Judge backs Christian soldier's conscientious objector petition

[Barrett808]

Source: Anchorage Daily News

Judge backs Christian soldier's conscientious objector petition
Fort Rich paratrooper was denied by Army
By GEORGE BRYSON
[e-mail]

Published: May 14th, 2008 12:02 AM
Last Modified: May 14th, 2008 12:27 AM

The Army should grant conscientious objector status to Pfc. Michael Barnes, a Fort Richardson-based paratrooper who had his request for that designation denied last year, U.S. Magistrate John D. Roberts concluded Tuesday.

In a 26-page recommendation to the U.S. District Court, Roberts noted that the Army failed to show "any basis in fact" to support its decision to deny Barnes' petition to be honorably discharged due to his religious beliefs.

At the same time, the record includes strong reasons to justify the request, including Barnes' own testimony, supporting letters from fellow soldiers and the opinion of an Army chaplain, the judge said.

"The evidence is overwhelming that Barnes, a motivated infantryman, is a person who takes his religious beliefs seriously, and there is strong evidence that his decision was motivated by those beliefs," Roberts wrote.

That same year, however, while training for deployment to Iraq as part of the 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team at Fort Richardson, he grew increasingly troubled by the tales he heard from soldiers returning from Afghanistan and Iraq, Barnes noted in a statement he filed with his application.

"These stories included making the locals (do) degrading things so they could laugh at them, abusing the kids and taking others lives with ease. ... I told myself it's not really like that -- that's just a few soldiers' perceptions of their experience."

But after his unit landed in Kuwait, then Iraq, in the fall of 2006, he began to witness bad behavior firsthand, Barnes said. He'd been transferred from an infantry company to the tactical operations center, where he served as a radio-telephone operator. There he grew more depressed and began to spend long hours reading the Bible. He mourned the deaths of solders he knew.

"How would I justify to the Lord that participating in war is serving him?" Barnes wrote. "I cannot. War is evil, and nothing but evil comes from it. Many of those who participate in it lose their souls along the way."

Read more: http://www.adn.com/front/story/405341.html

[glowing]

1. There ya go.. War is Evil..

[Barrett808]

2. And, therefore, the "War President"? n/t

[glowing]

8. Agree.

[clixtox]

3. Truly a hero in my estimation, Barnes has my complete respect!

The US Army is absolutely not suited or capable of deciding any matter of conscience.

Our armed forces are almost wholly comprised of power hungry sociopaths, and worse.

Any sense of right or wrong has been drilled out of those who might have joined up "burdened" with a working conscience.

I was a Conscientious Objector in 1965 and did alternative service for two years starting at (maximum security) Atascadero State Hospital.

What an eye-opener that was for this 20 year old kid from Berkeley!

Murderers, rapists and child molesters mostly, sorta like our troops these days...

[CRK7376]

13. Careful now

Not all of us are murders, rapist or child molesters. Most of us are pretty good people in an unfortunate place due to the idiot our nation and supreme court placed in power. Do we have problem people in the military, certainly, but most are not. Many go out of their way to help the Iraqi, Afghans, all the others we try to help....

[54anickel]

4. Some pretty nasty comments attached to that article. n/t

[MidwestTransplant]

5. This guy is no Christian if he is against war. The real Christians are Pastor Hagee and co.

[AlbertCat]

6. I'm sorry....

....but, really.... he has to actually GO TO WAR to figure out war is evil?

I believe him in his Christian beliefs! Only Christianity would foster such complete ignorance! Let him go.

[redqueen]

7. Ignorance is everywhere. Your comment is unfair and nasty. (nt)

[awoke_in_2003]

9. Well, I am glad the judge backed him

but I have to ask- what if you are an atheist who happens to be against killing others? Probably shit out of luck.

[noonwitch]

10. It's not a problem if the atheist doesn't enlist

CO status only matters when there is a draft.

If a soldier enlists, then decides that war is against his religious beliefs, he is violating his enlistment conditions, and should have to complete his assigned duty according to the terms he enlisted under.

[awoke_in_2003]

11. Yeah, I know

but if there was a draft (seems almost unavoidable) could an atheist get away with this?

[gratuitous]

12. Why don't you enlist and find out?

That would be one way.

[Mrs. Ted Nancy]

14. Court case from 1970 would say yes

Here's a link to a story about this situation.

http://atheism.about.com/library/decisions/religion/bl_l_WelshUS.htm


Hope this helps.

Edit to put in correct web address.

[awoke_in_2003]

15. Hey, thanks

and welcome to DU :hi: