A following statement was written by an anonymous active-duty member of the US military, currently working with the Center on Conscience and War to file as a conscientious objector. See it on Instagram and on Twitter.
I served in Trump’s combat operations in the Caribbean.
What I saw led me to file a claim as a conscientious objector. I decided I would not take part in anything like that again.
Here’s what I want service members to know about potential action against Cuba:
When you’re active-duty military, global tension isn’t just something you read about in the news, it’s a sudden shift in your daily reality. You watch aircraft carriers get deployed, you see friends from boot camp sent toward potential conflict zones, and suddenly the abstract concepts of foreign policy become incredibly personal.
For those of us working on the flight deck, keeping the machinery of deployment moving, it is easy to default to autopilot. You are trained to focus entirely on the immediate task: launch, recovery, maintenance, routine. But when a real crisis starts brewing, that autopilot mode can clash violently with your internal ethics. You look at where the ship is heading, you think about the potential human cost of a strike, and you have to ask yourself: Does my conscience actually align with where these orders are taking me?
There is a pervasive myth in the military that once you sign the contract, your moral agency is completely surrendered until your enlistment is up. You’re told that your only job is execution, not reflection. But realizing you have an ethical or moral conflict with a specific conflict—or with war altogether—doesn’t make you an outlier. It makes you human.
It is vital for service members to know that even when the deployment wheels are turning, you still have options. You don’t have to quietly choke down a profound moral crisis out of fear or a belief that you’re trapped. Programs like the Conscience and War network exist because dissenting from an unethical path is a valid choice. Filing a Conscientious Objection packet is a real regulatory process, and commands are required to accommodate your beliefs while it’s handled.
If you are looking at the current developments, looking at the deployment orders, and feeling a deep, unshakeable sense that what is happening is wrong, pay attention to that feeling. Your conscience belongs to you, not to the military. You do have rights, you have options, and you do not have to carry out a mission that breaks your own moral code.
If you feel conflicted call the Center on Conscience and War for free, professional an anonymous advice and support: 1-800-379-2679 or email us at ccw@centeronconscience.org
