Positive Decision

Transfer Approved

If your request for noncombatant status is approved, you'll be asked to sign a statement. By signing it, you say that you are a CO and request assignment to noncombatant duties for the rest of your term. (You sign it only after you get 1-A-O status; you don't have to sign it in order to apply.)

Discharge Approved

Though your Congress member or lawyer can sometimes find out the final decision as soon as it's been made, it may take as long as two weeks for separation orders to filter down to your unit. Once your immediate commander has been notified, you should be out within ten days. The discharge will be Honorable unless you refused to obey orders or refused to wear the uniform while your claim was pending; then you may get a General Discharge (Under Honorable Conditions). The discharge will be for the "Convenience of the Government," but your separation papers will give "conscientious objection" as the reason for discharge.

An Honorable Discharge as a CO is just like any other Honorable Discharge, except that you can't re-enlist unless you decide you're no longer a CO and request a waiver. You'll be entitled to any veterans benefits you would qualify for with any other discharge.1 And you'll have it on the record that you are a conscientious objector.

If you were a ROTC scholarship student and did not complete your contractual obligation, the military can require you to pay back your scholarship money. Repayment is made on the same terms as federal student loans.

You may find that, once you're out, your discharge is only a small part of your new commitment. Many COs do. You may want to help other people facing struggles like yours, become involved in the peace movement, or do some kind of humanitarian service.