For a man facing court-martial this week, Kevin Benderman appeared unworried.

"I'm confident. I know that I'm not a deserter," the Army sergeant said in a telephone interview Saturday before speaking at Georgia Tech. "They're court-martialing me because I applied for conscientious objector status. They're trying to make an example of me."

Benderman, 40, is charged with desertion and what the Army calls "missing movement by design" for failing to show up for deployment back to Iraq.

He is scheduled for court-martial Thursday at Fort Stewart, which is headquarters for the 3rd Infantry Division.

The mechanic, who lives in nearby Hinesville, said he had an official excuse that will prove he's innocent. If convicted, he could go to prison for seven years.

Benderman spoke to about 70 people at Tech about his six months in Iraq last year, and how that led him to seek conscientious objector status and an honorable discharge from the Army.

He applied 10 days before his unit was scheduled to leave for Iraq. The Army rejected his request, calling him insincere, but he has reapplied.

"I don't want to participate in any more wars," the son of a World War II veteran told the Tech audience. "It dehumanizes everyone all around. It's insanity."

Benderman, born in Alabama and raised in Tennessee, recalled images that helped change his mind about war after nearly 10 years in the military.

One was of a little girl "standing on the side of the road, with her arms severely burned, begging for help and I couldn't help her." He was in a convoy and "we just drove on by" after the commanding officer said they couldn't stop to provide medical help.

In another instance, boys on a wall were throwing pebbles at the soldiers who were trying to shoo them away.

The commanding officer appeared and was frightened at what was going on. According to Benderman, the officer said, "If they come back up on the wall, I want you to shoot them."

"It made me learn the truth of war, not the glamorized version," he said. "Violence is not the answer, because all it does is bring more violence."

Benderman said he discovered that Iraqis are like Americans in many ways. He read the Koran and saw its similarities to the Bible.

Benderman's wife, Monica Benderman, said she noticed a change in her husband when he returned from Iraq. He had trouble sleeping and brooded. He found peace only when he decided to reject war and seek conscientious objector status, she said.

Buckets were passed in the audience to collect funds to help with Benderman's defense. He has the help of civilian and military lawyers. A Web site — www.bender mandefense.org — explains his situation.

Supporters from 31 countries have written to him. And "a lot of people who served with me are supportive," he said. "Nobody hates war more than a soldier."

Benderman said 5,500 soldiers involved in Iraq either have gone AWOL or sought conscientious objector status. The Department of Defense says 1,593 U.S. soldiers have been killed since the conflict began.

Frank Ruechel, a professor of history and American government at Life University, introduced Benderman by saying that Christians are obligated to reject war. "One is called to be a conscientious objector when one is a Christian," Ruechel said.

Joe Parko, a retired Georgia State University professor and member of the Georgia Peace and Justice Coalition, told the Tech audience, "If his courage to speak out saves a single life, then Sgt. Benderman deserves a medal, not a court-martial."

Benderman said that if he's found innocent, he plans to devote all his time to helping others become conscientious objectors.