War is never simple or easy, any more than the individual's response to it. But the basic right to say no to war was established in the courts and the public mind during the Vietnam period and we have to work to maintain this incredibly important safeguard against our liberties and the ability of warmongers to carry out their long term plans. If you are a war objector in uniform today, or know one, put them in touch with www.objector.org or www.nisbco.org for starters, or have them call the GI Rights Hotline listed on those sites for more information. If you are an objector out of uniform, link hands with them and give them your support. They are the key to our last best hope against genocide or wrongful war. It was enlisted members who ulitmately stopped the war in Vietnam. Who will march in step with the "New War" remains to be seen.

 

The following was written by John Judge as a response to the article, "Active Duty `Conscientious Objectors' On The Rise" (by Michael Betsch, CNSNews.com Editorial Assistant, October 17, 2001) posted on the SF Indymedia site.

 

As a long time civilian counselor/advocate for enlisted members I know, from the Vietnam war forward, that the majority of war objectors only discover they have violated their conscience after the war is over and they cannot live with what they have done.

Three times as many Vietnam veterans committed suicide after the war than died in combat, in large part because they could not integrate the experience into their return to civilian life. Some are lucky enough to have thought about war and conscience, or had contact with those issues, before going into the military. Some struggle still with registering for the draft, even though no one is being inducted. And many are lured into the military by economic conscription and false promises.

The article above portrays young recruits who are filing as objectors because they didn't know that war was part of their enlistment. I think the reality is much deeper. Very few enlist now because of patriotism or interest in war, most are forced by poverty to join, and by false benefits. Like most young people, especially Americans, they live in a state of denial about what the consequences might be to themselves.

The current doctrine draws troops from the reserve forces first, which generally means older and more experienced enlistees. Many have families, and many enlisted since the Gulf War. Prior to that conflict, the military recruiters had actively played down the possibility of war, calling it a peacetime military and promising recruits they would not have to fight. When the war was declared in earnest, the military put in "stop loss" regulations, refusing to hear discharge claims for any reason besides severe medical or hardship cases, and they ignored the rising numbers of conscientious objector claims from GI's mobilized out of inactive reserves. Black and Muslim troops were the majority of these claimants, refusing to fight other people of color or other Muslims.

During Vietnam, even if your orders were cut for overseas duty, a written claim for conscientious objector discharge (non-combat duty is another option, but the objector chooses, not the military) would stop the orders until the hearings were finished and the claim ruled on.

In the Gulf War, objectors were ordered to deploy and if they resisted in many cases were beaten, shackled and flown to Saudi Arabia. Makeshift prisons there held some 3,600 GI's who refused to fight on the field. This policy led to many courts martial and bad discharges, instead of the honorable discharge given to most sincere objectors.

We do not yet know how the Pentagon will handle objector claims in this war. 35,000 of an authorized 1 million reservists have been activated to call up. Perhaps a stop loss will not apply this time and claims will at least be heard. Unfortunately, during war time, acceptance rates on claims drops from 98% to 25%. Much of this is because few people, including military officers, comprehend the legal status and meaning of conscientious objectors. Many feel that last minute claims during times of war reflect some sort of disingenuous claims about not understanding what the enlistment and oath require. In some cases, recruiters really did mislead people on this point. However, for most, they only realize they cannot participate in war when actually faced with it as a real possibility. And the law and military regulations are written to accommodate them. These are not so much "conversions of convenience" as they are realizations about oneself in the face of a changed circumstance.

Being a conscientious objector between wars would be like being a vegetarian between meals. It only counts when you act. Faced with "a real shooting war" as the Supreme Court called the standard, some will suddenly find themselves unable to take part in good conscience. To not allow them to have their conscience at that point speaks to a very basic separation of church and state.

Prior to the current laws and regulations, WWI objectors faced the same treatment the Gulf War objectors did. They were beaten, abused and sometimes killed on the battlefield or in military prisons, and those dead were dressed in uniforms and shipped home in coffins. Some were eventually assigned ambulance duty or other non-combatant chores. This led to the current legal options as well. Some could not do even non-combatant work in support of the military mission. These were jailed, discharged for other reasons, or went AWOL. Similar responses prevailed during Vietnam in even larger percentages. One fifth of the Marine Corps was always missing.

The enlisted members finding their conscience now need our support and help. Counselors need to be trained to assist with their legal claims and hearings procedures and to support them in court if necessary. We must push Congress now to be sure their right to make claims and have them heard is protected this time around. We must have civilian oversight to be sure that the percentage of accepted claims is closer to 75-95% during war. And we need to let GI's know that if they have a moral, ethical or religious objection to taking part in war they can get assistance on how to fill out their claim and take a stand to protect their freedom of religious (moral/ethical) belief without fear of reprisal.

Destruction of conscience and moral discernment is destruction of the individual and the society as well. It is important to support and to extend the rights of objectors to war in the military ranks and outside them as well. Young people registering at 18 with the Selective Service System and their older counterparts who are just now turning 21, may at some point face a draft, or legal conscription. A mobilization draft model could mean that there would be a gap of 10-14 days between their lottery number being asssigned and the report day for physical and induction into the military. Conscientious objectors will arise from their ranks as well, but not without easy access to information on how to build a claim before orders are cut and how to pout the claim on record.

War is never simple or easy, any more than the individual's response to it. But the basic right to say no to war was established in the courts and the public mind during the Vietnam period and we have to work to maintain this incredibly important safeguard against our liberties and the ability of warmongers to carry out their long term plans. If you are a war objector in uniform today, or know one, put them in touch with www.objector.org or www.nisbco.org for starters, or have them call the GI Rights Hotline listed on those sites for more information. If you are an objector out of uniform, link hands with them and give them your support. They are the key to our last best hope against genocide or wrongful war. It was enlisted members who ulitmately stopped the war in Vietnam. Who will march in step with the "New War" remains to be seen.