FORT LEWIS, Wash. - Army war objector 1st Lt. Ehren K. Watada has lost key rulings, the U.S. Army said in a statement Tuesday.

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Lt. Ehren Watada

Watada was charged with missing movement after refusing to deploy with his unit, the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. The Army also proceeded with charges of conduct unbecoming an officer for statements he made to journalists and at a veterans convention.

Army prosecutors argued that Watada's statements were offensive to the military and must be looked at in the context they were made and the effects they could as well as the danger they present to the military's mission.

Watada, 28, refused to go to Iraq June 22 with his Stryker Brigade after conducting research and deciding the war was illegal. He said he would be willing to serve in Afghanistan or elsewhere.

He was not allowed to resign his commission because his unit is covered by a stop-loss policy.

The Army later added another specification of conduct unbecoming an officer based on his comments in Seattle during the national convention of Veterans for Peace in August.

Fort Lewis commander Lt. Gen. James Dubik, in recommending Watada for court martial, dropped the contempt charge.

If convicted of all charges, Watada could serve six years in confinement and be dismissed from the service. He now works in an administrative position.

His court-martial is scheduled for Feb. 5 at Fort Lewis.