Before You Enlist Video - http://beforeyouenlist.org
Researching Pop Culture and Militarism - https://nnomy.org/popcultureandmilitarism/
If you have been Harassed by a Military Recruiter - https://www.afsc.org/resource/military-recruiter-abuse-hotline
War: Turning now to Mr. Ralph Waldo Emerson - Christian Science Monitor
WHAT IS IN THIS KIT? - https://nnomy.org/backtoschoolkit/
Click through to find out
Religion and militarism - https://nnomy.org/religionandmilitarism/
‘A Poison in the System’: Military Sexual Assault - New York Times
Change your Mind?
Talk to a Counselor at the GI Rights Hotline
Ask that your child's information is denied to Military Recruiters
And monitor that this request is honored.
Military Recruiters and Programs Target marginalized communities for recruits...
..and the high schools in those same communities

 Militarization of our Schools

The Pentagon is taking over our poorer public schools. This is the reality for disadvantaged youth.

 

What we can do

Corporate/conservative alliances threaten Democracy . Progressives have an important role to play.

 Why does NNOMY matter?

Most are blind or indifferent to the problem.
A few strive to protect our democracy.

Peace Veterans and Counter-recruiting

Peace Veterans have a long and diverse history of Truth in Recruitment and Counter-recruitment

Madison Veterans For PeacePeace Veteran groups have been an important contributor to the history of Truth in Recruitment / counter-recruitment practice nationally with chapters and individuals raising public concerns about the culturally militarizing effect that Pentagon recruitment efforts have on our youth. Veterans for Peace and About Face veterans speak with authority to young people from personal experience and unapologetically raise their voices against the moral corruption of our war making complex.

Below are links to examples of Peace Veteran/Truth in Recruitment/Counter-recruitment activism around the country and an article archive of Peace Veteran community outreach related to demilitarization of our communities and schools:

 

VFP Counter-recruitment pages

 Peace Veterans

 

Counter-recruitment News Reports


Articles on the NNOMY website tagged "Veterans for Peace"

 

Articles on the NNOMY website tagged "VFP"

 

Counter-recruitment Workshops

 

VFP Chapters in the National Directory

 

Veterans For Peace Great Britain

 

VFP Collaborations:

 

 Revised 06/07/2023

 

Getting Out of the Delayed Entry Program (DEP)

 https://nnomy.org/depjustdontgo | español

DEP: Just Don't Go

The Delayed Entry Program is also called the Future Soldiers Program in the Army. Individuals going onto active duty, enlist first into the DEP.

 

Change Your mind and want to get out?

If you signed up for the DEP (or the Army’s “Future Soldiers Training Program”) and then changed your mind, watch out for recruiters who say you can’t get out of it, or that you must report to boot camp to be released. Neither is true. To quit the DEP, there are simple steps you should take before your date to report for basic training. Don’t expect your recruiter to help you, and you should NOT go to a military base if you are told to report there to get released.


For free help getting out of the DEP, first talk to a counselor by contacting the GI Rights Hotline, (877) 447-4487
and leave a message that you want to get out of the Delayed Entry Program with your name and contact phone number and
YOU WILL BE CALLED BACK.

If you need to talk about your situation quickly, call Call the Military Law Task Force @ 619-463-2369 and talk to a counselor ASAP.


 

FAQ: Here are the Facts on Getting Out of the Delayed Entry Program

 

  • How do you sign up for the DEP

    The Delayed Entry Program (sometimes called the Delayed Entry Program) is also called the Future Soldiers Program in the Army. Individuals going onto active duty, enlist first into the DEP. This is an actual enlistment into the inactive reserves, with an agreement to report for active duty (to ship out to boot camp) at a specific time in the future. Under current regulations, one can remain in the DEP for up to 365 days.The recruit still has to qualify medically, academically, legally and pass the security clearance before they’re accepted. Usually a recruit has many months before they have to leave for basic training.

 

  • If you get out of the DEP does this hurt your options for enlisting later

    A DEP discharge has one negative effect: If you are discharged from the DEP, and later want to enlist in that same service, you will require a waiver. While waivers are usually granted, you may lose certain benefits, such as the ability to chose what job you want, or what date you will ship out to basic training. This isn’t the case if you decide to enlist in a different branch.

 

  • At what point can you NOT get out. When is it too late

    Part of the enlistment process includes going to the MEPS for a physical and swearing in to the DEP and filling out part of the contract (DD form 4). People who have taken these steps can still get out of the DEP using methods described above.Eventually a persons time in the DEP ends and the transition to active duty for training (basic training) begins. On the date when a person is scheduled to report for basic training, they will normally be instructed to return to the MEPS and swear in a second time while they sign the last sheet of the military enlistment contract (blocks 20, 21, and 22 of the DD form 4/3 ) which states that the person wishes to be discharged from the Delayed Entry Program (DEP) and enlisted in the Regular Component.
    Up until that final point of the second swear in and signing of the last page of the contract, people have been able to get out of the DEP by simply refusing to go. Once a person has sworn in the second time as part of shipping out they may still be able to get out of the military, but it will involve much more time and energy. It is recommended you speak to a counselor at this point.

 

  • What’s the best way to get out of the DEP

    You can just not show up the 2nd time. However, others believe the request for discharge from the DEP should be in writing. The letter must clearly state that you are requesting to be discharged from the DEP, and state your reasons why. It is also recommended you send the letter certified and keep a copy so you have proof you sent it. Having the paper trail might be handy if the recruit later wants a career where the discharge might be disclosed (like one involving security clearance, or running for public office). The letter should be sent to the Commander at the recruiting station where the recruit signed up or, even better, the officer over the commander. Do not address the letter to the recruiter.



 

  • What kinds of reasons for requesting separation are acceptable?

    As long as the recruit states clearly that he/she is no longer interested, almost any reason is acceptable.The military’s list of discharge categories include: conscientious objection, pursuit of higher education or vocational training, civilian job opportunity, erroneous enlistment or recruiting error, failure to graduate high school, family issues (marriage, children, hardship or dependency), medical or psychological disqualifications, personal problems, failure to report for active duty or “other”.

 

  • What happens if you report to boot camp and then change your mind?

    At this point it is probably best to consult a counselor or attorney. You can consult with a counselor at the organizations listed below that are informed on the issues of separation from the military:

    Call The GI Rights Hotline @ 1-877-447-4487 or Call the Military Law Task Force @ 619-463-2369

 

  • What if you want to enlist in a different branch

    Sometimes people who have signed up for the DEP of one branch of the military decide they want to be in a different branch instead. Because a person is only allowed to be in one branch of the service at a time, a DEP member who wants to change branches must be discharged before he or she can sign another contract. Because many recruiters leave people in the DEP for the entire year allowed, this presents a problem when people are in a hurry to join another branch. One avenue to speed up the process of getting out is to submit a letter asking for release. (Some people use certified mail and save a copy of the letter for themselves.) Telling the recruiter that you are interested in joining a different branch of the military may cause the recruiter to delay your release as long as possible, knowing that you can’t join another branch until you are released.If after 2-3 weeks of asking for discharge in writing there is no satisfactory reply, a person can contact their local congressional office and ask that an inquiry be done into status of their separation request. (See house.gov or senate.gov for contact information.)

 

  • Are you put in the DEP if you join the Reserves or National Guard

    Often people who join the Reserves or National Guard are not put in the DEP. These people are eligible to attend paid drills usually in the Recruit Sustainment Program (RSP). Recruiters in these components sometimes try to use this difference to confuse people into thinking it is much harder for them to get out than it is for people in the DEP. Similar to the DEP, members of the reserve are also separated when they do not report to ship out for basic training. This is typically true for members of the National Guard as well, however because National Guard members are also subject to state jurisdiction, they can face penalties at the state level. While most states simply release people who don't report, there are a few states that have punished some people for not reporting to basic or for missing drill.

 

Resource Links:

#DelayedEntry #FutureSoldier #NotYourSoldier #DEPJustDontGo #NNOMYpeace

 

 Please consider becoming a $10 per month supporter of The National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth
And our work to demilitarize our schools and youth.
Donate Here

 

###

 

 Revised 03/02/2021

How Ann Wright, Former US Army Colonel and Diplomat, Became a Peace Activist

Dimitri Lascaris -

Story Transcript

DIMITRI LASCARIS: This is Dimitri Lascaris reporting for The Real News Network from the port in Naples, Italy.

I’m seated here with Ann Wright, in front of the one of the ships to Gaza on the 2018 Freedom Flotilla. Ann is a retired United States Army colonel. She’s a former United States diplomat who resigned in protest over the war in Iraq. And she is a peace activist for Veterans for Peace and Code Pink. Thank you so much for joining us today, Ann.

ANN WRIGHT: Thank you. Dimitri, and welcome back. We’re so thrilled that you’re, you’ve recovered, and are joining us again on the Gaza flotilla.

DIMITRI LASCARIS: Thank you so much. I can’t, I can’t express enough appreciation about the crew and the passengers of the Freedom who delivered me safely to Algiers. That was remarkable.

ANN WRIGHT: Well, we are thrilled that all went well in Algiers, and that you’re back with us on this remarkable voyage that we have.

DIMITRI LASCARIS: So I’d really like to talk to you about today, to begin with, your, your your reasons for resigning from the diplomatic corps of United States government back in 2003. Can you tell us about what prompted you to do that, and also what the consequences were for you, personally?

ANN WRIGHT: Well, I’d been in the U.S. government virtually all my adult life. I joined the Army right after graduating from college. Stayed in the army a long time. And then switched over to be a U.S. diplomat. It wasn’t that I agreed with all U.S. policies over the many years, eight presidential administrations I worked in. But it was the war in Iraq, the invasion and occupation of an oil-rich Arab Muslim country that had nothing to do with 9/11. This issue of the alleged weapons of mass destruction made no sense to me at all, even after my boss at the time, Colin Powell, gave his impassioned plea to the U.N. Security Council. I was like, I don’t believe that. And so right before the war started I ended up resigning. I was one of three federal employees that resigned before the war in Iraq.

And after I resigned it was like, well, what do I do? I really didn’t know anyone in the peace movement in the United States. I knew more people that were in other countries that had challenged their own government’s policies on, you know, whatever it was. As a diplomat that’s one of the things you cover, is all aspects of civil society in the countries where you are assigned to an embassy there. But in my own country of the United States I, in all my adult life, I’d never been a part of a peace movement, or anything like that. So it took a while to kind of get my sea legs, so to speak, in terms of comfort level and what I felt I could say, should say. And fortunately, Veterans for Peace was the first group that I really, that asked me to come speak as a veteran. And a veteran-. And they say we’re a veteran for peace. And I said, well, I guess I’m a Veteran for Peace, too, because I resigned over the issue of war and peace.

And so for the last 15 years now I’ve been working with every group that stands for peace around the world. And the Gaza Freedom Flotilla is one of the great groups that’s challenging policies, challenging Israeli policies and U.S. policies. So I started working with the Gaza Freedom Flotilla through the Free Gaza Movement in 2010. And now I’ve been a part of five missions to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza.

DIMITRI LASCARIS: So before we talk about those prior missions, I’d like to talk to you a little more broadly about other members, current or former members of the United States military who’ve sort of become critical in the way you have about the relationship between the United States and Israel. You mentioned Colin Powell. A frequent guest on The Real News is Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, his former chief of staff, who’s become intensely critical of U.S. foreign policy with respect to the Middle East and its relationship with Israel. On this mission another former member of the United States military, Joe Meadors, who was on the USS Liberty when it was attacked quite savagely by the Israeli military, I think in 1967.

You know, based upon your experiences since your resignation from the U.S. diplomatic corps, how widespread do you think it is within the United States military some level of dissent about United States policy with respect to Israel-Palestine? Do you think that there is a growing level of dissent? Do you think that there is really just a sort of unbreakable wall of ignorance about the issues. What’s your sense of, sort of, the unspoken feelings of United States military personnel towards this relationship?

ANN WRIGHT: Well, first, we are so thrilled that Col. Larry Wilkerson is such a passionate, outspoken person about not only Israel-Palestine, but on so many aspects of U.S. foreign policy. He was in the inside for so long as, first as chief of staff when Colin Powell was chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and then later on when he was a national security adviser, and then finally when he was secretary of state. Larry Wilkerson was with him all along that way. So Larry knows a lot of what behind the scenes has gone on on foreign policies through the Bush administration, and has certainly kept in touch during the Obama administration, and now through the Trump administration.

As far as the level of dissent within the U.S. military and levels of ignorance, and things like that, actually, I don’t think anybody’s ignorant at all. They know exactly what’s happening. They know the, the criminal acts that Israel is conducting. Their position, though, is that they are a military force that works for whomever the United States public elects. And we elect some doozies. And the policies that we have on many subjects vary up and down and up and down. But consistently, though, on one thing. On the U.S. support for the state of Israel, no matter what it does. That is a very, very consistent thing. And as the U.S. military salutes whatever these, the people that the U.S. electorate puts into office. And it’s not their job, the military’s job to be challenging, unless specific orders will be jeopardizing this, that, or the other thing.

Behind the scenes I think there’s probably a pretty robust discussion. But they’re kind of, their hands are tied because it’s not their job to make these policies. They implement them.

DIMITRI LASCARIS: So let’s talk about one of the prior missions in which you participated, the 2010 mission in which the infamous attack on the Mavi Marmara, the Turkish vessel, occurred. I’d like you to talk about what you saw and experienced in the course of that attack and how you personally were treated following the interception of the flotilla in international waters by the Israeli navy.

ANN WRIGHT: Well, it was in May in 2010 when we had six ships that were organized through what’s called the Free Gaza Movement. Six ships, very large one that came from Turkey that held over 600 passengers, and three cargo ships and two more passenger boats, plus one more cargo vessel that arrived after. A couple of days after. So really in total we had seven, seven ships on that mission. This was the-. Prior to that we had actually had five boats that had gone into Gaza. The Israeli navy for some reason allowed in 2008 five, five boats to go in, taking international people in and bringing back Palestinians who need, who were sick, needed medical treatment, or students.

But it was in late 2008 as Operation Cast Lead started that they then stopped all subsequent boats going into Gaza. After that horrific, horrific 27-day attack by Israel on Gaza in late 2008 and then 2009. That’s when the Free Gaza Movement said, we have to challenge that blockade again. So it was in May in 2010 that we mobilized all of the ships. We never anticipated that the Israeli military would violently and lethally attack any of those boats. They had plenty of options that were available to them. They could have put a blockade around all of our boats, not let us move. In fact we’d kind of prepared for that. There was plenty of food and water on all of those boats to stay out there for days and days and days. We had made arrangements that if we needed be resupplied, we could. No one ever thought that the Israelis would attack with helicopters, with snipers shooting from the helicopters, murdering, assassinating people on the top of the Mavi Marmara, and then having commandos board the boat.

And I was actually on a small boat called the Challenger 1, a passenger boat that was right next to the Mavi Marmara. And from, from our boat we have pictures of the commandos, the helicopters, from above, and the commando boats from the side shooting into the boat. The, there were nine people that were killed that night, and one person subsequently died. So ten people ultimately died from the Israeli attack. Over 50 people were, were injured by shoot- by the shots of the Israeli commandos. Each one of the seven ships were boarded by the commandos. On ours, the small Challenger 1, they started out by bringing their, their big Zodiac boats that carry about 20 naval commandos on them, bringing them up to the sides of our boat and then shooting percussion grenades into the windows of our boat, blowing glass inside on all of us that were in there. People that were standing on the edge of the boat had paint bullets shot at them. In fact, one of the women from Belgium had a paint bullet that hit her right between the eyes. I mean, it’s a wonder she wasn’t killed with that. It wasn’t a solid lead bullet, but these, these paint bullets, they, if they hit you in a certain spot, they can kill you, too.

We had people that were shoved on the ground into the glass, their face rubbed into the glass. We had people that were tasered on our boat. On all the boats, people were assaulted, beaten up, handcuffed. The commandos took control of the boats, and slowly started moving them toward the port of Ashdod, taking-.

DIMITRI LASCARIS: You mentioned earlier, and we talked before the interview, about how people were- the conditions in which people were kept on the deck of the vessel of the Mavi Marmara, and also about one woman who lost her husband on that, on that particular mission. Could you tell us a little bit about that?

ANN WRIGHT: Yes. On the Mavi Marmara it was horrific conditions. I mean, there were so many people. They, they put people outside on the decks. I mean, first they had searched them, they had humiliated them. For the men, there were a lot of men from Arab countries that were there, and the Israeli military purposely humiliated them in every way possible, putting them out in the blazing blazing sun. Because they were underway then to go back- being taken against their will, kidnapped, taken to a country we didn’t want to go to, Israel. And so all of these people were kept out on the decks in the intense sun, not given water, not given the ability to go to the to the restroom.

One of the ladies from Turkey with whom I had become good friends, because I was on the Mavi Marmara for a couple of days before we actually turned to go toward Gaza, and moved from the Mavi Marmara onto the Challenger kind of at the last moment as we were making these decisions on who is going to be in what boat. But anyway, the good friend from Turkey, her husband was one of the ones that had been assassinated. And she, he ended up dying in her arms. And when she came off the boat 18 hours later, once we’d gotten to Israel, and they took everyone off all of those boats and then transported us to prison. And then that’s when we, who had arrived as the first boat to get into Israel, to the Israeli harbor and taken to the prison, we had heard that there had been, there had been- something had happened. Some people were injured. We didn’t have a clue that the Israelis had killed people. Killed people. Killed nine people right there, assassinated them. And then that- 50 had been wounded.

We were shocked when the women came in, you know, distraught, and just, I mean, in shock of what they had been through. On our boat our photographer who took the picture of the attack on the Mavi Marmara, she was tasered by the, by the Israelis. She she was one tough cookie, I’ll tell you. She was uploading onto her satellite phone fast, fast, fast. And by some miracle, the Israelis did not block that satellite phone and we were able to get the pictures, the very first pictures of what had happened.

DIMITRI LASCARIS: So I’d like to conclude by talking to you about the future a little bit. I mean, what is your assessment of the state of the, the Palestinian solidarity movement? When you look on the ground, the conditions for the Palestinian people seem to be deteriorating on a daily basis, relentlessly. Do you see signs, however, in the discussion that’s going on around the world, particularly in the Western world, that the Palestinian solidarity movement is winning? And what’s your, what’s your, sort of, prediction for the future?

ANN WRIGHT: Well, I mean, the Palestinians are leading the way. When you see what the people in Gaza have done over the last two months, where they are taking to the fences every Friday on the Great Return March, I mean, that is astounding. That you have tens of thousands of of people in Gaza who are going to the fence to sit, the majority of them sitting, looking over into, into Israel, to let the Israelis know, look at all of us. Look at all of us. You know, we are human beings. You are caging us in. And of course there are some, some of the younger ones that have gone up to the fence, they’re the ones that have been shot. Over 130 people have been assassinated, executed. I mean, the Israeli military says yes, we know every single person that we have killed. We are doing it. We intend to. And then the maiming of thousands of people, purposely shooting them in the legs so that they will always be disabled for the rest of their lives.

That shows real courage for tens of thousands of people from Gaza to say to the world, you have to get the Israelis to top this open-air prison that we have. You have to force them to show some respect for us, to show- we are human beings. Se are human beings. And that’s, that’s why we have these flotillas, that we as internationals say we, we don’t forget you. We remember you. We are sailing, and we will sail till Gaza and Palestine is free. We will continue to challenge the Israeli blockade, the criminal blockade. And, as an American citizen, we will continue to challenge the U.S. policies that support Israel and its ability to conduct these criminal acts.

DIMITRI LASCARIS: Well, I’d like to thank you very much for speaking to The Real News today, Ann Wright. It’s been a pleasure.

ANN WRIGHT: We thank you, and welcome back.

DIMITRI LASCARIS: Thank you so much. And this is Dimitri Lascaris, reporting from Naples Italy for The Real News Network.

 

Source: https://therealnews.com/stories/how-ann-wright-former-us-army-colonel-and-diplomat-became-a-peace-activist


 

Please consider supporting The National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth
and our work to demilitarize our schools and youth by sending a check to our fiscal sponsor "in our name" at the
Alliance for Global Justice.
Donate Here

 

###

 

 Revised: 02/05/2024 GDG

San Diego Military Community's Reaction to President's Controversial Russia Comments

President Trump answered this question: "Is Russia still targeting the U.S., Mr. President?" with "Thank you very much, no."

President Trump is facing a backlash from comments he made during a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin Monday in which he appeared to take Putin’s word over the U.S. intelligence community. And on http://mariafresa.net/data_gallery/salute-20clipart-clipart-panda-free-clipart-images-3v9i9m-clipart.jpgWednesday, the president appeared to suggest he believes Russia no longer plans to target U.S. elections.

San Diego’s military community had a mix of reactions.

“my response and their response is it's a totally ludicrous statement,” Dr. Edward Fox of Veterans for Peace said about Trump’s latest comment. Fox fought in Vietnam.

“To think that Russia is not instigating or does not have any kind of aspirations or spy networks associated with the United States ... it's just not possible. We have the same thing with them and they have the same thing with us,” he said.

White House Press Secretary Sara Huckabee Sanders attempted to clear things up at a press conference later in the day Wednesday, saying the president was saying "no" to answering any more questions – not “no” on whether Russia is planning to target U.S. election.

Navy veteran Dan Bauer has family in the service and says the president’s words worry him. “Well, I have a nephew that's a senior master sergeant in the air force and Mr. Trump,” he began, “I think he treats the military, maybe I’m wrong, but I think he treats the military like second class.”

A woman who wished to remain anonymous said, “I think that he has a lot of great intentions to help our current force and what they need when it comes to funding, which obviously helps my husbands' job.” She is a Marine vet and her husband is still in the Corps.

She says she doesn't always agree with everything the president says, but she thinks he's on the right track brokering talks with Russia.

“I hope that he can be the voice for every American, and if that means he needs to improve the way he talks publically, regarding certain situations, I do think that's something that needs to be addressed,” she continued. She said she has no choice but to support the president, because rooting against him would be rooting against the U.S.

Source: https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/San-Diego-Military-Communitys-Reaction-to-Presidents-Controversial-Russia-Comments--488567901.html

 

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Veterans for Peace wants to wake people up to the insanity of war

Anthony Douglas  -

We love comfort. Do we love peace?

That’s the question Ed Flaherty poses. You’ll have seen Flaherty at the downtown Friday Peace Rally, which has been happening nearly weekly for 14 years, recognizable by his shock of white hair, engaging, gregarious manner, and fierce sense of conviction.

With other members of Veterans for Peace, Flaherty is working to wake people up to the insanity of war.

He points to the ever-expanding military budget as one sign of what’s wrong. In 2018 the military budget was $700 billion. “This is running up the national debt, even while we’re cutting things like education and funding for Amtrak. Apart from the amorality of it, that amount of money should be offensive.”

The U.S. spent $2 trillion in Iraq and Afghanistan, with little good effect, he points out.

Every administration has pushed this agenda, justifying their wars through lies (think Iraq). “Obama expanded wars in Afghanistan and worldwide, putting drone warfare on steroids.”

And the warlike behavior continues. In Yemen, where perhaps the worst humanitarian catastrophe in the world is unfolding, the U.S. provides refueling, intelligence and weapons to the Saudis. In Israel and Palestine, “we’re aiding the total inhumanity,” Flaherty says. And Congress pushes for the new ultra-expensive F-35 plane, which even the Pentagon says we don’t need.

Just as dismaying is the fact that violence deeply affects the people who perpetrate it. As a country, we’re doing violence to ourselves.  

Flaherty was born in Minnesota, and in 1966, at the age of 20, he volunteered for the draft, was sent to Germany and spent over a year there. “I never believed the Vietnam War made sense. In May ’68, it made even less sense.”

 

1968 was a pivotal year. He married his wife, Mary, and attended the Veterans’ March in Washington, D.C. He and Mary became active in politics and peace.

In his work life, he taught elementary school and later worked as a banker, mostly with farmers, until his retirement in 2009.

When the first Gulf War happened, in ’91, he says he realized nothing had changed. “Vietnam was not an anomaly — it revealed a deep defect in our civilization.”

Veterans for Peace formed in 1985, responding to the craziness of U.S. policies in Central America. A chapter formed in Iowa in 2010; there are now three chapters here. VFP works to increase awareness of the costs of war; to restrain the government from interfering in other nations; to end the arms race and reduce nuclear weapons; seek justice for veterans and victims of war and abolish war as an instrument of national policy.

“Whether you were in combat or not, being a veteran brings a familiarity with the military culture. There’s a credibility a vet has when speaking against military actions. We feel a greater responsibility. We bought into the idea of the U.S. as greatest military power in the world, that it was right to use force.”

Flaherty admits frustration at the lack of impact the peace movement is currently having. What, he wonders, could be easier to organize around than Trump’s craziness?

“We do get noticed, and we do make an impact. And there are wonderful people in VFP. But we need a different mindset and approach.”

He believes people are less outraged now because there’s no draft and wars don’t impact us at home. Plus, the media is silent about our wars.

What keeps Flaherty going? “To quote John Prine, ‘Jesus Don’t Like Killin’.’ It’s about respect for life and humanity. I’m not against flag-waving, but only if you envision the possibility of peace, and want the country to change in a positive direction.”

Flaherty and VFP will be striking up conversations with RAGBRAI riders when they pass through town in a few weeks.

Writers Group member Andy Douglas is author of "The Curve of the World: Into the Spiritual Heart of Yoga."

 

Source: https://www.press-citizen.com/story/opinion/contributors/writers-group/2018/07/17/veterans-peace-iowa-city-wants-wake-people-up-insanity-war/793365002/

 

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Richard Czaplinski: What kind of peace?

Editor’s note: This commentary is by Richard Czaplinski, of Warren, a U.S. Navy veteran who is the recently elected president of Will Miller Green Mountain Veterans For Peace, Chapter 57.

“I’m for peace, but not your kind of peace.”

So said a man as he came up close to me while I led the Vermont Veterans For Peace “Budget Banner” down State Street during the July 3 Montpelier parade. My mind went somewhat blank, not even thinking of responding. As we continued down the street, my mind began working again, thinking, questioning; “Hmm! Different kinds of peace? What kind of peace is he for? What kind of peace does he think VFP is for? What kind of peace is VFP for?”

Is peace simply the absence of war? Is it a kind of peace when a truce is called yet an “official” end of the war has not been negotiated, like the Korean Conflict.

Is it a kind of peace where the world bristles with nuclear weapons ready to be launched at a moment’s notice? Where nations are afraid to start this “all out” war because of the dire consequences, ending of the world as we know it, in few hours?

Is it a kind of peace that somehow prevails after many are killed, wounded and displaced? Where communities are destroyed, the environment damaged, millions of refugees are created and everyone is exhausted and fearful?

It seems that ever since humans beings have been on the planet, they have battled each other over hunting and grazing grounds, over territories and boundaries. And now, with so many of us (over 7 billion and steadily growing) maybe peace is not possible, at least under the past and present human behaviors and cultural rules that run our societies.

As a veteran (1964-1969) during the Vietnam War era assisting in waging that ill-begotten war, and now, on the front line of fostering peace with Veterans For Peace, I am convinced that fostering peace is much, much harder than waging war. This being the case, more resources are required for fostering peace than for defense and waging war. This is why the Will Miller Green Mountain Veterans For Peace (Chapter 57) is marching in parades this year with a message about how unbalanced the 2019 U.S. budget is in this regard. Here are the numbers (taken from https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/budget-fy2019.pdf) that are displayed in vivid color in a 50-foot long banner:

Defense (and War): $686 billion, up 13% from 2017 (43.5 feet of 50)

Veterans Affairs (the Human Costs of Defense and War): $76 billion, up 12% from 2017 (4.8 feet of 50)

Department of State (Diplomacy/Peace): $26 billion, down 26% from 2017 (1.7 feet of 50)

Restoration of Communities And Environment: $00 billion (0 feet of 50)

With our steadily increasing human numbers and the huge problems arising due to those numbers, I’m convinced that we don’t have a chance of avoiding war much less finding a way to lasting peace and abolishing war unless these portions of the 2019 U.S. budget are radically revised to support diplomacy and to foster peace.

This is why we march this year with this message. We need to hear each other, try to understand each other and work with each other to foster peace and avoid war. We need to learn how to foster peace.

Please join us and support us in delivering this message and in fostering peace.

Source: https://vtdigger.org/2018/07/11/richard-czaplinski-kind-peace/

 

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The Veterans for Peace convened a Truth in Recruitment working group in 2020 to address measures that their network could take to better inform youth about what is the TOTAL picture of joining into the military. This section will include projects that NNOMY can assist VFP with to provide resources to make positive interventions into recruitment strategies of the military such as the Future Soldier/ Delayed Enlistment Program, DoD STEM Programs in the Schools, Video Game league outreach to youth, and visits to schools by veterans both virtual and in person.

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