plans to start a family would be on hold, as would his schooling.
Since he had to report to Fort Jackson before the semester was complete, he'll probably have to repeat one of his courses, he said. Another professor has granted him extra time to study for the final exam.
His other worries — leaving his wife alone, probably losing his house — are gone now.
"My next goal is to get life back in order, keep going to school, wrapping up the degree — and starting a family," he said. "I just want to continue doing what I was doing — working on military and government projects at Sikorsky."
His wife said she's looking forward to a return of normal life.
"I'm hoping to just get back to normal — our boring life. I'll never take it for granted again," she said.
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