Our Blog
Friends Journal: Why Talk About Conscientious Objection With Youth?
As a witness for peace in Fayetteville, North Carolina, home of Fort Bragg (the largest base of military personnel), we at Quaker House see the winds of war on the horizon long before the rest of the country does. Through our GI Rights Hotline and Domestic Violence...
Study Published on the Unmet Needs of Soldiers
Last month, Oxford University Press’ Military Medicine published a study about military service members who seek medical services, including mental health services, outside of the military. With approximately 20 veteran and 1 active duty suicides per day, serious...
Inspire to Serve or Conspire to Conscript?
[Photo from the home page of the Commission on Military, National, and Public Service, inspire2serve.gov, accessed March 14, 2018.] What does this photo say to you? What do you think it is advertising? What is the meaning of its creative internet address,...
Child Soldiers and the Transformation of a Navy Petty Officer
In December 2016, we received a call from a sailor who wanted our support as she applied for conscientious objection. Petty Officer Allen’s* story provides a powerful example of a military member who was transformed through her experiences and found the courage to...
Frances Crowe–Vietnam Era Conscientious Objector Guide
I had the most delightful telephone conversation about a week ago with Frances Crowe. In Quaker House’s last newsletter (Winter 2017/2018), I asked people to share stories about their experiences with conscientious objection, from any war, any moral basis (any...
Spiritual Re-Awakenings
One of the most exciting areas of our work is helping conscientious objectors (CO) obtain discharge from the military. We do not go out and convince people to become conscientious objectors. By the time they contact us, most have already had a sincere change of...
The Story of the Afghan Children
The opportunity to witness the court-martial of Bowe Bergdahl allowed me to hear another story in that military courtroom. Retired Navy SEAL James Hatch testified of the circumstances under which he was shot in the leg during a search and rescue operation for Bowe....
Torture–Its Relevance Today
Last week, Quaker House attended public hearings about flights and airplanes that were used to transport prisoners to black sites around the world where they were tortured, mainly from September 2001 to September 2006. These hearings were about airfields and a flight...
Bergdahl, Moral Injury, and Our Responsibility
Bowe Bergdahl likely suffers with moral injury. Symptoms of moral injury include feelings of shame or guilt for events that are in conflict with a person’s essential inner moral code and that may have occurred outside of that individual’s control. Nonetheless, the...