Logan Mehl-Laituri

I joined the US Army in 2000 at 18, deciding to be an artillery forward observer (MOS 13F).  At MEPS, Hawaii was not available for E-1's, so I chose North Carolina, unaware that it was the home of the 82nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg.  During my physical later that day, an attendant asked me if I wanted Airborne training, so I shrugged and gave a despondent 'yeah, sure.'  I got to my unit in March 2001 and was in the dentists chair when the Towers fell in September.  A few of my buddies and I put in DA 4187s for an intraunit transfer to go to Afghanistan with another battalion, but that didn't pan out, so I reenlisted at my two year mark to go to Hawaii and pursue a Green-to-Gold scholarship.

 

I left NC on December 20, 2002 and ten days later my former unit was locked down and sent to Kuwait.  A few months later, my Cadet Command letter came regarding my ROTC scholarship, just a day before our orders to combat were cut.  I opted to go to combat.  I left Oahu exactly one year after getting there, shaking hands with the commanding general on the tarmac.  

 

I spent 14 months in Iraq during OIF 2, my battalion acting as a QRF for the theater after some clown lost a set of NVGs.  I saw every major city except Baghdad and Fallujah (Marines turned away offers of support, from what we were told).  I came home from the battlefield two days after Valentines Day in 2005.  I was promoted to SGT (E-5) a month and a half later.  

 

Near the end of 2005, I was dating someone whose family challenged my understanding of religion and I subsequently came to the realization that Christians were obligated not to kill one's enemy.  That was a problem, since forward observers do a lot of killing.  After several months spent trying to figure out how to more genuinely live out my Christian faith, I came to the conclusion that I could no longer carry a weapon, but I did not feel morally obligated to seek discharge from the Army.  

 

In June 2006, as an E-5 with over five years of active service, I applied to be a noncombatant conscientious objector and return with my unit to Iraq without a weapon.  My application was essentially dismissed and I was involuntarily reassigned to Rear Detachment.  DA policy updates about a month later meant that I would not be Stop-Lossed, so I was honorably discharged a few months after my original six year ETS date.  My two years on IRR was uneventful.  

 

I joined IVAW after I was discharged, but I was hesitant about the immediate withdrawal.  I eventually came to see that there really was no other way, and I joined in May of 2007 or so.  I was in Philly at the time, and I worked for many months as an intern and later as a full on administrative assistant/organizer.  I came to appreciate the function IVAW served in the anti-war effort, and really felt that the org was run well in the time I worked in the office.  In early 2009, I had moved back to Hawaii to finish my BA and began taking a huge course load.  I took some time off from IVAW and in under two years, finished my undergrad and got admitted to three of four theological schools to which I applied.  At Duke University Divinity School, I will be studying political theology, ethics, and justice (with a focus on how these are expressed in and through conscience).  In the spring of  2012, I will hopefully graduate with a Master of Theological Studies and look toward doctoral studies in similar fields.  

 

To learn more about me, check out the Curriculum Vitae that I compiled for my applications: http://bit.ly/8GKxJhI joined the US Army in 2000 at 18, deciding to be an artillery forward observer (MOS 13F).  At MEPS, Hawaii was not available for E-1's, so I chose North Carolina, unaware that it was the home of the 82nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg.  During my physical later that day, an attendant asked me if I wanted Airborne training, so I shrugged and gave a despondent 'yeah, sure.'  I got to my unit in March 2001 and was in the dentists chair when the Towers fell in September.  A few of my buddies and I put in DA 4187s for an intraunit transfer to go to Afghanistan with another battalion, but that didn't pan out, so I reenlisted at my two year mark to go to Hawaii and pursue a Green-to-Gold scholarship.

 

I left NC on December 20, 2002 and ten days later my unit was locked down and sent to Kuwait.  A few months later, my Cadet Command letter came regarding my ROTC scholarship, just a day before our orders to combat were cut.  I opted to go to combat.  I left Oahu exactly one year after getting there, shaking hands with the commanding general on the tarmac.  

 

I spent 14 months in Iraq during OIF 2, my battalion acting as a QRF for the theater after some clown lost a set of NVGs.  I saw every major city except Baghdad and Fallujah (Marines turned away offers of support, from what we were told).  I came home from the battlefield two days after Valentines Day in 2005.  I was promoted to SGT (E-5) a month and a half later.  

 

Near the end of 2005, I was dating someone whose family challenged my understanding of religion and I subsequently came to the realization that Christians were obligated not to kill one's enemy.  That was a problem, since forward observers do a lot of killing.  After several months spent trying to figure out how to more genuinely live out my Christian faith, I came to the conclusion that I could no longer carry a weapon, but I did not feel morally obligated to seek discharge from the Army.  

 

In June 2006, as an E-5 with over five years of active service, I applied to be a noncombatant conscientious objector and return with my unit to Iraq without a weapon.  My application was essentially dismissed and I was involuntarily reassigned to Rear Detachment.  DA policy updates about a month later meant that I would not be Stop-Lossed, so I was honorably discharged a few months after my original six year ETS date.  My two years on IRR was uneventful.  

 

I joined IVAW after I was discharged, but I was hesitant about the immediate withdrawal.  I eventually came to see that there really was no other way, and I joined in May of 2007 or so.  I was in Philly at the time, and I worked for many months as an intern and later as a full on administrative assistant/organizer.  I came to appreciate the function IVAW served in the anti-war effort, and really felt that the org was run well in the time I worked in the office.  In early 2009, I had moved back to Hawaii to finish my BA and began taking a huge course load.  I took some time off from IVAW and in under two years, finished my undergrad and got admitted to three of four theological schools to which I applied.  At Duke University Divinity School, I will be studying political theology, ethics, and nonviolence while enrolled in their two year Master of Theological Studies degree program.  

 

To learn more about me, check out the Curriculum Vitae that I compiled for my applications: http://bit.ly/8GKxJh