Biography
Captain Dale Noyd was a decorated Air Force fighter pilot, psychology professor at the Air Force Academy, and combat veteran who in December 1966 sought discharge as a selective conscientious objector to the Vietnam War — a status the military refused to recognize. After being ordered to train F-100 pilots for Vietnam in 1967, he refused on conscience grounds. Court-martialed in early 1968 at Cannon Air Force Base, he was convicted of willful disobedience and missing movement, sentenced to one year at hard labor and dismissal from the service. Noyd v. Bond, 395 U.S. 683 (1969) refused habeas relief on jurisdictional grounds. He served his time and went on to teach psychology at the University of Washington, becoming a leading civilian voice on selective conscientious objection.
Custody research — September 2026
The Court records confinement beginning immediately after sentencing on March 9, 1968, and release on December 24, 1968. Confinement included restriction to quarters at Cannon Air Force Base. The opinion left two sentence days unresolved; those days are not added. The previous identical December 31, 1969 dates were unsupported.
The Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors’ November–December 1968 News Notes lists Dale Noyd among its current prisoners at Cannon Air Force Base. This contemporary roster corroborates actual confinement during the issue’s reporting period. It is a dated custody observation, not an admission, release, transfer date or measure of total time served.
