SJ Marine Reservist Refuses To Serve
I laugh. Ha. HaHa.
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/news/040103_nw_iraq_conscientious_objector.html
SJ Marine Reservist Refuses To Serve
Declares As Conscientious Objector
Apr. 1 (AP) — With his sister carrying his duffel bag and his mother holding his hand, a 20-year-old Marine reservist surrendered to military authorities Tuesday and declared himself a conscientious objector, weeks after refusing to report when called up to active duty.
"Ultimately, it's my fault for joining in the first place," said Funk, who didn't show up when his unit was deployed to Camp Pendleton. "It wasn't as well thought out as it should've been. It was about me being depressed and wanting direction in life."
Funk, who grew up in Washington state, enlisted last February when he was 19 and living on his own for the first time.
"I saw the valuable things you can learn like teamwork, leadership — things you can learn in Boy Scouts," he said. "I saw it as a way to learn new things and meet new people. It was a way to get what I thought was missing in my life."
He also said he caved in to pressure from a recruiter who capitalized on his vulnerability. He refused Tuesday to identify the recruiter.
"They don't really advertise that they kill people," Funk said. "I didn't really realize the full implications of what I was doing and what it really meant to be in the service as a reservist."
Funk said he began doubting his fitness for military service during basic training at Camp Pendleton last spring when he felt uncomfortable singing cadence calls that described violence and screaming "Kill. Kill. Kill," during weapons training.
"I was unwilling to do that. It just felt very wrong," he said. "I started just to mouth the words so I wouldn't get in trouble."
Funk, whose father served in the Navy in Vietnam, said he expressed his misgivings to several chaplains who never counseled him about the possibility of a conscientious objector discharge.
"I didn't ask for a way out, but I told them about it," he said. "I told them I'm having nightmares about what this is going to do for my conscience."
Funk's father, Robert Funk, enlisted in the Navy reserves and was called up to active duty in 1970 to serve in Vietnam. He said he wishes his son hadn't joined in the first place.
"I don't think he realized how close we were to getting involved in this conflict," Robert Funk said from his home in Everson, Wash. "I thought his views didn't line up with military service and he should wait and really look at it. ... I told him he had a contractual obligation. You may feel that way, but there are going to be penalties."
Erik Larsen, who spent four years in the Marine reserves, is fully aware of those penalties. He was a conscientious objector during the first Gulf War and was threatened with the death penalty for desertion during wartime, he said.
"My mom nearly had a heart attack in the federal courtroom when she heard that," he recalled. He eventually pleaded guilty to unauthorized absence, the Marine Corps' term for absent without leave, and spent nearly six months in a military prison, he said, adding he never regretted his decision.
"Violence is unacceptable," he said. "And being a conscientious objector is an honorable thing."
Those applying for status as a conscientious objector must submit a detailed letter explaining how their feelings have changed since joining the military. Then there are interviews with a military chaplain, a psychiatrist and an investigating officer. The final decision is made by top military commanders.
Applications for conscientious discharges always increase during wartime. There were 111 granted during the 1991 Gulf War. Only 28 were granted last year, military officials said.
"The Marine Corps understands there are service members opposed to the war," said Capt. Patrick O'Rourke, spokesman for Funk's unit, adding that he hadn't received Funk's application yet. "He'll be treated fairly."
Because Funk didn't report for active duty when his reserve unit was called up in mid-February, he will likely receive nonjudicial punishment, typically 30 days desk duty, his lawyer, Stephen Collier, said Monday.
At the gate Tuesday, marine officials said Funk needed to report for duty at 7:30 a.m. every morning while his application was processed.
Meantime, Funk says he's attended every major San Francisco Bay Area anti-war rally since finishing his military training last fall. And while he acknowledged he was surprised to get called up to active duty so quickly, Funk insists his decision had nothing to do with the current war in Iraq.
"I would be applying for this anyway," he said. "I believe a lot of those people going over there are going to have psychological problems and guilt. I can serve time for being a conscientious objector ... or I can go along and do something that I know is wrong and live with that forever."
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