"No Rest or Peace"

You won't be surprised to learn that the military sometimes uses illegal standards in judging CO claims. The most troublesome of these is the idea that you must prove your conscience would give you "no rest or peace" if you had to take part in war. Courts which have ruled on this standard have said the military can't use it, but your CO Review Board may still turn you down because of it.

You can't prevent the military from using illegal standards. What you can do is to present your strongest case. In writing your application, show how your beliefs won't let you continue in the military (or in combatant duty). Get good supporting letters. And try to bring strong witnesses to your Investigating Officer hearing.

What you shouldn't do is try to argue your case like a lawyer. If you spend a lot of time arguing that "no rest or peace" is an illegal standard, you'll waste precious time and energy that you should spend presenting the evidence in your favor. You'll probably irritate the officials who are interviewing you. And you may even give them the idea that "no rest or peace" is a standard they should take seriously. It's best to leave argument to the lawyers if and when your case goes to court. Your job is to show that you're a CO--not to show that the military doesn't understand CO law.

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