February 2005

Views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of the AFSC.

"I Can't Be Part of That:" US Navy Objector Refuses Deployment

Luc Schuster teaches GED classes in Boston and is a Peacework intern. To read more about Pablo Paredes' case, please see www.democracynow.org and www.gifightback.org.

Pablo Paredes joined the military "on a whim." He was 17 years old, apolitical, and believed he didn't have many options. A persistent military recruiter developed a relationship with him and convinced Paredes to enlist in the Navy.

Pablo Paredes, photo: www.gifightback.org

Paredes' new role in the military motivated him to begin learning about international affairs. He began educating himself and developed a deep-seated discomfort with the US military's role in the world. He now faced the rest of what felt like an interminable eight-year contract with the Navy.

Paredes received training as a technician for and operator of the NATO Sea Sparrow Missile "defense" system. The start of the war on Iraq in 2003 confirmed many of his fears about the US military's oppressive role in world affairs. But as a sailor, Paredes still never imagined participating in offensively attacking a nation.

Paredes was ordered to board his ship, the USS Bonhomme Richard, as it prepared to deploy to the Persian Gulf in early December, 2004. The ship is used primarily to transport Marines to the Gulf. Facing direct participation in the war, he began to examine his conscience more intensely. Paredes decided to draw the line. On Monday, December 6 he publicly refused to deploy. Paredes sat on the ship's pier as his fellow sailors boarded. He spent most of the day explaining to reporters his reasons for objecting. Below are selections from interviews conducted that afternoon. These are edited versions of his remarks.

On Joining the Military

"When I joined the military I was quite young. I think it's crazy that we join at 18. Nobody is ready to make that decision at 18. I joined at 17. We are not ready. We don't know what the world is about. We think we do, but we do not. So I didn't know anything about politics, about the world. I didn't care. I was a young kid. I wanted to play basketball and go out and have fun and get drunk and do crazy things. It was on a whim. It was absolutely on a whim. I woke up one day and said, 'I don't have many choices and this military guy keeps calling me. You know, I'm going. Let's go.' So I said I will leave this week. I just went. It was a rash decision. I signed away six years of my life." (GI Fightback interview, December 6, 2004) [Editor's note: All active duty enlistees commit to a combined 8 year term of active duty and inactive reserve duty, but many recruiters neglect to discuss the full inactive reserve requirement.]

On his Role in the Navy

"Many people in the media have called me an officer, but I'm not an officer. There's a big difference. Also, the word 'deserter' is being tossed around a lot, and that implies that you do not intend to return and that is not my stand at all. I do intend to return and face the music, so I want to make sure that no one says that I'm a deserter.

I'm not a soldier. I'm a sailor. I'm not in the Army. I'm in the Navy and that is very important because if I were in the Army, or Marines for that matter, then my job would be a lot more dangerous. I want it to be understood that my job as an electronics technician is a job that would never put me in harm's way on this deployment. I want people to understand that this is not a decision based on personal fear for my own safety because there's not really any fear. My job is very safe. I can look forward to working in an air-conditioned space and using the internet as I please. There is no danger really involved in my job. There are only potential benefits. There's extra pay for going to the Persian Gulf. There's the 'hero' status that comes with coming back from there. I just want people to understand that my resistance was based on principles and not on fear because there's really no danger associated with my job. However, there would have been a lot of danger to the Marines that I would have dropped off and who would have eventually gone to Iraq. I can't be part of that." (Democracy Now interview, December 6, 2004)

On His Political Awakening

"…little by little I discovered what kind of person I was. I started studying. I started reading up on politics, on society and what's going on in the world. Being sent to Japan was huge because it took me out of the box. Once I was shipped out I had to look in on that world instead of being inside of it. It gave me a new perspective and I realized what kind of person I really was. I realized that war is not something I'm about. I realized that the military is something I'm completely against, especially the way this country has used it throughout history. I see nothing but a system of muscle for an ideology that has never been about promoting peace or other positive things.

…Since I've found who I am and what I am about and what I agree and disagree with, I have felt like a hypocrite because here I am, every chance I get, telling the world how this country is doing the wrong thing and that this war we're in is horrible but meanwhile, I'm a part of the system, you know. I'm part of the muscle of what this system is all about." (GI Fightback interview, December 6, 2004)

On his Contract with the Military

"I definitely am not neglecting the fact that I signed on the line. If I were neglecting that I signed on the line I would be trying to get out of the punishment. I understand that I made a commitment. Whether it was a mistake or not and whether it was right that I was sought out because I wasn't in a financially stable situation and the military takes advantage of that as they always do, as they prey on those kinds of citizens, I still understand that I signed the paper. That's why I'm willing to face the punishment. Now, as far as being a robot and just doing as I'm told and not questioning things, I think this is a very dangerous situation for a human being and I don't think you stop being a human being because you are a Navy sailor or an Army soldier. In fact, even within the rules that are afforded to us we are told if at any time you find an order to be unlawful you not only have a right but you have a duty not to follow it. And I feel this way about any order that has to do with this war." (Democracy Now interview, December 6, 2004)

On Other People's Decisions to Go to Iraq:

"I wish them the best and I hope a safe trip forwards and backwards to the people that did go on their way today. My beef is in no way intended at anybody who's in the service filling out a contract. My problem is with the administration. It's with the ideas that led to where we are now, not with the people doing the job. They're victims of the same problem. This was more of a conscious decision. Everyone has to be at peace with what they do for a living. I couldn't sleep at night knowing that this is what I do for a living -- that because of my participation, in some small way, I was responsible for taking 3,000 Marines to a dangerous place and knowing that not all of them are going to return home." (Democracy Now interview, December 6, 2004)

Filing for CO Status

Consistent with his claim that he would not evade punishment for his resistance, Pablo Paredes turned himself in to Navy authorities at the 32nd Street Naval Station in San Diego on December 18, 2004, two weeks after refusing to deploy to the Gulf. Paredes used those weeks to prepare his formal conscientious objector (CO) claim outlining his deeply held belief that war is morally wrong. The military defines a CO as someone who, on moral, ethical, or relgious grounds, becomes opposed to participating in all wars after they've enlisted in the military. In his claim, Paredes explains that while the war in Iraq is the specific example at hand, he is now opposed to participation in all wars.

Paredes is currently on legal hold at the 32nd Street Naval Station and is awaiting formal charges. He may be charged with unauthorized absence, missing a troop movement, and disobeying an order. According to his lawyer, Jeremy Warren, Paredes' request for discharge is being processed and it could be months before a final decision is made.

We Can All Resist this War

What follows are excerpts from Paredes's statement to supporters at a rally the morning he turned himself in. These are edited versions of his remarks.

"Be The Revolution," a graffito from the Austin, TX Counter-Presidential-Inaugural protests, which featured over 1000 demonstrators. January 20, 2005. Photo: Sweejak, www.sweejak.tk

"I wouldn't have had the strength to do this if I didn't feel some support from the community, both inside the military and outside…The important thing is that it doesn't stop here today. The important thing is that it continues. This rock that just hit the water must continue to ripple and reach as many people as possible. Hopefully this can echo the fight that military members and civilians started in Vietnam when they found the same injustices happening in their country.

Everybody in their own realm of life can fight this in their own way. Whether it's educating our youth so that they understand what's at stake when they make decisions whether to go to college or whether to go the military, or whether it's making your voice felt to a Congressperson or any kind of person in politics. I made my stand against the military because that's the composition of what I was about. That's where I worked. That's what I was a member of and that's where I can make my stand. Everyone can do that in your own world, in your own reality, and I'm encouraging that.

I want everyone to walk away from here today and do your part of the fight and make this worth it for me. If when I get out I found out that everyone that left this rally fought in some way, then it was worth it. So make it worth it for me!" (from GI Fightback, December 18, 2004)

Donations for Paredes' legal defense fund: Victor Paredes, San Diego Military Counseling Project -- Pablo Paredes, PO Box 15307, San Diego, CA 92175, www.sdmcp.org.

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