bsmall21d ago
> The military defines conscientious objection as “a firm, fixed, and sincere objection to participation in war in any form or the bearing of arms, by reason of religious training and/or belief.” The Department of Defense has codified protections for those who object to serving in the military on spiritual or moral grounds. Once a service member submits their conscientious objector packet, commanding officers must take steps to accommodate their beliefs.
https://www.pilotonline.com/2026/03/29/conscientious-objector-nonprofit-sees-1000-increase-in-calls-since-start-of-iran-conflict-all-of-them-are-scared-of-killing-people-in-a-war-they-dont-believe-in/
#ConscientiousObjection #USAWar #DoDPackets
Show threadbsmall2
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> “I haven’t heard from a single caller who said, ‘I’m scared of dying in a war I don’t believe in,’ ” said Prysner. “All of them are scared of killing people in a war they don’t believe in.”
> .. one of the biggest peaks in calls to the center was during the George Floyd protests in 2020. Service members expressed concerned about being deployed domestically.
> “Incidents of mass consciousness and uprising that sweep the nation also bring into it people who are in the military,”...
#MikePrysner #ConscienceAndWar
Apr 8 at 11:17pmWeb
Show threadbsmall21d ago
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> “We’ve had a huge increase in (conscientious objector) calls in the last year, especially when the National Guard started getting sent places domestically... We’ve had calls about the different actions with Venezuela where people feel totally confused about what’s going on and don’t see blowing up speedboats or capturing leaders of countries as part of defense. That only accelerated even more with this current conflict in Iran.” #SteveWoolford ... also received calls from military members asking if they can outright refuse orders...
Show threadbsmall21d ago
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> The Army paid for his college degree and he commissioned as an officer in 2023. He began flight school to fly Apaches, but soon began to feel his religion didn’t align with his role in the military.
> "I realized that loving my neighbor was incompatible with wanting to kill them. And so I wrestled with it for a long time...."
> ... Brodt will have to repay the government about $85,000 for... college..
> ".. thousands of years of people.. and you stand on their shoulders.. if you’re... asking those questions... you’re probably on the right track.”