Marine Left Unit for Good Reason, Lawyer Says : Military: Camp Pendleton lieutenant faces court-martial for abandoning copter squadron that’s on way to Mideast.

In a move his lawyer described Tuesday as “a decision of conscience,” a Marine Corps officer from Camp Pendleton abandoned his assault helicopter squadron in Hawaii last month just before its ship set sail for the Middle East and now could face military dismissal and imprisonment.

Lt. Tony Moradian, 26, of Los Angeles is the highest-ranking person known to have abandoned his unit since Operation Desert Shield began more than five months ago, according to Pentagon officials.

Charged formally this week by the military, he now faces court-martial for leaving his chopper squadron Dec. 9 just before it sailed for the Philippines the next day en route to the Middle East. He caught a commercial plane back to Southern California, was reunited with his wife and returned to the base at Camp Pendleton, authorities said.

Moradian, the pilot of Huey Cobra assault choppers, said through his military attorney that he would give an explanation for his actions today.

On Tuesday, as the military pressed ahead with Moradian’s prosecution, defense counsel Capt. David Ingold explained, “The decision had to do with his upbringing.

“He’s not a conscientious objector. Most unequivocally, he’s got no qualms about what the Marine Corps is doing (in the Persian Gulf), or why they’re doing it. He would like to stay in the Marine Corps. He doesn’t want out. This is just a unique situation.”

But that choice may now be out of Moradian’s hands.

The decision on how and whether to proceed with military prosecution against Moradian must now work its way through the chain of command over the next 120 days at his base at Camp Pendleton, through commanders at the 3rd Air Wing based at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, and onto Washington.

Moradian is charged with being absent from his unit--Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 169--and missing its deployment, charges more serious than merely being absent without leave. If convicted, he could be put in prison for two years. Or he could merely be let go from the military without further punishment.

But the fact that Maj. C.M. Baldwin, head of the legal service offices at Camp Pendleton, plans to prosecute the case himself indicates the severity with which it is viewed.

Ingold acknowledged: “When you’re talking about an officer, the assumption is it’s more serious. I assume he’s headed to” a general court-martial, the toughest form of prosecution open to the military.

Baldwin himself said: “We don’t have all the facts as to why Lt. Moradian was not with his unit. But I don’t need a reason; we have enough now to proceed with this case.

“He was on authorized liberty in Hawaii, and when the ship moved, he didn’t go with it,” Baldwin added. “Those are the facts.”

Ingold did not dispute those facts but pointed out that Moradian made no effort to elude apprehension, returning from Hawaii directly to Camp Pendleton and turning himself into his unit.

“He came right back here (to Camp Pendleton), right back to headquarters and said, ‘Here I am,’ and waited for the legal process to take effect,” the lawyer said.

Moradian’s squadron had been aboard the Tarawa, an amphibious-assault ship that left San Diego on Dec. 1 for eventual deployment in the Persian Gulf. It is on its way there now, military officials said.

Before Dec. 9, Moradian had no blemishes on his military record, officials said. He had gone to college on an ROTC scholarship and then did well in flight school, earning himself a spot in the pilot’s seat of the Huey Cobra, Baldwin said.

Since returning to Camp Pendleton, Moradian has been assigned on base to an administrative post but has had no restrictions placed on his movements, authorities said.