U.S. non-profit advocating for conscientious objectors says calls are spiking

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Mike Prysner is the executive director of the Center on Conscience & War, which works with U.S. soldiers seeking conscience exemptions. Prysner says the organization has seen a massive spike in calls as the U.S.-Israel war against Iran intensifies.

From transcript ...

Well, uh, just to start, our hotline is ringing off the hook. You know, we typically handle about 50 to 80 clients per year. Since this war started, we have more than a 1,000% increase in new conscientious conscientious objector clients. Um, now we have about one per day. Uh, they come from a broad spectrum. We have officers from physicians to fighter jet pilots. We have lower to mid-ranking enlisted from infantrymen to intelligence personnel.

They're from the Navy, the Army, the Air Force, the Marines, people set to deploy soon, and those who are actually already in theater in the middle Middle East.

Well, anyone in the military has the right to file for conscientious objection. And you know, once you drop a conscientious objector packet, you know, the process takes several months, but as soon as you declare that you are a conscientious objector before they even begin to investigate it, your command is obligated to accommodate your beliefs.