Every day GIs contact the Support Network for an Armed Forces Union--SNAFU--an organization formed to support resisters in the military and to help members inside the Armed Forces get out. (www.join-snafu.org)
One soldier recently wrote to SNAFU: "I am a soldier serving in Iraq. I have been here for eight months now and this war sickens me. My question is, can you still get out of the military as a CO [Con sci entious Objector] if you have already been to war? After this experience it has left me wondering what am I doing here. I do not and cannot fight for a war I don't believe in and harm people that have done no wrong in my mind. My concern is I don't do this again ever. It is so wrong on so many levels with me."
Another GI wrote: "I am seeking a discharge. I can't take it anymore and I need to know a way I can get out without having to go the bad route and get in trouble over and over again. I am at my last rope with this and I am really needing help and no one around here seems to want to help me that's why I am writing to you. I really need some help before something bad happens."
SNAFU counselors are helping both these soldiers apply for Conscientious Objector discharges.
Other young people facing deployment are inquiring about their options. One member of the National Guard recently wrote: "I am being deployed very soon to Iraq. I am adamant about not going because of the obvious reasons that you probably understand more than I. What choices do I have concerning deployment? There are others in my situation as well who feel the same way."
In addition to many requests for discharge information, young people who have signed up for the military but have not yet reported to boot camp are changing their minds in greater numbers. On Nov. 3, the day after the election, SNAFU received a flood of calls and emails from young people who had changed their minds about going.
Fortunately, getting out of the military at that point is a simple process. SNAFU has already helped dozens of young people do so.
SNAFU organizers will take part in the Nov. 13-14 Fightback Conference in New York to report on resistance in the military, the campaign to stop the draft and strategies to fight the "poverty draft."
Langley is a GI counselor with SNAFU
Reprinted from the Nov. 18, 2004,
issue of Workers World newspaper
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