"The Burden of Conscience"

[IrateCitizen]

The following is an article on conscientious objectors within the military from Alternet.org. For those of you who don't know, I am a 1LT in the US Army Reserves and a current conscientious objector awaiting final determination on my application, which was formally submitted well over a year ago. The group profiled here -- the Center on Conscience and War, headed by Quaker attorney J.E. McNeil -- is the group that has assisted me through the process.

THE BURDEN OF CONSCIENCE
By Dan Frosch, AlterNet
March 24, 2004

J.E. McNeil recalls the Special Operations soldier who couldn't kill anymore after an Afghan child darted in front of his riflescope, or the Marine who vowed he'd never return to Iraq, unable to justify the devastation he witnessed. McNeil hears such stories every day, as part of her role as executive director of the Center on Conscience and War – a Washington group that works with conscientious objectors.

Invariably, when the term 'conscientious objector' is mentioned, our minds drift to Vietnam. During that war, nearly 172,000 young men were relieved of military duty after officially registering as pacifists. Scenes of protestors burning draft cards were forever seared into America's collective psyche.

But when Staff Sergeant Camilo Mejia, who'd gone AWOL after returning from Iraq, publicly announced on March 15 that he was applying for a conscientious objector discharge, the idea of refusing to fight in the name of universal peace was hurled into the maelstrom of debate over the current war.

By definition, a member of the Armed Forces must prove, through an application and the subsequent investigation, that he or she is opposed to all war in general, not just one particular conflict. Mejia, currently assigned to duty with his Florida National Guard unit at Fort Stewart, Georgia, is waiting to see if Army brass will sign off on his application or if he will be prosecuted for going AWOL.

READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE BY CLICKING ON THE TITLE, ABOVE.

[info being]

1. Wow, a real hero here at DU!

I can't think of anything more brave than what you're doing. Best wishes.

[IrateCitizen]

2. What I'm doing isn't all that brave...

Not when compared with what SSG Mejia is doing. That guy is facing some serious possible time in the stockade.

[IrateCitizen]

3. KICK!

:kick:

[G_j]

4. thanks IC

that was a good read.
This is very imporant. I have a feeling it will still be important when Kerry is President.

BTW, someone just referred me to this website. I wonder if you have seen it.

www.citizen-soldier.org