(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Remind your service member about "Conscientious Objector" status. [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2026-04-01 . Conscientious Objection A firm, fixed, and sincere objection to participation in war in any form or the bearing of arms, by reason of religious training and/or belief. DoD 1300.06 Yesterday Francis Maxwell reported about the surge of military members seeking “Conscientious Objector” status.(video below) . . .counsellor Lenore Yarger of Quaker House telling Snopes her organisation fielded 212 calls in the first half of March alone, a volume it would ordinarily see across an entire month. — International Business Times Maxwell notes that while two groups the Center on Conscience and War (CCW), and GI Rights Hotline, report around a 1,000% increase in new conscientious objector (CO) clients since the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran began on 28 Feb 2026. The story is getting little play in the legacy media, and even liberal media. Service members seeking CO status cite several things as driving them to this point. Among them are that this an illegal war, that command is telling them that a ground war is inevitable , and the bombing of the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls' primary school in Minab. They’ve also found that the more service members know about CO status the more they opt for it. My Grandpa and Grand Uncle were Conscientious Objectors in WWI. They were Mennonites and served in the ambulance corps. So stories about the topic sort of pull me. If you or your service member (family, friends) does not want to fight in Iran, they can file for “Conscientious Objector” status. You know, we haven’t just experienced a surge in calls, of inquiries, but a surge in people who have actually started the process of filing as conscientious objectors, which is a right to all service members to refuse to participate. You know, we have had about a 1,000% increase in CO clients just since the beginning of the war. And to put that in perspective, you know, some of our counselors have been doing this for many, many decades, and did this through the entire global war on terror, through the worst years of the Iraq War, the worst years of the Afghanistan War, the highest levels of civilian casualties in both of those wars. And what they are saying is the level that they are seeing now of new conscientious objector clients that we have taken on is unlike anything they have ever seen before, including the worst years of those wars. — executive director of CCW, Mike Prysner. Democracy Now Definitions of religious and training and/or belief: “Religious” The term “religious” also includes moral and ethical beliefs which have the same force in a person’s life as traditional religious beliefs. which have the in a person’s life as traditional religious beliefs. The term “religious” does not include essentially political, sociological, or philosophical views. “Training and/or belief” “Training” refers to the source of conviction or, more simply, the experiences that shaped your values . This may come from a lifetime of involvement in an organized religion that teaches active love for the enemy, for example (i.e. not killing), or from books, movies, or TV shows. or, more simply, the . This may come from a lifetime of involvement in an organized religion that teaches active love for the enemy, for example (i.e. not killing), or from books, movies, or TV shows. “Training” could also arise from experiences serving in the military or from other life experiences . or from . “Belief” refers to the values you hold which do not allow you to participate in military service or the bearing of arms — Center on Conscience and War website Or you or your service member want to but don’t know who/where to contact, give them this information: Center on Conscience and War (CCW) 1830 Connecticut Ave. NW Washington DC 20009 Email: ccw@centeronconscience.org Website: centeronconscience.org Phone: 202-483-2220 or 800-379-2679 (toll free) GI Rights Hotline Conscientious Objection Website girightshotline.org Phone: 1-877- 447-4487 Email: girights@girightshotline.org . . . Your command is obligated to accommodate your beliefs. Look, most people will say, “You joined the military. It doesn’t matter if you think it’s immoral. You signed up for this. You have to follow orders.” Well, nobody signed up to violate their conscience. Nobody signed up to violate their deeply held beliefs. And you know what? There are DOD policies that can protect you from having to exercise that, and we can help you exercise them. — executive director of CCW, Mike Prysner. Democracy Now x YouTube Video . . . [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/4/1/2375823/-Remind-your-service-member-about-Conscientious-Objector-status?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/