DownloadApril 20, 2009 issue
Counselors help soldiers find way to peace
By Melanie Hess For Mennonite Mission NetworkPage:
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BAMMENTAL, Germany — The U.S. military calls it crystallization — the moment a soldier realizes he can no longer serve in the military and remain true to his conscience or faith.
Military Counseling Network counselors Daniel Hershberger, left, and Tim Huber talk with a friend. — Photo provided by MMN
As a counselor with the Military Counseling Network in Germany, Daniel Hershberger, a Mennonite Mission Network representative, helps soldiers articulate that moment, as well as answer many other questions that come along with applying for conscientious objector status.
“One of the most rewarding experiences here is working with Christian soldiers who have come to be COs because their experiences in war and combat have revealed Jesus to them in a new way,” Hershberger said.
Not every soldier comes to the counseling network because of Christian faith. But Hershberger has worked with multiple Christian soldiers who realized during their deployment that military service stood in direct contradiction to their beliefs.
“One guy’s dad was a military chaplain,” Hershberger said. “When he enlisted, this man saw the military as Christian service. There are many guys like that — they thought military service would be a ministry.”
The connection between service to God and service to country can be so strong that it’s hard for soldiers to separate the two.
“Since I follow Jesus, now I can’t serve my country or kill,” one CO told Hershberger, who kept soldiers’ names in this story confidential. “And if I can’t serve my country, is it still possible to be a Christian?”
So when does crystallization happen? Hershberger said the experience is different for every CO. For some, it happens in basic training, when they are stabbing a dummy with their bayonet and yelling “Kill! Kill! Kill!” For some, it happens when they see that civilians in the country they thought they were serving aren’t supportive of their presence.
And for others, it can be even more intense. One soldier was serving in Iraq when a car pulled up to the checkpoint where he was stationed, Hershberger said. An Iraqi child, a 5- or 6-year-old, was walking beside the car holding something in his hand. When the car refused to slow down at the checkpoint, the soldier was commanded to get the child in his sights for fear he might have a hand grenade.
The soldier realized, “My order could be to kill this child,” Hershberger recalled the soldier saying.
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Comments
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Wow, this is a stunning issue that many Christians outside the Mennonite Church don't often discuss. Thank you for being a voice in this very relevant time.
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