Conscientious Objectors Through the Years

There are many people who oppose war or some part of war because they think it is wrong. If you find that you're against war so strongly that you can't be part of it, you may qualify for conscientious objector (CO) 1 status. And you're not alone. Over the years, thousands of people have become conscientious objectors while they were members of the military. Some of these objectors applied for and received discharge on CO grounds. Others were discharged on other grounds. Still others found that their consciences wouldn't let them follow military orders and ended up with discharges characterized Under Other Than Honorable conditions (OTH) for reasons of misconduct or discharge in lieu of court-martial. But no matter what discharge they received, all these objectors had realized that, for them, taking part in war was wrong.

Many of these objectors were good soldiers before they had a change of heart. Charles Ferguson, who was discharged from the Navy in 1989, graduated from Annapolis. David Wiggins, who resisted the Persian Gulf War (1990-1991), graduated from West Point. Leslie Cole (1975), a Navy CO, had high performance ratings before she became a CO. Addis Wiley (1991), was a top-rated non-commissioned officer before he sought CO discharge. So it's not true, as your superiors may try to tell you, that COs are all "misfits." Most of them are not.

It's perfectly true, though, that COs don't fit into the military. That's probably why you're reading this book. If by reading it you learn to trust your conscience and not somebody else's opinion, it will have done its job.

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