HONOLULU -- Lt. Ehren Watada refused to deploy with his unit when it departed on Thursday for Iraq, Fort Lewis officials in Washington state said.

The Army said Watada is restricted to Fort Lewis, pending possible charges.

Watada said he would not go with his unit because he considers the Iraq war illegal. The 1996 Kalani High School graduate is an artillery officer with a Stryker unit.

He is believed to be the first commissioned officer to refuse deployment to Iraq. He faces court-martial charges unless the Army allows him to resign his commission. Once Watada is formally charged and his case goes to trial, his lawyers said they expect to argue that that the war in Iraq is illegal.

He said that last year he began reading numerous books and articles about the war after learning he was to be deployed. He said he feels that the president manipulated issues and efforts to initiate the war that Watada called "a lie."

He said the books and articles came to the same conclusion: "We were all deceived."

Watada said that the best way he can support his fellow troops is to oppose the war and end it so all soldiers can come home.

Watada is technically not a conscientious objector. He has said he's not opposed to all wars -- just this war in Iraq.

Watada enlisted in the Army in 2003 and is the son of Bob Watada, the former director of the state Campaign Spending Commission.

Earlier this month, Watada's parents appeared before Honolulu TV cameras before flying to Washington state. They wanted to be with their son in his stand against the war.

"He refused to comply with orders and this morning. They transferred him and they are confining him to base. He's basically incommunicado," Bob Watada said.

Ahren Watada has not been charged with anything and remains confined to barracks. The military did allow him to return home on Thursday morning briefly where he said goodbye to his family.

While his resistance has given many antiwar groups a new rallying point, Watada asked that no demonstrations be held on Thursday out of respect for his unit.

"It's a sad time for everybody. They have family friends and he didn't want to have a big demonstration while they were deploying," Bob Watada said.

While many have joined his cause, he's also been the target of death threats.