By Kaitlin Keane
The second in a series of stories chronicling members of Northeastern University called for duty in Iraq.
When Justiniano Rodrigues came to the United States nearly 17 years ago with his family, it was with the hope for a better life than he might have had in the Republic of Cape Verde, a small gathering of islands off the western coast of Africa.
His parents, who had grown up as witnesses of the effects of war on Cape Verdean refugees, looked forward to the opportunities that would present themselves to their children in a land free of war.
When Rodrigues, their third of five children, enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves, they supported his decision, despite their concern. As a finance major, he hoped that the reserves could lead to a position in military intelligence or finance.
Later, when he was put on alert in March, which meant he would have to prepare to be deployed at any time, his parents became increasingly concerned for his safety.
Now, as his deployment date approaches in late August, they anxiously await word on his application for conscientious objector (CO) status, praying that it will be accepted.
Though often associated with the Vietnam War, the draft and Muhammad Ali, status as a CO has been legally recognized since as far back as the Civil War.
The Department of Defense defines a CO as someone with “a firm, fixed and sincere objection to participation in war of any form … by reason of religious training and belief.” While a moral or ethical objection to war does not require religious backing, Rodrigues claims his Roman Catholic upbringing makes him eligible for conscientious objector status.
“When my parents think of me in the States, they think of me getting a good education, a good job, but not sacrificing my life,” said Rodrigues, a middler. As a permanent resident, he is in the position of a non-citizen student soldier who has applied for CO status.
Rodrigues enlisted in the reserves in 2003. After he offered to drive a friend to the nearby recruitment center to join the Navy, he wound up speaking with a recruiter and signing up himself. His family’s influence remained in his mind as he signed up.
“I had always liked the idea of a military lifestyle,” he said, explaining that his godfather, with whom he is very close, was in the army in Cape Verde. “I thought it would be a good experience for me – the lifestyle of discipline and the training.”
In addition to family influence, Rodrigues expected enlisting would help move his citizenship paperwork along while opening doors for better positions down the road. Despite the situation in Iraq at the time, he admits he did not expect to go to war.
Now, as a member of the 220th Transportation Company, he is scheduled to leave next month for a 15-month tour in Iraq. While the other members of his unit use their final weeks to prepare, buying last-minute supplies and spending time with loved ones, Rodrigues has begun fighting a different battle.
“I didn’t realize that I qualified as a conscientious objector until I started training,” Rodrigues said. He became increasingly uncomfortable with the concept of war as his unit’s combat training intensified, including movies and drills that drove home the fact that it wasn’t “always going to be targets” that they would be shooting at.
Though often considered an expected aspect of military training, Rodrigues was drastically unprepared for such training.
“There are people that are fully prepared to go out and kill, but I’m not like that,” he said. “It’s just not how I’ve been taught to resolve conflict.”
In a situation like Rodrigues’, some argue that volunteer enlistment during wartime weakens the idea of being a CO. But he says with an increased exposure to the mentality of war, he has only just begun to realize what he is opposed to.
And while the Department of Defense’s Directive on the subject of COs requires an objection to “all wars rather than a specific war,” Rodrigues concedes that conflict over the merits of and approach to Iraq is an unavoidable factor.
After a member of his unit suggested that he apply for CO status, he spoke to the appropriate officials and was counseled on how to approach the application process.
Unfortunately, he said, as he continues his co-op at Bank North in Arlington, his request for CO status has shown little promise of being granted. He has gone through various superiors and filed all of his paperwork, but has yet to hear from a Judge Advocate General, a military lawyer that will review his request. The situation, some experts say, is typical.
“Since 2003, the military claims to have received 96 applications, with 48 approved,” said Marti Hiken, co-chair of the National Lawyers Guild Military Law Task Force. However, military records can be drastically inaccurate, she said, due to slowly processed statistics or underreported applications.
Rodrigues said the stalled process has only made him more determined not to deploy to Iraq come August.
“My mindset right now is that I am not going. I’m prepared to take whatever consequences come with that,” he said, though he is admittedly unsure of exactly what those consequences may be.
For now, he is keeping a positive attitude, virtually assuming that his request will be processed. Instead he has chosen to stay focused on reassuring his family and taking full advantage of all his opportunities.
“It is not that I don’t feel loyalty, war is just not for me,” he said. “Some people are born to be soldiers and some aren’t. I am not.”