Washington, D.C. ? Just days after shipping out for Iraq, a soldier convicted of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib during a previous tour was ordered back to his home base, officials said Friday.

Spec. Santos A. Cardona had departed Fort Bragg, N.C., on Monday with his unit, the 23rd Military Police Company, and was in Kuwait, preparing to move into Iraq, when the Army decided that for his own safety he should be stopped.

In a court martial this summer, Cardona was convicted of dereliction of duty and aggravated assault for allowing his police dog to bark within inches of a prisoner’s face at Abu Ghraib prison. The Army said he did 90 days of hard labor, was reduced in rank from sergeant to specialist and ordered to pay $600 per month in fines for 12 months.