On 16 February 2026, I marked a decade of service in the British Army Reserves. I also submitted an application for discharge on the grounds of conscientious objection to contin- ued military service. I was finally discharged on 1 May.

This decision marked the culmination of several threads; some of the issues have been long-standing, but I have always found ways to accommodate and work around them. However, this is no longer possible in light of the UK government and mil- itary’s profound complicity in the Gaza genocide, and continued support for the present regimes of both Israel and the USA. The UK is guilty of supporting both the former’s system of apartheid in Palestine, and the illegal terror campaigns of both across the region: from Gaza to Iran to Lebanon.

I have concluded, then, that the last and most important act of military service that I can offer is to use this little-known, somewhat-archaic and infrequently-invoked process now to ‘grease the wheels’, and then to advocate for others in the military (both current serving personnel and potential future conscripts) to be prepared to do the same.