Conscientious Objector Regulations

Military regulations today provide for discharge or transfer to noncombatant status for people who object to "participation in war in any form." It's hard to say whether George Wilson would have qualified under today's law. Military law made no provision for COs at that time, and George had never had counseling. But he did decide that he couldn't do some things because they were wrong.

Whether you object to war or not is your decision. No one can make it for you, and if you decide to take a stand, nothing the military does can take your beliefs away from you. But drawing your own moral lines, deciding what you can and can't do, is hard. This book can't do it for you. It can only help you to decide.

When you joined the military, you probably didn't even think about being a conscientious objector. You may not have known there was any such thing. At your enlistment, you signed a statement saying you weren't a conscientious objector. And you probably weren't at the time.

But people change. They may have a quick change of heart, as George Wilson did. Or they may realize they're against war only slowly. It doesn't matter. If you find that you can't be part of war, or that there are some parts of war that you can't be part of, this book is for you.

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