Marine reservist says he can't kill

[thedrifter]

Posted on Sun, Mar. 30, 2003

Marine reservist says he can't kill
By Brandon Bailey
Mercury News

After joining the Marines and going through boot camp last year, Lance Cpl. Stephen Funk realized he was an expert marksman who didn't want to kill.

And when his San Jose-based Marine reserve company received orders to deploy for possible war last month, Funk decided he wasn't going to go.

The soft-spoken 20-year-old, who has been AWOL since mid-February, plans to turn himself in and apply for conscientious objector status Tuesday -- one of the first members of the U.S. armed forces to seek a discharge on those grounds since the war with Iraq began.

``I don't want people to be making the same mistakes I did,'' said Funk, who is working with Bay Area anti-war activists to publicize his decision. ``If everyone was a conscientious objector, there wouldn't be any war.''

Many people think of conscientious objection as a relic from the days of a mandatory draft. But the law allows those who voluntarily join the armed forces to seek a discharge if they have developed a deeply held moral or ethical objection to war.

Military officials say the procedure is little used: Only 28 people were declared conscientious objectors last year.

``We don't really expect to see a lot of applications,'' said Capt. Shawn Turner, a Marine Corps spokesman at the Pentagon who added that he believes most Marines have only become more dedicated to their jobs since Sept. 11, 2001.

But pacifist groups say they've had an increase in requests for information in recent months, as the U.S. began mobilizing for war with Iraq.

``Our call volume has doubled,'' said Teresa Panepinto of the Oakland-based Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors, which runs a program called the GI Rights Hotline.

Applications for conscientious discharges always increase during wartime. There were 111 granted during the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

Thorough process

The procedures are rigorous: An applicant must submit a detailed letter explaining how his or her feelings have changed since joining the armed forces. Then there are interviews with a military chaplain, a psychiatrist and an investigating officer, with a final decision made by top military commanders.

``They don't make it easy,'' said Aimee Allison, a former Army combat medic who received a conscientious objector discharge in 1992. Allison, who lives in Oakland, is advising Funk on his application.

Because he refused to report for duty with the rest of his Marine unit, Funk said, he is prepared to serve time in a military prison before being discharged -- although another adviser, San Francisco public interest lawyer Stephen Collier, said they are hoping Funk will get some kind of desk duty instead.

When his activation orders came in mid-February, Funk said he had only recently learned about the conscientious objector process, and he needed more time to complete his application. Other members of the San Jose-based 1st Beach & Terminal Operations Company were sent to San Diego and were scheduled to go overseas from there. But Funk didn't go.

``I didn't expect to be deployed so soon,'' he said.

Funk, who was raised Catholic but doesn't practice regularly, said his mother raised him and his two sisters in Seattle, with help from his immigrant Filipino grandparents. Although he was never violent as a youth, he said, his opposition to war crystallized after he enlisted last year.

At the time he joined, Funk had dropped out of college and was working at an East Bay pet store. He didn't know many people here, he said. ``I didn't have a lot of direction or a sense of connection.''

When a recruiter approached him -- ``I'm not sure how he got my number in the first place'' -- Funk said he thought the military might be like an adult version of the Boy Scouts. ``I thought I'd be learning new stuff, getting exercise, learning leadership and teamwork.''

Turning point

But he grew uncomfortable after he entered boot camp and began combat training. A turning point came when he got a high score in marksmanship, but an instructor told him he wouldn't do as well in real combat.

``I heard that, and I knew he was right,'' Funk said. ``I said: `You're right. I think killing is wrong.' ''

But when he spoke with a chaplain and other officers, he said, they never told him about the conscientious objector law, which he eventually found on the Internet. Funk said he is going public in part to spread the word for others in the military who may be regretting their decision to enlist.

Funk said he knows some people will accuse him of cowardice or of making a political statement against U.S. policy toward Iraq. The law requires conscientious objectors to sincerely oppose all wars, not just those that are unpopular.

While he does object to current U.S. policy, Funk said, he would not support any war.

``I think that, deep down, everybody knows that killing is wrong,'' he said. Of the current war, he said, ``I just hope other people examine their feelings about it, and not just politically, because war is a real moral issue.''


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Contact Brandon Bailey at bbailey@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5022.



Sempers,

Roger

[Sgt Sostand]

That a bunch of Bull S*** he went chicken and jump ship he know what he was doing he sign up for the Marines what did he think the Marines was the Club Scouts

[Phantom Blooper]

As I said in other posts NO one in their right mind likes to kill.....we knew when we signed up,or were drafted it was a distinct possibility that we might have to.This bird is again added to the growing list of cowards and turncoats!!I knew and now know Cub Scouts that have more groin muscles than these pukes! Semper-Fi

[DSchmitke]

This puke needs to be court martialed for missing movement.

[JChristin]

Take the letter "n" in his last name, change it to "c" and add "ed" to the ending, and that will fit him fine.


semper fi,
jchristin

[Super Dave]

Send his a** to Baghdad. My daughter is graduating from Parris Island on April, 11th and she is more of a man than he is!!

[Sgt Sostand]

Originally posted by Super Dave
Send his a** to Baghdad. My daughter is graduating from Parris Island on April, 11th and she is more of a man than he is!!

Ya Dave i bet he join the Marine reservist for school or something not think a war was going to start i bet he was looking for something free

[usmcwf83]

My hubby's squadron trains reserves and there is one trying this, too. I was under the impression there had to be a history of pacifism for it to be considered. Didn't think you could decide after you had signed on the line....that you suddenly are against war whenever it inconveniently comes up!
Amazing.....

[Barrio_rat]

Personally, I don't have a problem with consciensious objectors. To each their own - I'll just hold a light on 'em if they show themselves to be hypocrites (eg, a someone threatens their family and they still say it's better to lose the family member than for them to take the life of the purpotrator). The problem I have with many of these situations, even in the military - I'll give 'em that they can 'change their mind' or have a 'revalation' - what erks me is these ones that wait until their is a conflict before they either show how they feel or have the change of heart. If they had heart, they'd stand up when this 'revalation' came to 'em and then go to their S-1 to have it documented. Stand up for your rights - don't hide behind them.

[Super Dave]

If they are consciensious objectors why would they join the Marines. They seem to "forget" what the job on the Marine Corp is:
1. To seize of defend advanced naval bases and to conduct such land operations as may be essential to the prosecution of a naval campaign.

2. To provide detachments and organizations for service in armed vessels of the Navy or for protection of naval property on naval stations and bases.

3. To develop, with the other Armed Forces, the tactics, techniques, and equipment employed by landing forces in amphibious operations.

4. To train and equip, as required, Marine forces for airborne operations.

5. To develop, with the other Armed Forces, doctrine, procedures, and equipment of interest to the Marine Corps for airborne operations which are not provided for by the Army.

6. To be able to expand from peacetime components to meet the needs of war in accordance with mobilization plans.

[Armory]

I edited out all the bull**** and inserted real thoughts and feelings:

After joining the Marines and going through boot camp last year, Lance Cpl. Stephen Funk realized he could only shoot marksmen and wouldn't be all that effective during wartime.

And when his San Jose-based Marine reserve company received orders to deploy for possible war last month, Funk decided to run and cry to his mother. The only one to truely understand what a pvssy he is.

``I don't want people to be making the same mistakes I did,'' said Funk, who is working with Bay Area anti-war activists to publicize his decision. ``If everyone was a conscientious objector, we'd all live under Hitler's Rule now, wouldn't that be swell.''

Thorough process

The procedures are rigorous: An applicant must submit a detailed letter explaining how he/she got sand in their clit.

When his activation orders came in mid-February, Funk said he "Began to feel an urge to cry" and "Had a strange yellow rash growing up my spine".

Blah! What a puke!

[SHOOTER1]

Court Martial for AWOL, then find the dirtist job in the Corps, and leave him there till his enlistment is up and discharge under less than honerable condition. We dont need that kind of Rat in a Combat Area, he would git somebody killed, or pull a Peter Arnett.

[Sparrowhawk]

then to find out he is weak in battle, in the midst of a fire fight.

Let him stay home, don't need him in the field with Marines.


Sempers

[firstsgtmike]

Hawk,

You were a machine gunner. Knowing who and what he was, could your team have used an extra ammo carrier, even though he was unarmed? I think he would have been great in a forward listening post. When shots were fired, you'd know it wasn't him shooting at shadows.

[thedrifter]

Marine Hung On Public Display in Iraq

Tue Apr 1, 3:49 PM ET

By KIM CURTIS, Associated Press Writer

SAN JOSE, Calif. - With his sister carrying his duffel bag and his mother holding his hand, a 20-year-old Marine reservist surrendered to the military Tuesday and declared himself a conscientious objector.


Wearing camouflage fatigues, Lance Cpl. Stephen Funk turned himself in at the locked gates of the Marine Corps reserve center where he was assigned, weeks after refusing to report when called up to active duty.


"Ultimately, it's my fault for joining in the first place," said Funk, who didn't show up when his unit was deployed to Camp Pendleton. "It wasn't as well thought out as it should've been. It was about me being depressed and wanting direction in life."


Funk said he's attended every major San Francisco Bay area anti-war rally since finishing his military training last fall. He insisted his decision had nothing to do with the war in Iraq (news - web sites).


Those applying for a conscientious discharge must submit a detailed letter explaining how their feelings have changed since joining the military. Then there are interviews with a military chaplain, a psychiatrist and an investigating officer. The final decision is made by top military commanders.


Applications for conscientious discharges always increase during wartime. There were 111 granted during the 1991 Gulf War (news - web sites). Only 28 were granted last year, military officials said.


"The Marine Corps understands there are service members opposed to the war," said Capt. Patrick O'Rourke, spokesman for Funk's unit, adding that he hadn't received Funk's application yet. "He'll be treated fairly."


Funk, who grew up in Washington state, enlisted when he was 19 and living on his own for the first time. He said he caved in to pressure from a recruiter who capitalized on his vulnerability.


"They don't really advertise that they kill people," Funk said. "I didn't really realize the full implications of what I was doing and what it really meant to be in the service as a reservist."


Funk said he began doubting his fitness for military service during basic training last spring when he felt uncomfortable singing cadence calls that described violence and screaming "Kill, kill, kill."


Funk's father, Robert Funk, enlisted in the Navy reserves and was called up to active duty in 1970 to serve in Vietnam. He said he wishes his son hadn't joined in the first place.


"I don't think he realized how close we were to getting involved in this conflict," Robert Funk said from his home in Everson, Wash. "I thought his views didn't line up with military service and he should wait and really look at it."




Marine Corps reservist Stephen Funk, second from left, with his mother, Gloria Pacis, left, turns himself in at his reserve unit in San Jose, Calif., Tuesday April 1, 2003. The 20-year-old Marine reservist who got called to active duty refuses to serve in the Iraqi conflict, claiming conscientous objector status.(AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Sempers,

Roger