"I don't know how I'm going to live with myself if I don't stay true to what I believe."

Those were the words uttered by Medal-of-Honor recipient Desmond Doss in the 2016 hit film Hacksaw Ridge.

Why am I able to relate to this quote so well? What do Desmond Doss and myself have in common?

We're both Conscientious Objectors, and this is my story.

Joining the military can be a decision that is flooded with pride. Whenever I joined in 2015, I was quickly reminded that I was part of less than 1% of the American population that will join. It was a title that I was eager to accept. I was lead to believe that what I was doing was virtuous and was for a greater good. Any questions about the nature of war and the loss of life were quickly swept under the rug.

After finishing basic training, myself and my peers were shown a video of a drone strike in the Middle East that took the lives of at least several innocent civilians. It was an experience that I will never forget.

A burst of thoughts and emotions were flowing through me. Is it really okay for things like that to take place? Did those people really deserve to die? Can we really just dismiss it as "collateral damage"?

These were the thoughts that were running in the background when I was introduced to the Non-Aggression Principle. The foundation of Libertarianism.

Through speakers and writers such as Ron Paul, Stefan Molyneux, and Murray Rothbard, I was introduced to the principles of Libertarianism. Self-ownership, Non-Aggression, and property rights became part of my automatic thinking. The implications this had for my military service were staggering.

War is a state of armed conflict between states or countries, not individual people. As a result, it is inevitable that individual people within those states or countries will have violence initiated against them. This remains true even if they are completely innocent. The moral principles that I believe in are incompatible with supporting war.

Looking back, learning about the moral principles that underlie Libertarianism simply gave words to what I already knew in my heart: The institution and mission that I was supporting was wrong.

In February 2016, I submitted my application for Conscientious Objector status. Met with resistance and many hoops to jump through, I persevered and my application was just approved last week. I am being honorably discharged. It is quite possibly the happiest moment of my life.

A victory for myself and a victory for freedom.