Conscientious objector is a person who claims that his beliefs prevent him from bearing arms in his country's armed forces. A conscientious objector may be willing to serve in the military, but only as a noncombatant, such as a medical corpsman. Or he may claim that his principles do not allow him to take part in any effort associated with war. Of the major countries, the United States and the United Kingdom were the first to consistently accept conscientious objection in exempting people from military service or combat training.