Savannah, Ga. ? The Army has brought charges against a soldier who refused to return to Iraq for a second combat tour because he now objects to war, officials said Thursday.

Sgt. Kevin Benderman notified his commanders Dec. 28 that he was seeking a discharge as a conscientious objector. He then refused orders to deploy with his unit Jan. 8 while the Army processed his objector claim.

Benderman was charged with desertion and a second count that accuses him of intentionally skipping his deployment flight.

“My response to those charges is not guilty,” said Benderman, 40. “I am prepared to deal with whatever consequences my action brings.”

Benderman, an Army mechanic with 10 years in the military, spent eight months in Iraq in 2003 with the 4th Infantry Division from Fort Hood, Texas. He transferred to Fort Stewart after returning from the war.

Though he never fired a gun in combat, Benderman says the misery he saw firsthand — including a badly burned young girl and mass graves filled with men, women and children — led him to seek objector status.

Army investigators now must decide whether to prosecute Benderman in a court-martial or allow his case to be handled administratively, said Lt. Col. Robert Whetstone, a Fort Stewart spokesman.