Dissent in Uniform

Griping has always been one of the American soldier's few inalienable rights. George Washington's Continentals complained about pay, equipment and the length of the war. Fighting men ever since have kicked about food, duty rosters and assignments. Now a growing number of G.I.s--though still a small minority--are voicing more substantive complaints and employing most unmilitary techniques to make sure that they are heard.

Eight soldiers at Fort Jackson, S.C., circulated petitions asking the base commander for permission to assemble to discuss the Viet Nam war. Forty-three Negro soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, refused riot duty at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Prisoners at the Presidio of San Francisco staged a sit-down strike to protest stockade conditions and the fatal shooting of a fellow prisoner by a guard. Military personnel have defied orders against taking part in off-post demonstrations while in uniform. Underground newspapers, including The Last Harass, The Shakedown, Open Sights and Fun, Travel and Adventure (FTA) protest the war and "racism" in the armed forces. The papers, whose editors claim circulations of anywhere from 500 to 23,000, also give instructions on how to bug the brass. Open Sights urges soldiers interested in "freaking out the military dictatorship that runs the country" to name antiwar or peace organizations as beneficiaries of military insurance policies. Most list the names and addresses of antiwar groups and individuals willing to aid uniformed dissenters.

Desertions Up. An attempt has even been made to unionize the military. The American Serviceman's Union was founded at Fort Sill, Okla., in 1967 by Pvt. Andrew Stapp, who has since been discharged from the Army. The A.S.U. (total membership about 5,000) advocates a program that includes election of officers, an end to saluting, and recognition of the right to bargain collectively and disobey "illegal" orders.

Desertion is also on the increase. Last year 53,357 U.S. servicemen in trouble with their superiors, their families or their consciences bid farewell to arms, the highest number since the Korean conflict. Although most of those initially carried on the books as deserters (absent without leave for over 30 days) eventually "returned to military control," more than 200 are now in Sweden, while others have found refuge in France, The Netherlands and Canada. Many indicate that they would return to the U.S. if amnesty were granted. They recognize that this is unlikely. Edwin Arnett, one deserter who returned, drew a four-year sentence.

Dropouts. Supporting the in-service dissenters are a variety of civilian antiwar groups, which provide the servicemen with free legal advice, moral support and assistance in publishing their protest papers. Coffee houses that feature recorded music, long-haired girls and endless talk about the Viet Nam war have sprung up near several military posts. Interestingly, the dissent movement is far more active in the U.S. than among units overseas.

The dissenters themselves are a heterogenous group. Although higher draft calls have brought more college men into the service, few of them seem willing to risk the stigma of a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge to protest the system. Most of those involved are college and high-school dropouts. Some are misfits with poor civilian and military records who use opposition to the war as a rationale for their conduct and attitude. Many others, of course, are sincere in their rebellious attitude. A.S.U. Chief Stapp says that as many as 5% of the country's 3.5 million men in uniform are willing to stand up and be counted on any antibrass issue. Actually, the number of active dissenters, who have so far encountered little hostility from non-dissenting G.I.s, appears to be far smaller.

The Pentagon has taken no public position on the phenomenon of dissent. "The brass just hoped we would go away," said an article in Open Sights. But local commanders, caught between the obvious need to maintain discipline and court decisions that define individual rights broadly, have responded to the dissent with a combination of repression, harassment and confusion.

Ignoring the recommendation of pre-trial investigators, the Army went ahead and tried the Presidio strikers for mutiny rather than the less serious charge of disobedience. The Marine Corps has sentenced two Black Muslims to six and ten years for "attempting to cause dissension in the ranks." The Navy has sentenced Nurse Susan Schnall, 25, of the Oakland, Calif. Naval Hospital, to six months for taking part in a peace demonstration while in uniform. Military police stop, question and sometimes threaten servicemen attempting to visit off-post coffee houses. Since many of the dissenters are otherwise model soldiers, the armed forces also use administrative discharge procedures to get rid of them. Last week the Army discharged Last Harass Editor Dennis Davis, 26, a member of the pro-Communist Progressive Labor Party, as "undesirable" 16 days before the end of his two-year hitch.

Leaders of the protest movement, however, remain undaunted. They plan further court tests of the armed forces' prohibitions against political activities. Their efforts should guarantee that The Last Harass will not be their last harassment of the military.

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