CCW wins: Nichole Naderman CO discharged from the Air Force

Nichole Naderman: CO discharged from the Air Force

On March 22, one year after she first approached CCW for help, Nichole Naderman was informed that her application for discharge as a conscientious objector had been approved on Feb. 4.  Nichole, whose family had a history of military service, had joined ROTC while an undergraduate. Part of the change in her was influenced by changes in her brother who had been deployed to Iraq with the Marines. Her education also exposed her to new insights. Steven Grossman’s book, On Killing helped her put it all into perspective.

She wrote, “I believe it is wrong to kill or threaten to harm others. I believe that the use of violence, including in war, is detrimental to both the perpetrator and the victim and so it cannot ethically be used, even as a means to an end. . . I believe that God wants us to lay down our weapons and pursue other paths when dealing with conflict.”

Her interviews were in August and the chaplain as well as the investigating officer recommended approval.  In August, CCW’s Counseling coordinator, Bill Galvin wrote to Nichole, “Last night I read your IO report and I couldn’t put it down!! It’s excellent!! It’s like a textbook case of how to do it right! WOW! If anyone in the chain of command decides to throw in a negative recommendation (which they often do) it would be interesting to see how they justify it in view of your IO Report!”  He also cautioned her that “it’s not over till it’s over.”

Now it’s over! And considering the many difficult CO cases the Center has worked on in recent years, it’s great to have one go so smoothly.

On March 22, Nicole wrote to the Center, “Thank you. I don’t think I could have done it without your help. I feel like I have my life back to do something with it that I believe is meaningful.”