Brad's Story Part 1

I'm walking down Commercial Drive, amazed at the atmosphere that I've just been released into. I pass a Greek restaurant, along with an Ethiopian one, and a sushi bar, and am astonished at the fact that I have never seen so many cultures represented in one place. The beauty of this, the fact that so many different people can live in harmony in one place, intrigues me to the point of childlike fascination. As I walk along, scuttling along a crosswalk as not to impede the flow of traffic, I hear a shout. "Are they shouting at me?" I thought, not understanding what was said. Then I hear it again, this time much more clearly. "Draft dodging son-of-a-bitch!". I immediately turned around, smiled, and sent the guy a peace sign to be remembered. It was a defining moment.

I never really expected this all to happen.

In the summer of 2006, I was a new independent. I was finally free from the dependency of my parents, though they may sometimes argue otherwise. I had moved to Lexington, Kentucky where I worked menial jobs that barely paid the bills. I was poor, lonesome, and longing for a little piece of that thing called the "American Dream". And that piece came, but on a plate bigger than I had ever imagined. The United States Army.

I actually initiated my contact with the US Army. I was to the point of utter desperation, so one dark and dim day I walked into a recruiting office and asked the first uniform I saw to help me. What I was told sent me into a realm of hope that I had not experienced for a great while. 10,000 US dollars as a signing bonus and 37,000 US dollars in the way of a Montgomery GI Bill, for college. The good news was welcome, as I had always wanted to pursue a major in Literature with a minor in Political Science. It was the little sign of light that I had been searching for in my dark and grim existence. It was my chance to finally make something of myself. Now, when mentioning this, I must also include that at this time, the war in Iraq was very much alive and squirming. So yes, I knew about Iraq, and yes, I knew I would probably go, but hey, was I not getting great incentives to go and fight for the well-being of my nation? "I'm a patriot," I thought,"and it's my turn to serve my great and mighty nation." But little did I know that this "great and mighty nation" really hid a dark and murky interior that upon first glance, was virtually invisible.

"I'm a patriot," I thought...

So, I signed up, shipped out to Fort Benning, Georgia, and became one of the many proud men to become infantrymen in the famed Infantry Training Brigade. My time had come, and I was going to make as much out of it as possible. I was sent to Fort Carson, Colorado where I was to further my training in preparation for going to Iraq. In Colorado, I was finally a independent without too many worries. I received regular pay, along with my incentives and did quite well. But then I started having doubts. I went into a period of mental and spiritual rebellion. I questioned everything: The way I was raised in a very conservative "Christian" home; What I was taught in the public school system; What I learned and followed in church. It was mass rebellion, and I feel that it saved my life. I eventually came to the conclusion that I morally could not stand up for a government that's methods and means are so hazy.

How could I go to a nation that I've barely been taught anything about, and kill people that have never posed an immediate threat to my well-being? I couldn't, and that is when I asked to get out of the Army.

A joke. That is what my chain of command thought about my most unusual request for conscientious objector status. "Why in the hell did you join the Army if you can't kill somebody?" I was constantly asked. My dream of finally "making it" was hastily progressing in a downward spiral. Then came the news that our deployment had been advanced to June of 2007 and to top that we were going to the border of Iran. I knew right then that I had to take immediate action and leave as soon as possible.

Canada Bound.

I started researching Canada, and found that as in the Vietnam era, soldiers were once again seeking refuge in Canada. I had made my choice. Canada it was.

Brad is available to speak!

If you are interested in Brad speaking at an event, contact him at : BradMcCallWarResister@Yahoo.com