By Lila Schow
February, 2004
from International Action Organization
"The ultimate test of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and moments of convenience, but where he stands in moments of challenge and moments of controversy."
–Martin Luther King, Jr., 27 January 1965

Iraq invaded Kuwait August 2, 1990. Later that month Jeff Patterson, a US Marine sat on a Hawaiian runway, refusing to board the plane that was to take him to Saudi Arabia. His action stemmed from disgust at being forced to fight for "American profits and cheap oil".³ Arrested and confined to brig in Pearl Harbor¹¹ he later received an Other Than Honorable (OTH) discharge.³

Patterson is one of 2,500 estimated conscientious objectors enlisted in the military during the 1991 Gulf War. "A subsequent General Accounting Office investigation placed the number closer to 500, but this failed to include those who were jailed for refusing orders."⁶

In 1962, DoD (Department of Defense) Directive 1300.6 created a path for conscientious objectors (CO’s) to receive a complete discharge from the military or transfer to non-combat duties.¹ To meet the qualifications for CO status, a soldier must prove that they have a sincere objection (moral, ethical or religious) to all forms of war.²

Any soldier applying for a CO "solely upon considerations of policy, pragmatism, expediency, or political views" will not qualify for discharge or transfer under DoD 1300.6.¹

The process of receiving a CO discharge is intimidating, difficult and not widely known to Americans in or out of military service. And why should it be easy? As Army Lt. Col Ryan Yantis says, "It’s disingenuous for a soldier to wake up and say they never knew they were joining the Army to fight wars. … It’s much like a fire [fighter] suddenly realizing, ‘You mean I have to fight a fire?’" ⁴

(1997-2000): Alan Pogue is a remarkable photojournalist who has traveled several times to Iraq with Voices In the Wilderness.

Alan began his photographic-
documentarian career in 1968 while he was serving as an Army chaplain’s assistant and a combat medic in Vietnam. He returned from the war as both a photographer and a pacifist. In these photographs, Alan documents, through word and images, the common humanity underlying the political discord in Iraq.

View Alan Pogue: Bearing Witness in Iraq