By KATHRYN SCHOENBERGER

TIMES STAFF WRITER

A 10th Mountain Division soldier is set to request a military court of inquiry into the conduct of Maj. Gen. Michael L. Oates, the division's commander, and several other army generals, alleging mistreatment from his chain of command.

Spc. Bryan R. Currie, 21, Charleston, S.C., has been absent without leave from the Army for about a month and a half. He said Thursday night that he left the division's 4th Brigade Combat Team, based at Fort Polk, La., because his commanding officers threatened to send him to Iraq despite a medical profile listing him as unfit for deployment because of combat injuries.

Although he could be charged with desertion, Spc. Currie will turn himself in at Fort Drum today for a medical evaluation. He said that he hopes it will prove he is unfit for active duty and that he will receive a medical or honorable discharge.

"I don't even consider myself a soldier anymore," he said.

Before he turns himself in, Spc. Currie will hold a press conference at Different Drummer Cafe, Watertown, to discuss his story and the request for an inquiry. Tod Ensign, co-coordinator of Different Drummer, has been assisting with the request.

Spc. Currie's injuries stem from his 2006 deployment to Afghanistan when the humvee he was driving hit a roadside bomb. He spent a month in a hospital in Kandahar recovering from a broken jaw, burns, shrapnel wounds, and knee, back, and other injuries, but he managed to complete his tour.

When Spc. Currie returned to Fort Polk, he was given the medical profile by a doctor, listing the military activities he could and could not physically perform because of his injuries. According to the form, he could not run, use a weapon, or carry a military pack.

However, his request for inquiry states, commanding officers "disregarded and ridiculed the medical finding" and told him they wanted to send him overseas.

"They told me I'd be listening to a radio. Profile said I couldn't carry a weapon, couldn't wear a vest, couldn't do anything. I wasn't even going to get issued a weapon, but they wanted me to go to Iraq," he said.

In addition to physical injuries, Spc. Currie said he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, recently diagnosed by an independent doctor in New York City. He said he tried to seek help at Fort Polk for his anxiety, depression, nightmares and insomnia, but doctors and officials either did not believe him or tried to solve the problem with multiple medications.

"They don't want to understand," he said.

Spc. Currie will file the inquiry request with Secretary of the Army Pete Geren under Article 135 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. It calls for convening a panel to investigate Spc. Currie's case, and those of several other soldiers at Fort Carson, Colo., and Fort Hood, Texas, who also were set to be deployed despite medical holds.

The filing holds Gen. Oates, as well as the commanding officers of Fort Carson, Maj. Gen. Mark Graham, and Fort Hood, Maj. Gen. Jeffrey W. Hammond, responsible for the conduct of any subordinates who may have been involved.