Military Service
Hinzman voluntarily joined the military early in 2001, completing basic combat training and airborne school in Fort Benning, Georgia.
Along with his wife, Nga Nguyen, he began attending meetings of the Religious Society of Friends in January 2002. His newfound pacifist beliefs and the birth of his son, Liam, in May 2002, were among the reasons he cited for applying for conscientious objector status in August 2002. Amnesty International notes that Hinzman "took reasonable steps to register his conscientious objection through seeking non-combatant status in 2002, an application which was rejected ." This means that he tried for eight months, unsuccessfully, to be officially and legally referred to as a "conscientious objector".
His unit was deployed to take part in the war in Afghanistan later in 2002. Hinzman fulfilled a non-combat role there while his conscientious objector application was being processed. It was ultimately denied, and he then returned to his regular unit, serving as its armorer. When his unit received orders to join in the Iraq War, Hinzman deserted, crossing the border into Canada with his wife and son.
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