PHOENIX (AP) - An Arizona lawmaker who serves as an intelligence officer in the Army Reserves will begin a five- to six-month tour of duty in Iraq in late August. Republican Rep. Jonathan Paton, a freshman legislator noted as the top advocate for a new state immigrant smuggling law, said the Army told him Saturday that he was going to Iraq to work in military intelligence.
The 35-year-old Tucson native said he volunteered for the duty last year because he needed to back up his support of the war with action. "You should kind of put your money where you mouth is," he said.
The first lieutenant said he also was inspired by a fellow officer from Arizona who returned home from Iraq to care for her husband after he was wounded by an improvised explosive device. He said he was moved by the drive of the young couple to eventually return to duty.
Paton, who is running for re-election, will miss the primary and general elections. He said his campaign is in solid shape and that his colleagues have offered to carry some campaign duties in his absence. He added he would likely miss a few of the first weeks of the 2007 legislative session.
Paton represents parts of three border counties and proposed an immigrant smuggling law that the Legislature passed last year. The law has been used in one county to prosecute migrants on conspiracy charges for hiring smugglers to bring them across the border.
