Yesterday I received an email from Daniel J. Lakemacher, who is applying to be administratively discharged, by the Navy as a Conscientious Objector. To honor, and hopefully draw attention to his refusal I am reprinting his blog posts describing the twists and turns of extracating oneself from the machine. These posts were originally posted to warisimmoral.com
Friday, May 8 (Day 5) Memorandum for the Record
Only minutes before ending an otherwise uneventful workday, Chief Robinson approached me with a typed page in hand. The page read as follows:
06 May 2009 Memorandum for the Record
From: Leading Chief Petty Officer, Naval Health Clinic Great Lakes USS TRANQUILLITY
To: HM2 Lakemacher
Subj: FAILURE TO USE CHAIN OF COMMAND1. The following is provided for documentation purposes:
On 01 May 09 at or around 1400 HM2 Lakemacher entered the Command Suite of NHCGL with intentions to submit a request directly to the Commanding Officer. In the absence of the Commanding Officer the member submitted the request directly to the Executive Officer. HM2 Lakemacher did not use his Chain of Command in this process and is well aware of the Navy's policy on using the Chain of Command and submitting request (sic).
05 May 09 at or around 10:16 am HM2 Lakemacher drafted and sent an email to the Executive Officer without the consent or knowledge of his Chain of Command.
2. This memorandum is to inform HM2 Lakemacher that this type of behavior will not be tolerated. Consistent behavior of this type may result in disciplinary actions.
S. M. ROBINSON
Copy to: Member
After reading the document, I was unsure what to do next and several moments of silence elapsed as I waited and looked at the Chief. He eventually stated that I needed to sign the page. Looking at the document (replicated exactly above, including the absence of the Chief's signature), I was perplexed as to where to sign, and what exactly my signature was supposed to represent; however, I certainly didn't want to risk prolonging what felt to me to be a somewhat awkward situation. Therefore, despite my lack of clarity, I made my best guess about why I was asked to sign, and then printed "RECEIVED 08 MAY 09", followed by my signature and lastly my printed name, all penned under the last word on the page "Member".
The few minutes in which this exchange took place is the full extent of the interaction I had today with my Chain of Command regarding my application. With my Memorandum in tow, I left the base. Week one completed.
I
would like to thank you for taking the time to read about what's happening in my life, and I am appreciative of the ever-increasing feedback I have been receiving in email. I'll do my best to respond to each of you. Despite how firmly I now believe that war is immoral, I was still rather nervous about the reactions that friends and family would have to this news. I'm truly grateful for the respect, concern, and support that everyone has shown thus far. Thank you.
Thursday, May 7 (Day 4) Man of the Cloth
I was thrilled at 10:27 this morning to receive an email from my Chief telling me to report to Command Legal. Action. Unsure exactly what to expect, I headed promptly from my office to report as ordered on the other side of the base. After introductions were made, I was informed that my application had been reviewed by the Command, but there was yet one more form requiring my signature. The legalese I readily endorsed was as follows:
"The authority to request this information is derived from 50 U.S.C. 456j and 38 U.S.C. 3103, and 5 U.S.C. 301, departmental regulations. The purpose of this application is to allow myself to apply for conscientious objector status. This application is completely voluntary; however, failure to provide the required information would result in an inability to process this request and I would not be able to receive the requested status."
Exciting prose, I know. Better news awaited in the conversation that followed, as I was directed to meet with the Chaplain. The Chaplain interview is a prerequisite for being classified as a conscientious objector, whether or not religious reasons are listed as the grounds for discharge. In the words of the Department of Defense Instruction 1300.06,
"The applicant shall be personally interviewed by a chaplain who shall submit a written opinion as to the nature and basis of the applicant's claim, and as to the applicant's sincerity and depth of conviction. The chaplain's report shall include the reasons for the conclusions contained within the report."
Given the above description, I wasn't exactly sure what to expect from this interview, but as it turned out, I left pleasantly surprised at how well it had gone. The Chaplain began by explaining that he found the essays I had written for my application to be so detailed and thorough that he honestly had very few questions regarding what it is that I believe. After further conversation, he made the very deliberate statement that he was convinced that I believed my world view had changed, and he thought that I was honestly trying to align my actions with that change. I clearly understood the not-so-subtle implication of his obviously Christian world view to be that he believed I was going through a phase that would eventually fizzle out, whether in my lifetime or when I faced "the Christian Deity" on judgment day. The ominous insinuation that there may be fire and brimstone in my future if I don't change my ways didn't have me breaking a sweat, nor do I hold it against him for doing what he thinks is best and right. In fact, I feel only gratitude to the Chaplain for his assurance that he would endorse the authenticity of my beliefs and thereby my application.
To add to the fantastic news of the day, I also scheduled an appointment for my other mandated interview, this one with a clinical psychologist. I wonder if anyone has ever felt so much anticipation for a psychiatric evaluation? In any case, if there's no other news, there will be more on that tomorrow.
Wednesday, May 6 (Day 3) Review
There is no news today regarding the progress of my application, and therefore, I'll devote today's post to Turproviding some additional information on the events of the previous two days.
- Day 1 - The Executive Suite
When I submitted my application on Monday, it seemed as though my having brought it directly to the office of the Commanding Officer wasn't appreciated. My suspicions were confirmed later that day when a person of higher military rank, with the title of Chief Robinson, confronted me about why I would have possibly gone to the office of the Commanding Officer. Despite his apparent consternation, I did attempt to explain that the Navy instruction stated that the application's recipient is Navy Personnel Command via the Commanding Officer. After this confrontation, I felt that perhaps my actions had been misunderstood, and it was with that thought in mind that I went to bed.
- Day 2 - Incommunicado
The workload Tuesday morning kept me very well occupied through the first few hours of the day; however, my stomach was uneasy as I still had some very serious doubts about how the apparent boldness of soliciting the Commanding Officer may have been perceived. It was out of this concern that I sent the following email to the Executive Officer:
To: Executive Officer
CC: Chief Robinson
Subject: Explanation of Action
Executive Officer,
It seemed that there was some confusion regarding my submitting my conscientious objector application directly to you yesterday. I would like to offer an explanation to you and my Chief, in hopes that my action will not be misunderstood as disrespectful or in defiance of the Chain of Command. Over the past months, I have spent numerous hours creating that application, and throughout the process I have been counseled by a lawyer from the Center on Conscience and War (http://www.centeronconscience.org/home.shtml).
This application is extremely personal and meaningful to me, and therefore, I heeded the lawyer's advice in submitting it directly to the Commanding Officer. The lawyer explained to me how she has counseled numerous other military members through this process, and she confidently advised that turning in the application to the CO was best. Even still, I checked, and as far as I could find, there is no Navy or NHC instruction that directs a Sailor to do otherwise. I recognize that my action was unconventional, but I hope that my motivation and reasoning are now clear.
I readily accept that yourself, or the Commanding Officer, may wish to have the application reviewed by legal or other parties in the Chain of Command. I wish to be of assistance in any way possible. Thank you very much for accepting my application yesterday, and please let me know if I can answer any questions you may have.
Very Respectfully,
HM2 Daniel J. LakemacherUnfortunately, despite having the best of intentions my email was clearly not well-received, at least not by Chief Robinson, and I have yet to receive any response from the Executive Officer (XO). I sincerely hope that the message was at least read by the XO so that she has the benefit of understanding first-hand the type of person that I am. As regards Chief Robinson, he talked with his supervisor, Chief Deshazor, and then I was instructed to meet with the two of them in the office of the Senior Enlisted Advisor. At their request, I recited for them my entire Chain of Command from myself to the Commanding Officer, after which, the gist of their discourse was that I had not utilized the Chain of Command properly. I was informed that the military, like Microsoft or any other successful organization, does not let people at the bottom simply talk or communicate with those in high-ranking positions. My final instructions were that I was not to email, show up at the office of, or otherwise initiate communication with anyone above them in the Chain of Command. Explicitly mentioned were the Commanding Officer, Executive Officer, and Command Master Chief. After eagerly confirming for them that I had heard everything they said, I was dismissed. On exiting, I asked if they wished for the door to remain open or closed, and I was promptly informed that I need not concern myself with the condition of the Chief's "hatch."
It remains my goal to make my application for conscientious objector status available as a link from this blog, but that first requires the removal of some publicly unnecessary demographic data. While I hope to report progress tomorrow, if there is none, uploading the application will likely be my plan.
Tuesday, May 5 (Day 2) Application Submitted
While this site is yet in the making, my application to be classified as a conscientious objector was submitted a little over 30 hours ago. After a small amount of run-around, I personally handed it over to the Executive Officer of Naval Health Clinic Great Lakes on 04MAY09 at approximately 1300. The waiting has begun.
There have been a few conversations of note since I began this process, but I'll need to delay in relating them here due to the amount of time that has been invested in getting this site operational. It's also my intent to make my application available online for the benefit of friends, family, potential subscribers, and most of all, any struggling military members trying to sort through these issues themselves.
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