Mid July, 2006

A lot has happened recently, that’s why I haven’t gotten much of a chance to keep in touch with everyone.  Ill try to keep it brief and to the point.  Here we go;

            A couple of weeks ago I submitted a request to the ACLU for legal representation in my case.  I thought I would be forcibly deployed before I could get a fair hearing and a decision on my Conscientious Objector (CO) application.  The ACLU had a huge federal success in March of 2006 with a guy named Corey Martin.  He was in a similar case; under deployment orders with a pending CO application.  Also, the ACLU is all pro-bono, so it would be a recognizable organization at no cost to me.  Additionally, I was referred to a civil rights lawyer by a friend of mine.  This lawyer turned out to be the same one representing a Seattle officer refusing to go to Iraq based on it’s violations of international and US law.  I knew of his case awhile ago, in fact I met with and spoke to his mother the week before he went public.  Very inspiring to see him stand by what he knows is right… 

            Anyway, I was contacted the week before last by the ACLU in response to my request.  I informed them I was preparing to meet with the lawyer and they asked if I would be okay with him co-counseling with him.  I was more than fine getting such reputable legal representation!  I met with them and gave them my info, dating back to April and May.  They agreed that I had plenty of time to work with (much to my surprise), and a call was placed to the Schofield legal office, asking what the status of my case was.  This was on a Friday afternoon, and Monday morning I saw an immediate reaction. 

            I was whisked into the First Sergeant’s office and told I was being reassigned to rear-detachment; that I was not to deploy with the unit.  The reason for this was that the psychiatrist I saw for my CO interview diagnosed me with an unspecified “adjustment disorder,” and recommended that I be discharged.  He also labeled me ‘medically non-deployable.’  I assumed that because they reassigned me (in violation of the regulation governing COs) that they were going to abandon my CO application and instead discharge me, as per the doctor’s recommendation, based on a medical diagnosis claiming I was not fit to remain in the Army. 

            When I inquired about this, I was told that I was not going to be discharged, but simply made non-deployable; essentially they were assigning me to a year of garrison duty on stop/loss orders, months past my original termination date.  This was in violation of a few regulations, so along with a few other complaints I went to the inspector general.  The Inspector General (IG) ensures units comply with rules and lets the commanding general know when units are not.  I went to them about a few things my unit had been doing and I was informed that all my complaints were legitimate and a few calls were made.              The following day, I was called back into the commander’s office and was talked to about how I was creating stress on the unit and going out of my way to burden the command with my attempts to “get out of this deployment.”  I was told that I was less than useless, that I was engaging in conduct unbecoming of a Noncommissioned Officer (NCO), and that my CO application and this “conversion nonsense” was “bullshit.”  I was finally given a direct order to never step foot in the unit’s area again.  I forced back a chuckle.  Also, he told me that I was only helping myself and the “enemies of America” by submitting a request for Noncombatant status.  I was accused of lying to both my lawyer and the psychiatrist and he said he was disgusted by the rank I wore and told me I didn’t deserve it. 

            I had/have a lot of mixed emotions about what has happened, but it is basically out of my hands.  In a nutshell, I am hurt that I will not get the chance to deploy with the unit without a weapon.  I was obviously too idealistic in hoping to suggest alternatives for violence, and I now know that it is inconceivable to my commander that war truly should be a last resort.  Anyway, I am already researching CPT and how to become involved in that kind of ministry.  I could go on much longer, but I don’t want to weigh you all down with a long email again.  I swear, before a couple of months ago, my emails were only a paragraph long!         Thanx for reading this far; if you have, please respond with your thoughts, I would really love to hear from everyone!  Or call me, I’ll have plenty of time on my hands for a little while…