Interviews
Within a few days after your request, you should be interviewed by a chaplain and a psychiatrist (or medical officer if a psychiatrist is not available). An Investigating Officer in grade O-3 or higher will also conduct a hearing into your claim. The Investigating Officer hearing is discussed in the next section.
In many cases, you'll find that without prodding the military is slow to set up your interviews. One way to avoid this problem is to offer to set up the interviews--at least those with the chaplain and psychiatrist--yourself.
The interviewers may be friendly or unfriendly. You may be asked a lot of questions that seem important, and some that don't. Your answers should be straightforward and positive. While, along with many others, you may dislike the military, that's not the subject of the interviews. Your conscientious objection to war is.
You should prepare detailed, accurate reports of your version of the interviews, especially the Investigating Officer's interview. You can submit the reports of the interviews to be included as additional information with your rebuttal of the Investigating Officer's recommendation if it is negative. And, as with all documents, you should keep a copy for your own file.
Psychiatric Interview
The psychiatrist, psychologist, or medical officer has to decide whether you have any medical disorders which would make you eligible for discharge. You may feel offended by the interview; many COs don't like being suspected of having mental disorders just because they oppose killing and war.
The psychiatrist may comment on your sincerity but doesn't have to. (In the Army and Air Force, the psychiatrist is supposed to make no recommendation for approval or denial of the application.) If you don't cooperate or respond during this interview or the one with the chaplain, the officer is supposed to note it in his or her report. Usually the interview takes only a few minutes, and the psychiatrist's report is brief.
If you think you have a psychiatric problem you can explain it to the psychiatrist. It would help if you first got a letter from a civilian psychiatrist. The military psychiatrist could recommend discharge for psychiatric reasons. But be careful not to make the psychiatrist think your CO beliefs are a result of emotional problems. And, if you think you might be eligible for discharge on grounds of mental disorder, discuss this interview with your counselor before you do.
Some military branches or commands may require you to take a standard personality test before you see the psychiatrist. This is the standard procedure, for example, at many Navy clinics. The military uses the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) for this procedure.
Chaplain's Interview
Military chaplains may be less sympathetic than civilian clergy members. Don't be surprised, in fact, if the chaplain is more hostile toward you and your views than any other officer. But there are a number of sympathetic, sensitive chaplains who care a lot about freedom of conscience.
The regulations don't require you to be assigned to a certain chaplain. You can ask around to find a chaplain with a reputation for fairness. If you are a member of a religious group, you can request a chaplain of your denomination, if there is one and you want to. (Many counselors believe that seeing a chaplain of your own denomination is unwise because the chaplain is more likely to feel that you are misinterpreting church doctrine.) It's also a good idea to share with the chaplain your written statement and, if you are a member of a church, its statement on conscientious objection.
In any event, the chaplain is supposed to interview you and "submit a written opinion as to the nature and basis of the applicant's claim, and as to the applicant's sincerity and depth of conviction." He or she must also give the reasons for these conclusions. (DoD Dir. 1300.6, VI (V)) Again, in the Army and Air Force, the chaplain is supposed to make no recommendation for approval or denial of the application.
Remember that the chaplain's idea of what may be considered religious, ethical, or moral may be narrower than the legal definition discussed earlier in this booklet. If may be wise to visit a second chaplain if the interview with the first turns out to be unsatisfactory, but you'll probably have to set up the second visit on your own.
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