That being said, given the stance of Anabaptists have on war in any form and regardless of the reason(s), why do they only exist in North America and I would dare to say could only exist in a “free” nation? Why was this same fervor not brought, in the presence of their physical bodies and voices, to the leaders of the USSR, to China, to Japan, to Nazi Germany, to Fascist Italy and so during WWII? What about before that? After that? What about the guerrilla wars carried out in South and Central America? Dictators committing atrocities all throughout Africa? To the invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviets? North Korea attacking South Korea and then China entering? Is there any hypocrisy to staying within the confines of a “free” nation and claiming all the benefits but sacrificing only what you would be willing to offer up but not what is required? I would like to ask when was the last time any of the above writers visited a less than “free” nation such as China, Myanmar, or Sudan and publicly conducted “radical action” in regards to these countries activities?

Yes, the U.S. Military is a professional all volunteer force. I agree that CO’s should not have to go to war but this is not the same as the Secretary of Defense extending tours. This is a contractual obligation to be sure, but what you are forgetting is that when they entered the U.S. Military, they took an oath. The Oath of Enlistment states, “I, (name), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”

I understand that people change but one has also to understand that with every decision made there are consequences. Earthly law and submission to such things are clearly to be obeyed according to scripture.

As a former soldier who has been deployed to several different combat locations and more importantly as a mature Christian brother, I do not want war nor believe war is right nor just but only that at specific times and for specific reasons, it is a sacrifice that is required of and made by FREE men and women to insure… you have your platform.

As far as the CO discharge, even the Department of Defense recognizes the transformational power of war. People change when they see dead civilians; people change when they see friends get shot; people change when they shoot other human beings. As Anabaptists, I think most of us would suggest that if people knew what war was really like, they wouldn’t want to participate in it. Volunteer soldiers who become conscientious objectors are a great testament to this fact.

It’s easy for us (or at least it was for me), as people who grew up being taught that war wasn’t a good way to go about solving problems, to say, “Look, you’re either a CO or you aren’t - it’s pretty clear.” I’ve found, however, that if you happen to grow up in a family that teaches you that serving God and serving country are the same thing, you might not have ever considered that war might be wrong. It’s second nature to us, but it hasn’t even been considered by others.

Even if there wasn’t a legal or contractual basis for conscientious objection, and even if it were a dishonorable thing to refuse to deploy, one still has to decide which is the bigger mistake: participating in a war that you know is wrong or choosing not to honor a written agreement that you have made. I’d personally rather have the latter on my conscience than the former. The point is mute, though, considering that military regulations specifically allow for such a discharge.

The other thing to point out is that none of these discharges, especially not the CO discharge, are an easy way out. Agustin is a great example of this, in that he struggled for over two and a half years only to be denied at every turn. During this time, he was ridiculed and belittled by many of those around him. Agustin was deployed to Iraq for a year, during which time he didn’t load his gun. If you think that made him any friends among his colleagues, you’re crazy. You don’t do something like that for your health. You do it because you believe it’s absolutely the right thing to do. As one CO put it, “Not only is conscientious objection an honorable discharge, it’s the only honorable one.”

I could seriously write about this all night, but I’ll stop, hoping that I’ve answered your question by now.