[Peace-discuss] two more CO's (one from Illinois) - a trend?

[Randall Cotton]

March 16, 2004
Two GIs in Iraq Seek Objector Status
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 11:22 a.m. ET
TIKRIT, Iraq (AP) -- Two U.S. Army medics in Iraq have applied for
conscientious objector status and want to be honorably discharged from the
military because the idea of killing is ``revolting'' to them, their company
commander said Tuesday.

The two soldiers, both privates first class, notified the Army of their
request on Feb. 9, the day before their Germany-based 1st Battalion, 18th
Infantry Regiment deployed to Iraq, Capt. Todd Grissom said.

Grissom would not identify the two soldiers, saying only that they come from
California and Illinois.

``They both think it's wrong to bear arms and don't want to be involved with
the war,'' Grissom, from Houston, Texas, told The Associated Press. ``To
them, the thought of having a gun or having to kill someone is revolting.''

Both men have been assigned to duties at a military aid station at a U.S.
base on the outskirts of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's former hometown, Grissom
said.
Army chaplains have interviewed both men to hear the reasons behind their
requests, and their cases are being investigated by a battalion officer.

``As commanders, you don't hope for such things because if everyone in the
Army was like that we would have no one to defend us,'' Grissom said.
``However, I believe that you have to have a process like that to treat
someone fairly and ensure their particular case can be reviewed.''

News of the two soldiers' requests follow another application for
conscientious objector status by Staff Sgt. Camilo Mejia of Miami Beach,
Fla. He surrendered Monday at an air force base in Massachusetts five months
after failing to return to duty while on home leave after serving in Iraq.