Conscientious Objectors to Combat
Defined as those men who refused conscripted combat service
conscientious objectors were common to armies on all sides of the
war. Such men would decline to serve for a variety of reasons
although the primary reasons were religious (e.g. Jehovah's Witnesses
or Quakers) and moral - a disinclination to harm one's fellow man.
The fate of men who refused to be conscripted was usually determined
by a tribunal. Although many men were permitted full exemption from
military service in any form, most were expected to serve
non-directly, i.e. in other than a combat capacity, either at home (in
an avenue such as farming) or in non-combatant or army medical corps
as cooks, medical orderlies, stretcher-bearers, etc.
In many countries, including Germany, Austria, Russia, France and
Italy, members of the clergy (of all faiths) were also expected to
serve their country in some form during wartime. Again, those who
objected on moral grounds to the taking of lives were handed
non-combatant duties, even though these might also take them to the
battlefields, e.g. as stretcher-bearers, etc.
Men who refused to serve in defiance of the ruling of a tribunal were
invariably court-martialed and sentenced to prison terms of varying
lengths; public shame was almost always heaped upon them. In Britain
conscientious objectors - conscription was belatedly introduced in
1916 with the Military Service Act - who had totally declined to serve
were deprived of their right to vote for five years, although this was
not always enforced.
These are the words of a young pacifist minister, part of an article
printed in his ...
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...ere keen to despatch applicants to work away from home, so that they
made some sacrifice, as fighting men did.
Each conscript woman was given the choice between the women's military
services (no use of any 'lethal weapon' without her written consent),
civilian defence, or work in industry, often in armaments factories.
Women COs, it turned out, often had to appeal to gain exemption under
conditions they could accept. Some women managed to make their own
informal arrangements which were accepted as satisfactory, but these
weren't listed in the records.
By the end of the war, about 5,000 men and 500 women had been charged
with offences to do with conscientious objection, and most of them
were sent to prison. A further 1,000 or more were court-martialled and
given prison sentences for refusing to obey military orders.
The Odyssey is a tale that starts off with a man (Odysseus) who went off to fight in a war and was not able to come back until 20 years later. He left behind a beautiful wife, a son, and a dog. Many modern day soldiers have to leave their families for long periods of time. Both the Odyssey and modern day soldiers have hardships and obstacles they face when they are returning home or if they are still in combat. Many soldiers develop a disorder called post traumatic stress disorder or in other words PTSD. PTSD is very common after coming back from combat or any type of battle. Statistics show that every 6 out of 10 men (60%) and every 5 out 10 women (50%) develop PTSD after returning home from combat. Odysseus faces many troubles and must work through them and face his many challenges.
During the First World War, Britain introduced conscription for the first time to massively increase the input of power of their army had and forced men aged 16-19 to serve in the army. However, a group of roughly 16,800 men refused to serve. These groups of people were called Conscientious Objectors; sometimes called COs or Conchies; and many were very religious and believed that thou shall not kill as it is a sin in the Bible. This was a main point that most Conscientious Objectors did not take any part during the First World War as they believed it would result in pointless bloodshed. The Government’s and general public’s view on Conscientious Objectors was that Conscientious Objectors were unpatriotic cowards and the Government used propaganda to manipulate the general public’s view on Conscientious Objectors by showing that they would not aid the Britain and were weak. As a result they were treated harshly. The Government made being a Conscientious Objector very hard and difficult as they would enforce tribunals which consisted of ex- military officials who were biased as they were for the First World War. Therefore, these people gave huge prison sentences to Conscientious Objectors as a scare tactic to reduce the number of Conscientious Objectors. Historians use interpretations to show the message behind each source to see it’s reliable or useful. Also this is done to see if the source itself is a primary or secondary interpretation which shows if the source’s view and meaning is from the author of sources (primary interpretation) or giving a generalised views on people who were there at the time (secondary interpretation).
The United States Army, in its current state, is a profession of arms. In order to be considered a profession, the organization must have an ethical code rooted in values, strong trust with its clients, and be comprised of experts within the trade. These experts are constantly developing the trade for the present and the future and hold the same shared view of their trade culture.
The Ugly American was written in 1958 and was meant to be an indictment on the U.S. government’s failures in foreign policy. The book provides valuable lessons that we can learn from today as special operators. I will use several stories and characters in this book and my own personal stories to explore if the Special Operatives (SO) Imperatives were applied and analyze if we as Special Operations Forces (SOF) are applying them well today. We, as SOF, should never be afraid of learning new principals or examining principals from the past to see if they are applicable. The Ugly American is a good example of a work from the past, even though it is fiction, which we can learn from today.
Deborah Tannen’s, “Fighting For Our Lives,” explores the ideas and concepts behind human sociology. She delves into the sociolinguistic relationship between women and men in conversation. Tannen amplifies the importance between language and gender and how they affect interpersonal relationships. Tannen showcases her analytical thinking processes by using rhetorical strategies to support her claim on conflicted communication within the argument culture. Specifically, focusing on politics, the law, education, spousal relationships, the media and within work environments. She gives many examples to support her claim by using figurative language and literary devices such as metaphors and logic and reasoning to accurately convey her message.
The Vietnam War was a prolong struggle of communist faction forcing unification of north and South Vietnam. To prevent the spread of communism the United States allied with the South Vietnamese to fight back against the communist faction. The Vietnam War span over 18 years it was apparent that there was no way in winning the war. The U.S leaders lost the support of the American people in fighting a war we can’t win. The U.S leaders thought up and created an elite peace keeping force called the Green Berets. The Green Berets gained a lot of attention to the media through books, music, and movies. A compilation of short stories of the Vietnam War by Tim O’Brien is one of those books. In Tim O’Brien book there is a short story about the Green Berets called the Sweetheart of Song Throng Bong. In the story of Sweetheart we get a feel of how the Green Berets ours. The fictional story that Tim O’Brien wrote and many real accounts of the Green Berets shine a light own what the Green Berets really are rather than what the propaganda tells us. The Green Berets are the elite of their field, they hold a certain mystique around them, and we really don’t know what true from all the folklore we hear about them.
On December 1, 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt signed an executive order that started the Civil Air Patrol. No one, not even its creator, Gill Robb Wilson, foresaw the importance that Cap would play in protecting the waters along the coast from the dreaded German U-boats attacking the shipping lanes. Sixty years later the CAP is still going strong. Performing its missions of aerospace education, cadet programs and search and rescue, CAP is preparing today’s youth to become successful leaders. This was not all that CAP has done. In the beginning of its creation, CAP played a major role in the defense of the U.S. during World War II. CAP played a vital role in the coastal defense of the Southern and Eastern coasts of the U.S. that could not have been done effectively by any other agency at that time.
The labor shortage that occurred as men entered the military propelled a large increase in women’s entrance into employment during the war. Men's return to the civilian workforce at the end of the war caused the sudden drop to prewar levels. The cause of the sudden decline during post-war years of women in the paid workforce is unclear. Many questions are left unanswered: What brought women into the war industry, and what caused them to leave?
War on the home front was not a shaped many Canadian negatively in WWI. The Wartime Elections Act had an effect on Canadians politically. The great influenza affected Canada socially. Lastly, propaganda and victory bonds caused Canada to fall economically. Canada’s home front during WWI had a negative impact on the Canadian people politically, socially and economically.
The military since the Colonial Era has been an impetus for social reform in the United States. The Revolutionary War afforded Black Americans an opportunity to escape from the toils of slavery and fight for freedom. Some Black Americans even earned their freedom by fighting for the Colonists, but still the freedom they fought for wasn’t their own. However, the military was responsible for the freedom of many slaves and some of these freed slaves became legendary soldiers like Salem Poor. His performance in battle gave credibility for future arguments about blacks being allowed to serve.
Webster’s dictionary defines the word profession as a type of job that requires special education, training, or skill. Many Soldiers would not consider the Army as a profession but a way of life. Some think the word profession belongs to everyday jobs like a plumber, mechanic, or doctor. Dr. Don M. Snider stated “the Army is a profession because of the expert work it produces, because the people in the Army develop themselves to be professionals, and because the Army certifies them as such” (Snider, D. M. 2008). In October 2010, the Secretary of the Army directed the Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) to lead an Army wide assessment of the state of the Army Profession. We have been at war as a Country for over a decade and the Army wanted to know how to shape the future of the Army as a profession and the effects the past decade had on our profession.
end of the war, the Nazis had killed about 6 million Jewish men, women, and children
Prisoners of War The United States angers terrorists and other foreigners on a daily basis, but we find it hard to understand why. Examples abound and most often relate to ignorant decisions on behalf of the government concerning the welfare of these foreigners. The situation on the island of Cuba at the Naval Station of Guantánamo Bay has grown out of hand. Here, the U.S. holds the prisoners that it has captured as part of its war on terrorism in a camp. They hold over 600 men there without contact with their home countries or families and without the legal consultation of a lawyer.
A soldier is an enlist individual, man or woman that fight in the military for his or her country. There are numerous reason has to what it means to be a good soldier. Being a good soldier varies depending on the individual. A good solider lives up to the army values, which are duty which is to fulfill your obligations by being able to accomplish tasks as part of a team, loyalty n being able to bear true faith and allegiance to the U.S. Constitution, the Army, your unit and other soldiers, honor, being able to give up to Army values, integrity, do what’s right, legally and morally, personal courage, face fear, danger or adversity (physical or moral, selfless service, being able to put the welfare of the nation, the Army and your subordinates before your own and respect, being able to treat people as they should be treated
What has our society classified as a prisoner of war? A prisoner of war is someone who is a member of regular or irregular armed forces of a nation at war held by the enemy. After two years of war with the Middle East our society wonders what happens to the prisoners in jail. The other conflicts of prisoners of war is how they are treated in jail, also what did they do to be detained as a prisoner of war? In most situations, there is a legitimate reason why these people are taken captive. So many might ask what is happening to the Iraqis detained under Coalition forces custody, and do the prisons comply with standards set fourth in the Geneva Conventions? This subject is very controversial to the U.S and other nations. The controversial part of this subject is the alleged abuse of prisoners in jail in custody of U.S soldiers. There are many cases of prisoners dying in prison but is it because of abuse by American soldiers. This subject of abuse upon prisoners of war has reach all over the world especially to the United States. Our president George W. Bush, along with Congress, has arranged investigations on the events that happen inside the prisons. He has addressed to the nation that such things have not occurred, but what a U.S soldier knows may be a little different. This kind of action toward prisoners of war is illegal according to US law, which is dictated by the Geneva Conventions. If a soldier is found guilty of abuse, or other forms of mistreatment, that soldier will be recommended for court-martial. The other issue about this subject is that there are so many different opinions on this matter. One opinion is that U.S personnel really did cause the death of many prisoners of war. The other question i...