"they can only guarantee us a few years of safety"
That... sounds... like... a pretty good deal...?
"Do you think that the army would listen to a civilian?"
If you had specific knowledge regarding what was happening that no one else possessed, and could probably prove it by providing some of that knowledge? Yeah, I imagine someone would listen in those few years of safety...
(I mean, it's entirely possible he's right and it's smarter to not join them, but I think he could probably have been more convincing, lol)