Links
Navy officer sues for objector status
Michael Izbicki grew up near Camp Pendleton Marine Base in California in a patriotic family with a tradition of military service.
In high school, he was a good student and attended an Evangelical church, where he was born again. He believed a good Christian could fight in a good war.
Turning down scholarships at other universities, he accepted an offer from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md. He graduated in 2008 with the rank of ensign, beginning what he hoped would be an honorable career of service.
Now he wants out.
Izbicki, 24 and based at the Naval Submarine School in Groton, filed a lawsuit in federal court in Hartford on Wednesday asking for an honorable discharge as a conscientious objector, a request the Navy has turned down twice in the past year.