Sarah Olson

James Circello sat on the edge of his bed staring at the floral pattern on a generic hotel comforter, contemplating what life would be like in prison. It was early August, and his parents had given him a one-way bus ticket to Lawton, Okla., and told him he was welcome home once he got his … Continue reading “When AWOL Is the Only Escape”

Jeff Slocum is a 41-year-old chief master sergeant in the United States Air Force. He’s spent the last 21 years in the military and has been stationed in Europe, Korea, Honduras and the Middle East. He’s now an engineer at Pope Air Force Base near Fayetteville, North Carolina. He loves his work, has enormous faith … Continue reading “War Causes Air Force Sergeant to Change Course”

"Just because we volunteered, doesn’t mean we volunteered to throw our lives away for nothing. You can only push human beings so far," says Marc Train, a 19-year old soldier from America’s heartland. "Soldiers are going to Iraq multiple times. The reasons we’re there are obviously lies. We’re reaching a breaking point, and I believe … Continue reading “Another Soldier Goes AWOL Rather Than Deploy to Iraq”

"I joined the Army to go to war, and now I’m fighting to get out," says Pfc. Ryan Follan, laughing nervously. He quickly becomes serious. "Some of the causes are good, but I don’t think the war is for the right reasons." Follan laughs again, and there’s a long pause. "I’m deploying in a month, … Continue reading “Opposition to the War Growing Among Troops”

The Army refiled five charges against 1st Lt. Ehren Watada late last week, paving the way for a possible second court-martial for the highest-ranking member of the military to publicly refuse to deploy to Iraq. When his first court-martial ended in a mistrial on Feb. 7, serious debate had not yet begun to surface on … Continue reading “Lt. Watada Is Not Alone”