Gradually, the thought of having a hand in killing other people kept him up at night. Schutts, who joined the ROTC at 18, looked for a way to respect his principles.

Describing himself yesterday as a former "superpatriot" from small-town Illinois who was humiliated by the Iran hostage crisis, Schutts discovered he might qualify as a conscientious objector, a right afforded to military personnel. He filed for CO status in 1988 but was denied.

Schutts, 40, was discharged in June 1990 and lives in Canada, where he belongs to a group that helps American soldiers who have fled the United States because they were refused CO status or were unaware of their rights.

"Nobody in the military is telling you that 'you're a CO, and here's the form to get out,' " said Schutts, who lives in Vancouver.

Schutts was one of 30 peace activists from the United States and Canada who spent four days last week at the Fellowship of Reconciliation in Upper Nyack developing strategies to help members of the armed forces who want out on religious or ethical grounds.

Ibrahim Ramey, FOR's disarmament coordinator, said some of those who saw the horrors of war in Iraq had experienced a "moral change of heart," and the coalition's goal was to let them know that options were available.

The umbrella group plans to launch its "I Will Not Kill" campaign May 15. It will feature a Web site with information, resources and links to groups for would-be conscientious objectors.

According to the law, a conscientious objector is a person who is "conscientiously opposed to participation in war in any form."

The belief that motivates a person to apply for CO status might come from religion or philosophy, but it cannot be applied selectively. The applicants must oppose all wars, not just those of which they do not approve.

Of 92 CO requests filed with the Army, Navy and Marines last year, 41 were approved. The Air Force approved nine applications in 2004 but did not provide the total number of applicants.

Some COs ask for discharge, others for noncombatant duties.

Joseph Varbaro of Port Chester, who served in the Army during World War II, said COs "are looking to get out and that's not right."

"I think they should go to jail," he said. Varbaro was drafted at 18. He said he believed young people today enlisted in the military without properly thinking it through.

"Two months later, they want to get out, and the Army sends them out," he said. "I don't know why the Army does that."

Arlene Inouye, a Los Angeles teacher and founder of the Coalition Against Militarism in Our Schools, said some young people, particularly the urban poor, who enlisted in the military didn't realize what they were getting into. Some who joined the war on terror later realized they were not prepared to take human life.

Oskar Castro, a coordinator for the American Friends Service Committee in Philadelphia, said CO status is different today from the Vietnam War era. Then, applicants weren't deployed until their case was heard by a military board because they were being drafted.

An Army spokeswoman said CO applications from active duty personnel generally were processed and forwarded to Army headquarters within 90 days from the date soldiers submitted them to their commanding officers. Applications from reservists are processed within 180 days.

Receiving final word on CO status can take much longer.

Carlos Emmanuel San Pedro, a 19-year-old from Oxnard, Calif., who attended the FOR conference, spent a year and a half in the Civil Air Patrol, doing drills, flying in Cessnas and completing survival training school. San Pedro, whose father fought in Afghanistan in 2002, thought he would join the Air Force one day.

San Pedro's father, a former Marine, told his son to think hard about joining the military and the decisions he might have to make. San Pedro realized he could not support war and instead joined a peace group — Alternative to Military: Options and Resources — to help those in uniform struggling with their beliefs.

Copyright 2005 The Journal News, a Gannett Co. Inc.

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