On Veterans Day, National Coalition Releases Groundbreaking Report on 'Moral Injuries' to Veterans

Report result of unprecedented collaboration among academic, religious, and veterans' groups

WASHINGTON, Nov. 8, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Truth Commission on Conscience in War (www.conscienceinwar.org), a national coalition of over 60 religious, veterans, academic, and advocacy groups, will release a groundbreaking report on the need for greater religious freedom and protection of moral conscience in the military, based on "moral injuries" suffered by veterans, and announce next steps in implementing its recommendations on November 10, 1:30 p.m., in the NPC Zenger Room. Dr. Rita Brock, Chair of the Commission Planning Committee; Rev. Herman Keizer, Jr., veteran, former Army chaplain and host of the Truth Commission; and five veterans will speak.

With alarming suicide rates among U.S. veterans, the Commission's report notes new VA studies of the "moral injury" of service members who feel they have been asked to fight in morally unjustified wars or engage in morally questionable conduct.  The report draws on testimony from veterans, theologians, ethicists, physicians, and other experts at a public hearing in New York last March. The Commissioners' recommendations are based on this testimony.

Chief among their recommendations is a call for the military to recognize "selective conscientious objection," the right of service members to object morally to a specific war. Backed by expert witnesses, the veterans who testified at the New York hearing urged recognition of this right after describing experiences in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Vietnam that led them to view those wars as morally unjust. Current military regulations, however, grant conscientious objector status only to those who object to "war in any form," and one of the veterans who testified before the Commission, Staff Sgt. Camilo Mejia, was imprisoned after applying for discharge as a selective conscientious objector. (Amnesty International declared him a "prisoner of conscience.") Rev. Herman Keizer, Jr., notes, "In my 34 years as a chaplain, I have seen injustice done to many soldiers who did not object to war [in general], but objected to Vietnam and now Iraq… We do not honor the conscience of those we train."

The Commission report also urges greater public attention to discussions of the moral conduct of war and expanded support for veterans' needs, including the moral injuries suffered in war. The Commission hopes the report will catalyze discussion of these issues in congregations and communities around the nation. "War inflicts terrible, tragic consequences on all touched by it," notes Rita Nakashima Brock, Ph.D., the Truth Commission's Project Director, the daughter of a veteran and noted theologian. "Moral conscience should not be among its casualties.

The ongoing public discussions of moral conscience in war that the Truth Commission hopes to catalyze will begin on November 12, when the Commission will sponsor a "teach-in on selective conscientious objection," also at Washington's National City Christian Church.

For complete information about the Truth Commission for Conscience in War, visit: conscienceinwar.org.

Events in Washington, D.C., related to the release of the Truth Commission report:

WHAT:

- Press conference releasing the Truth Commission for Conscience in War Report (Wednesday, November 10)

- Live Testimony and Conversations with Veterans (Thursday, November 11)

- Interfaith Service for Freedom of Conscience (Thursday, November 11)

- Protecting Conscience in War: A Teach-In on Selective Conscientious Objection (Friday, November 12, $25 donation, lunch included; to register, visit conscienceinwar.org.)

WHO:  

Press Conference:

- Dr. Rita Nakashima Brock, Founding Co-Director of Faith Voices for the Common Good

- Rev. Herman Keizer, Jr., Vietnam veteran, former Army chaplain, and honorary host of the Truth Commission

- Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who testified at last spring's Commission hearing (video at www.conscienceinwar.org)

Interfaith Service:

- Rev. Dr. Daisy Machado, Dean and Professor of Church History, Union Theological Seminary, presiding

- Rev. Dr. Rita Brock, and Rev. Dr. Gabriella Lettini, Professor of Theological Ethics at the Starr King School for the Ministry, speaking

- Rev Dr. James A. Forbes and Rev. Mpho Tutu, speaking

Teach-In:

- Revs Keizer and Brock, Ms. J.E. McNeil, Director of the Center on Conscience & War, Veterans, Dr. David Miller, Professor at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, and other experts.

WHERE:

Press conference:  National Press Club, 529 14th St., NW (at intersection of 14th and F Streets)

Veteran Testimony and Interfaith Service:  National City Christian Church, 5 Thomas Circle NW, Washington, DC 20005

Teach-In:  National City Christian Church, 5 Thomas Circle NW, Washington, DC 20005

WHEN:

Press Conference: Wednesday, November 10, 1:30 p.m.

Veteran Testimony: Thursday, 5-6:30 p.m.

Interfaith Service: Thursday, November 11, 7:00- 9:00 p.m.

Teach-In: Friday, November 12, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. (lunch provided)

CONTACT: Rita Brock, [email protected], 510-459-5123 or Betsy Eggert, [email protected], 781-248-9881

SOURCE Faith Voices for the Common Good