Support These Troops on the Central Oregon Web Log

This page has been established to highlight military personnel that have decided that government and Pentagon policies, including the war on Iraq, are wrong for one reason or another and at great personal risk have refused to continue to participate in further actions they oppose. Such decisions demand great moral courage. Some of them may be in accordance with a principle established at the Nuremberg Trials after World War II - Military personnel have a moral obligation to refuse to obey immoral orders.

Courage to Resist - supporting the troops that refuse to fight.

The purpose of the BendermanTimeline is to present a chronology of facts surrounding Sgt. Kevin Benderman’s Conscientious Objection case. It is to provide all the tools needed for people to become educated in how the military service is able to use its self-imposed power to control a soldier who has proven himself honorable in his commitment to defending his country and its constitution, but refuses to lose his integrity and principles in the process.

An Interview with Army Medic, Patrick Resta
"I Will Continue to Speak Out Until the Last Soldier Leaves Iraq" by Derek Seidman - January 21, 2005 - Counterpunch

Images Behind Soldier's Iraq Refusal by Russ Bynum Published on Monday, January 17, 2004 by the Associated Press - via Common Dreams

HINESVILLE, Ga. - A young girl clutching her arm blackened by burns, dogs feeding off bodies in mass graves — the images still haunt Sgt. Kevin Benderman 15 months after he came home from Iraq.

U.S. Soldiers Seek Asylum in Canada by Marty Logan Published on Friday, December 3, 2004 by the Inter Press Service via Common Dreams

Jeremy Hinzman - Deserter Poses a Problem for Ottawa by Thomas Walkom - Published Tuesday, November 30, 2004 by the Toronto Star via Common Dreams

Trent Helmkamp - Our Son: A Marine Who Won't Kill by Kathie Helmkamp - CounterPunch - November 22, 2004

Karen Kwiatkowski, Lt. Col. (USAF-Ret) has been an outspoken critic of the Pentagon since her recent retirement.

An Anti-War Veteran by Jim Talib and Derek Seidman - ZNet - November 30, 2004

Meet the New COs by Frida Berrigan - The Progressive - December 2004 issue

Other stories will be added to this page in the near future.

See also Support The Troops page on the Soldiers for the Truth web site and the Washington, DC-based Center on Conscience and War, a member of the GI Rights network.

Perry O'Brien, along with several other conscientious objectors from across the country, launched www.peace-out.com, a comprehensive online resource for soldiers wishing to become CO's. Peace-out.com, which was generously designed and launched by The Difference Machine, includes a step-by-step guide to the complex CO application process, including the complete text of my application, and a list connecting prospective CO's with those who have successfully been through the process.

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