In Reply to: Wednesday's child is full of woe* posted by mh on August 26, 2026 at 09:30:11
A growing number of U.S. service members are seeking formal discharge as conscientious objectors, with two organizations that assist troops through the process reporting the sharpest spike they've seen in decades.
Mike Prysner, who runs a hotline for conscientious objectors at the Center on Conscience and War (CCW), told MS NOW that applications have increased sixfold since the start of Operation Epic Fury against Iran in late February — a rate he called higher than at any point in the past 25 years.
In a typical year, CCW works with around 50 conscientious objectors, but it has already taken on roughly 140 applicants since the Iran war began. Prysner said many of today's applicants differ from historical patterns, in which objectors were typically junior enlisted troops.
Instead, many current clients have served more than a decade, span all enlisted and officer ranks up to major, and in some cases attended military service academies before commissioning.
A second organization, the GI Rights Hotline at Quaker House, reported 429 inquiries in March and 440 in April, with elevated demand persisting since. The group is currently working with around 30 people actively pursuing conscientious objector applications, compared with five to 10 at any given time before the war, according to counselor Lenore Yarger.
She noted the number of formal applicants likely understates the broader unease within the ranks, saying it "does not reflect the complete number of people who have expressed hesitations about what they are being told they must do."