US Air Force Captain Justin Pavoni is an F-15E pilot who has reportedly requested a discharge from the Air Force on moral grounds.  He made his intentions public in an interview with Ron Paul — which is only viewable for a fee.  PickYourBattles.net has some discussion on the video (and a follow-up after talking with Capt Pavoni), which seems to indicate Capt Pavoni has more of a policy disagreement with the use of the military than an objection to war in general. (It is unclear if Pavoni himself as used the term “conscientious objector.”)  As quoted: 

I would say it was more gradual, sir, you know it’s sort of some things for me didn’t add up in 2009, and I was a little bit more disillusioned maybe more on the policy level than on the necessarily the moral perspective, but as I went on and researched and compared my experience with, you know, my world view, it became incompatible for me on a moral level.

Pavoni seems to have graduated from the US Air Force Academy in 2006, which probably means he has a service commitment to the Air Force that expires around 2018.  He has indicated he will refuse to deploy to combat, and the preview to the Ron Paul interview indicates he claims “war is morally indefensible.”

Apparently Pavoni’s wife, also a fighter pilot, has decided the same.

Moral opposition to one’s chosen profession tends to be rather rare in the officer corps, and even more so within the fighter pilot profession.  At some point this story will probably break the Ron Paul pay wall.  When it does, the details will come out and it will be an interesting discussion.

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