European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 19, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 letters the stars and stripes monday november 19,1990�?� readers respond to conscientious objector As an army Veteran 1968-1971,1 feel i must respond to the writer regarding conscientious objectors. His views arc Well taken. However i think he s missing a few important Points. Regarding the conscientious objector who was a medic during Wii who won the medal of Honor Etc no he does no to sound like a Coward or fundamentalist ideological idiot. He sounds like a draftee who like Many of us did his Job and honoured his commitment to our country. As an adult which i assume you Are is it not incumbent upon you to understand a situation before giving your solemn oath to it you were not drafted. You volunteered for military service. Thus you took an oath of your own free will that stated a i swear to support and defend the Constitution of the United states against All enemies foreign and you further stated during this swearing in it take this obligation freely without any mental reservation. Therefore if you re truly a conscientious objector and not just someone looking for the government to subsidize his education travel plans or career mobility Why did you join the military and take such an oath i suggest you take your own very Good advice and look into history. You la find that the armed forces Are just that armed forces. A Tony Horowitz Fried Berg Germany. First he is privileged to be associated with the largest group of Quot conscientious objectors in the free world a members of the United states department of defense. Warriors done to Wake up one morning and decide to go to War. They Are usually handed a real Tough problem with conditions done to Hurt too Many people make us proud done to screw up and by the Way we. In these problems Are thrust upon us by our elected leadership. Ife As warriors accept these challenges because at some Point in our lives we freely chose to be part of the solution. I know of no other group in the world who detests the ugliness of combat More than warriors bloodied by it. No one on this planet has More to lose or has less to gain from Battle. Second you voluntarily put yourself in your current position which is Between a Rock and a hard place. You Are among warriors open and women who Are ready to do whatever it takes to preserve a Way of life that you use As a shield to express your views. Third you re Quick to Point out How a conscientious objector won the medal of Honor. You missed the Point partner. He was a Warrior who though he kill another human being still went into Battle to save his fellow comrades. It sharply Points out the fact that warriors work Only As a team each knowing their weaknesses and strengths. You done to need the skill or inclination to kill just a desire to do the very Best you can under the worst conditions imagined to preserve a Way of life Worth fighting for As warriors we done task Why we just do. Peace is not our profession deterrence is not our Mission. Our profession is War and our Mission is to serve As the cutting Edge of National policy. A chief warrant officer Tracy Paul Warrington bad Tolz Germany Correct me if in a wrong but Isnit a conscientious objector someone who for religious reasons seeks to avoid fighting in a War now suddenly everyone wants objector status. Quot when you joined the military you took a vow to defend your country against All enemies foreign and Domestic. Your status is now Active duty. If people choose to use religion As a shield from real life they should join a monastery not the military. A Michelle Brooks Wei Brincken Germany to All conscientious objectors its wonderful that we Are Able to express our feelings on certain issues affecting our lives. This is a Freedom Given to us through p Tenty of sacrifice and blood a recent letter from an airman stated that Quot cos Are a peaceful people a Breed few and far Well i really Don t know about that particular Bloodline but websters dictionary describes a co As a one who refuses to serve in the armed forces or Bear arms on the grounds of moral or religious another Freedom we have is Choice. As you did my Choice was to enlist in the armed forces the . Air Force. Like you i raised my hand and swore to defend my country the Constitution and obey the orders of the president and the officers above me. The realities of armed conflict Are harsh and none of us likes it but it was something i had to consider before i made my Choice to enlist. Did t you consider this before making your Choice also stated was a we will not take part in any does this mean you refuse to deploy to another location or during deployment refuse to Bear arms to defend fellow workers As we Learned from this recent deployment we May in times of crisis have to defend or guard no matter what Job we have. We All want peace. We Are a team and must work together As one regardless of our beliefs. You have the right to express your views and believe in them without harassment but the ultimate question is when called upon in times of armed conflict can we count on you Only you can answer that. As i see it just about everyone is a co per be because we All want peace and would have nightmares if we had to Hurt someone else. With our Choice to come into the aimed services we took on the responsibility to serve with commitment. Even though most of us Are not directly involved with killing indirectly we Are by supporting people and organizations that do the killing. So this is to remind people All people of their oaths of commitment and service. Sometimes we forget. A tech sgt. Matthew j. Regginello operation desert shield. They Are All Gung to for the military when they Are collecting those paychecks and enjoying those benefits but Call on them to do the duty they volunteered for and they suddenly become peaceful people. I feel that the Only time a person can be classified a a conscientious objector a is if he is drafted into the service. We need people in our military who want to be there during the bad times As Well As the Good not soldiers of convenience. My husband does no to want to go just As none of the men there now wanted to go. But they saw it As part of their duty and went. A Tina m. Newman Wiesbaden Germany. In Case you Haven to figured it out yet the purpose of having military forces is to be Able to conduct War. And other than for a free trip to Europe with a paycheck your motive for being a member of the . Air Force is questionable. I have nothing against conscientious obie ctn i in the military they done to belong. If y0u so a pm please Don t participate in War but please Stop 2,1 my tax dollars and get out. There Are Thomasl women and men willing to replace you who done living up to their oaths. 11 a tech sgt Grayling Hunter operation desert shield no matter what ones Job May be in the military Clear thinking person realizes that the military 2, ultimately wage War or at least to prevent War by n my a potential enemy believe you will wage War if Essaiy. What kind of double Standard have Vou set w j self what kind of moral Standard allows you to All compensation tax monies for working in an or3 Tion that exists contrary to your professed beliefs ? volunteered Alvin York was drafted. A ideally if All people were conscientious objectors would have no need for military services. However 1 live in a real world with real tyrants and real evil around us. We fully defend your right to your belief i would not your cause be better served out of Union As it now stands it is difficult to View your beliefs credible and your logic about this matter makes thought process suspect. �?1st sgt. James t. Perry a sgt. 1st class Randy s. Hamilton a sgt. 1st class Eugene Johnson a sgt. 1st class Allen r. Lawless a sgt 1st class Leonard m. Mutter Iii Berlin the writer made a very valid Point Cosci Entis objectors As american citizens have every right their beliefs and should not be put Down for those q lies. But perhaps he has chosen the wrong career. 1i joined the air Force for a number of Reasol one of which is to defend my country. In a not anxious go to saudi Arabia but if i have to i will that is parti my commitment to the . Air Force. After All if 1 can to depend on the . Military to defend you in t of crisis who can you depend on a sgt. Christine Aguirre Raf Alconbury England. First of All does no to such a term apply to someone we has been involuntarily drafted to fight in a War Anyo who freely signs his or her name a on the dotted line,�?�1 to speak signs a contract to protect and defend his her country. Soldiers Are trained to do so in the Undi Rable event of War. No one i know wants or likes War but that has altered the fact that Man has continued to have wars centuries. Part of being a Soldier is to be committed whatever Mission is required to include combat. I do promote or advocate War yet in the event of being i combat environment id do my Best to protect and fend fellow soldiers and my own life. To receive All the benefits of the military yet refuse partake of or become involved in a Mission because of to potentiality of War is ludicrous if not a breach of contract a name withheld Grafe Wohr Germany the following people agreed with Many of the thou expressed above Bob Crockett Mainz Germany and Lehman Oesterberg a the Netherlands r writer questions Bank Check cashing be n Natri Lavoy Vlahon in Tho Autt 41 in i a a. _ in a perplexed. In be been in the army for More than 12 years and was taught As Well As realized that the affiliates of the armed services Are geared for Soldier support. Most agencies such As the Post exchanges commissaries and snack bars do a pretty Good Job of this. What confuses me is who controls the Banks . Merchants i had always thought that once the department of defense awarded the contract that they then sat Back and strictly monitored its operations. This past july merchants Bank advertised that the department of defense will now charge an increased Check cashing fee for individuals who done to have a Community Bank account. The fee was increased from $1 per Check to $3 or 1 percent of the face value whichever is greater this shows me a Lack of concern for the Soldier. Eleven of my 12 years in the service have been spent in Germany and up until this Check fee increase in be done just great with my stateside checking account. Now because of this in be been a a persuaded to open an account with the Community Bank. In the past i could Deal with the $1 fee but $3 or More no Way because my stateside Bank has served me so Well in the past and i know that i will one Day be returning to the United states i have kept that account open and 7nsvru-Nser not a if 1� my Community savings All of this just to turn around and withdraw those funds from my Community account and save myself at least $3. What Good has this fee increase done has it improved service to the Soldier shortened the lines has it rates on Cost la ave competitive interest since becoming a Community Bank a Happy camper a i now get their banking bulletin. Guess what they credit the increase of new accounts to their Superior service not that it s bad but it does no to take a pad to Figureoa the True reason for an increase of new accounts does it9 a Christian Mulvey Wiir Burg Germany editors note Yvonne Wise manager Public lies at ions merchants Community Bank re who controls the Bank i would have to say the department of defense with careful monitoring by the Arney and air Force. Merchants manages the military r it Holland and Greece under a Dod fixed fee contract. All profit is returned to Dod and in turn Dod absorbs operating expenses which Are covered by income. Check cashing fees for non account holders off raised to $3 to help defray costs associated with Bai doing stateside checks. The fee Wasny to implemented uni you had the alternative of arms automatic Teller no Chines connected to stateside financial networks. Ren nue generated from these fees serves to reduce Bank ii contract costs charged to appropriated funds. You asked what Good this fee increase has done i the Soldier. Transactions inside the Bank have go a Down and transactions outside the Bank a at the grel machine a have increased. Bank representatives and have More time to answer questions and provide Servil not possible when hordes of people were waiting in 11 Bank to Cash stateside checks. Many individuals we stateside accounts now Lise the convenient Afan Cir rus connected Green machines to Access Hinds their stateside Bank accounts. We Are Happy you have an account with us a a pm suasion aside. And by the Way our certificate of Depol it cd rates Are normally better than those offers j stateside financial institutions. You can invest in a chants cd for As Little As $1,000
