Aimee Allison, 22, is a recent Stanford graduate who has applied for a conscientious objector (CO) discharge from the military. Here is her account of her experience in training as recorded in The Plough, May-June, 1992.
Bayonet training was one of the earlier things that really deeply disturbed me and set me thinking about the military. Here are three hundred women in my company: we’re all in battle dress fatigues, with our M-16s and bayonets. We’re all out in this field in Fort Jackson, South Carolina. The drill sergeant stands up on a platform with a megaphone, instructing us how to jab, how to thrust, how to use the bayonet in the correct position. This is me–I’ve never been in a fight in my life. I’ve always been taught to talk things out. He says, “What’s the spirit of the bayonet?” We’re all forced to yell, “To kill, to kill, to kill with no mercy.” He yells, “What makes the grass grow?” “Blood, blood, makes the grass grow.” We’re supposed to make these noises. I just remember saying it, but I couldn’t believe that I was saying it, because in church I learned that what makes us humane is mercy. That was my first step in realizing I had to be true to my own beliefs and my own sense of right and wrong.
This reminded me of an experience I had with a young man during the Korean War. He had been a student of mine in Bible school and was now in the army in Fort Smith, Arkansas. We sat in my car and visited at his base. He was visibly disturbed by his training. “I am going through bayonet training now and I am very upset. We run at the dummy, thrust, jab and scream. You have to hate to kill. I don’t know if I can kill another man.” And he wept. But it was a little late for him to apply for non-combatant service or to be a conscientious objector. That needs to be done before you go in.
I have thought about these matters over the years. I do not write simply from an academic viewpoint but as one who saw combat in World War II aboard the U.S.S. Mobile, a light cruiser. There is a sense of pride and excitement in being part of a fighting unit. And men who have fought together know a peculiar sense of camaraderie. They have faced death together–and lived. I still go to reunions to see old shipmates once more. And most believe that World War II was a just war for the Allies.
But the fact remains that to kill you must hate–at least for that brief moment. During a war, propaganda is produced to generate hate. The Japanese became “dirty, yellow Japs,” treacherous, inhuman. The Germans became “vicious Huns, Jew-killers.” The Viet Cong were “gooks.” To make killing easier we dehumanize the enemy. He is not a fellow human being on planet Earth; he has become vermin, a pest to be eradicated. The earth will be a better place with him expunged. He becomes a target, not a man made in the image of God.
Much modern warfare makes this easier. War is more remote and detached. The pilot releases his bomb and returns to his base, mission accomplished. It has been clean, very surgical. He has not heard the dying screams or looked upon the bloody, scattered chunks of human flesh. He will never hear the wails of mothers and wives bereaved.
War at sea is much the same. The old days of sea battles when ships were within sight of one another is gone. The enemy must be kept at a safe distance so his missiles cannot destroy you. You can now destroy the enemy without ever seeing him. This helps make the operation like that of a surgeon removing a cancer, very objective.
Of course, the army must still contact the enemy and experience the tragedy of war close at hand. War coarsens and depraves. The man with the gun experiences a special kind of power; he can take life or let it live. And for some there is a supreme joy in killing. Atrocities are committed on both sides in a war. When the adrenaline is flowing in combat, men can do some terrible things.
But the Christian hears the words of the Lord Jesus and struggles: “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies…and pray for them which…persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust…Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Mt. 5:43-48).
He remembers the example of his Lord as He was dying, dried spittle on His face, a crown of thorns on His head. Repeatedly the words came from His lips, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Such love and compassion the world had never seen before. The men who hammered the nails through His hands and feet heard His words of blessing. And the Christian is told to walk “even as He walked” (1 Jn. 2:6).
What can the Christian do in this world marred by sin and violence? Certainly he should pray for his government and leaders, as well as leaders throughout the world (1 Tim. 2:1-2). We need to pray for peace. But we must be realistic; the Lord said there would be wars until He returns and sets up His kingdom (Mt. 24:6-7). And at times wars are necessary to curb the power of evil. Most believe that Hitler had to be restrained and defeated to stop his insane conquests.
But what should be the role of the believer when his country is involved in war? Must he bear arms, hate and kill his fellowman? If his conscience knows no rest in this role, he can request an exemption as a CO and serve his country in some other role. Others may not object to wearing the uniform and may request a noncombatant role. If he can show he has convictions in these areas, the government is usually understanding. But a person needs to make his convictions known before he is drafted.
The prophets looked forward to a day when God Himself will govern this world. Men will say, “He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths” (Isa. 2:3). Isaiah grows ecstatic as he writes, “They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore” (Isa. 2:4).
For the Lord’s return and for peace to cover the earth, God’s people plead, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”