QuakerInfo.com Forum

[JChang1]

Greetings,

I'm a fairly regular attender at a un-programmed meeting in So. Cal and I was wondering about the Peace testimony and my potential employment. The problem is that I am having difficulty finding employment even though I graduated college with a degree in the social sciences. While the degree does help I feel like I'm in a mass of similarly qualified persons looking for work. As a result I am considering applying the to United States Coast Guard to be commissioned officer. While I abhor war, to the best of my knowledge the Coast Guard is not a war fighting body. There main tasks includes:
-Maritime Safety Checks
-Search and Rescue Operations
-Port Security
-Drug Interdiction
-Environmental Protection
All of there main duties save drug interdiction I feel would not make me question my faith nor my employment position. Even drug interdiction is mostly harmless. So I was wondering, would working for the Coast Guard come into direct conflict with the Peace Testimony.

[james]

That's a tough question, and I don't know the answer, though I will take a shot.

The risk might not be great, but I think you would be putting yourself at risk of being called to participate in war in some way. Most wars have had at least some participation by Coast Guard volunteers.

My take on it would be, read carefully and don't sign anything that you would see as a promise to fight if called, and be prepared to say no and pay the price for saying no--probably military prison--if by some chance you are called to fight.

That said I think the Coast Guard does some very valuable peacetime work.
_________________
James Riemermann
www.nontheistfriends.org
www.liberalquakers.org

[jesse]

For my part, the parallel question that I have faced is this: my training is a PhD in visual neuroscience (meaning that I study the connection between the eyes and brain... how the brain is organized so that we can have the experience of seeing). I have always assumed I would one day be a professor in this topic area, but have been doing some real soul-searching and re-thinking of those plans over the last few years.

But outside academia, the main people interested in my research area is the military: large parts of the techniques we use in visual science actually grew from military research (from wanting to understand how people detect the presence of targets amongst noise when reading radar screens). There are also many applications in terms of training pilots etc.

For me, working for the military is out of the question. Even the work I did for my PhD (face perception) concerned me a little in terms of its potential applications (I'm not fond of the idea of our knowledge of face perception being directed at surveillance/security etc). On the other hand, some of that general body of work has helped us better understand the limits of trusting eye-witness testimony in the court-system. You never know how scientific discoveries will be applied...

Anyhow... for me, working even on the research side of things for the military feels too complicit with the military system, and I would not feel comfortable being hired by them, despite the non-combative role.

I'm in the process of thinking about how my more general research skills could be redirected into other areas of research that might be useful to branches of government I feel more comfortable with, instead.

It's always a tough call to figure out how beliefs play out in terms of individual life decisions. The decision I've made for myself in my situation may not be the right kind of decision for you or for your situation.

Have you considered asking for a clearness committee within your meeting to help you work through your decision?

[JChang1]

Good News! (Possibly)

I score pretty high on my practice aptitude test for the Coast Guard, meaning that nearly all positions should be available for me. I am thinking choosing medical, JAG secretary (I have legal experience), with my degree in psych I could choose human resources,or environmental protection. But these positions are not guaranteed and I maybe forced into a combat active role (though highly unlikely). Would the non-combat position listed above be compatible with the Peace testimony? (I personally feel that it could very well be, but am still hesitant.

Thanks for the responses by the way.

[Kiahanie]

An attender at our Meeting faced an employment situation similar to yours, and tried for the Coast Guard. CG would not accept him because he is a registered Conscientious Objector. They wanted someone who could fight if need be.
_________________
"There is a field out beyond right and wrong. I'll meet you there." --Jellaludin Rumi

[woundwort]

Here in Eastpondia, I know of more than one serving Police officer - including one fire-arms trained (which, bear in mind, here is only a couple of steps below the Army) - who also are Members.