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Army
Ships GI Who Tried to File CO Claim to Iraq
After First Isolating Him To Barracks
 Spec.
Gabriel Johnson, 27, of Stevens Point, WI, enlisted for a
five year hitch because he qualified for the Army's Russian language
training program at Monterey, CA After graduation, he was assigned
to the 104th Military Intelligence Battalion, Ft Hood, TX. This
unit provides intelligence support for the 4th Infantry Division,
also at Ft Hood.
As the US military prepared for its military invasion of Iraq,
Gabe's doubts about the wisdom of this operation grew as did
his personal opposition to participating in armed violence. A
week before his unit was scheduled to deploy to Iraq, he sought
counselling from his unit's chaplain, a female Episcopalian minister.
She was unable or unwilling to provide him with any information
about military procedures for filing for discharge as a conscientious
objector.
The next day, April 1st, Gabe was given a written order by
his unit commander restricting him to barracks until his unit
deployed to Iraq. His M-16 was also taken from him. After several
attempts to locate outside help, Johnson spoke with Tod Ensign,
attorney for Citizen Soldier. Ensign immediately faxed a request
to Ft Hood's commanding general, requesting that Johnson not
be sent to the Gulf. After receiving counselling about the legal
consequences of refusing an order to board the aircraft, the
young soldier decided to leave with his unit, early Monday morning,
April 7. He is now deployed in the war zone.
Army regulations require that chaplains and commanders provide
information and assistance to GIs who assert that they are conscientious
objectors. (To join, each GI signs an enlistment contract affirming
that he or she is not a CO. However, personal philosophies sometimes
evolve and change as soldiers directly experience training to
commit violence)
Regulations also require that once a GI has made his beliefs
about being a CO known, he or she must be assigned to duties
"which minimally conflict with (their) stated beliefs"
until the CO review process is completed.
Finally, since a CO claimant has the right to gather letters
which attest to his or her sincerity as well as the right to
call such witnesses to testify on their behalf at their formal
CO hearing, the Army has violated Johnson's rights by shipping
him 8,000 miles away to a war zone.
Letters are needed which request that Johnson be returned
to the US so that he can exercise his legal rights: Please write
or fax:
Major General Raymond Odierno, Comm. General, 4th Infantry
Division, Attn: Col. James Moore, Ft Hood, TX 76544 (254) 287-2925
fax
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