Watch part two 

Filmmaker: Richard Rowley

There is no greater badge of shame in the military than to be branded a coward. Deserters during the First World War were taken out at dawn and shot by firing squad.

The US military is made up entirely of volunteers, people who choose to join, and to serve. But a growing number of those who enlisted are having a change of heart.

In the past, deserters have often been motivated by politics. But in the US military the politics are changing and so are some attitudes about resisting.

Since 2001 the rate of desertion for the US Army has remained steady at roughly 3000 troops a year, around one percent of the total force.

Last year more than a dozen soldiers from the US military applied for refugee status in Canada. So far all of their claims have been rejected.

Ryan Johnson is at the crossroads. He joined the military in search of a better life, but his platoon has been called up for a second tour of duty in Iraq, and he says he can't go back.

His wife has promised to stand by him, no matter what, but he knows he will have to abandon his family, friends and country, if he chooses not to join his battalion. 

Richard Rowley brings us the story of this one soldier who had to make the choice of a lifetime—whether to fight a war he no longer believes in, or start a new life, and always be known as a deserter.