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Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan
A Report-Back from Nico Amador, CCCO’s GI Rights Program Coordinator
On the eve of Winter Soldier I sat in the crowd of veterans, young and old, family members of fallen soldiers, and other allies like myself who had journeyed to Silver Springs, Maryland to witness this historic event. As the first panelists began to speak on the legacy of GI resistance a quiet settled over the crowd. Tonight we would not hear the graphic testimonies from veterans from the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, yet the anticipation and emotion in the room was tangible.
Tomorrow the testimonies would begin, an onslaught of stories both unimaginable and brave, they would stretch on for hours, days, and at times I would be watching a vet tell his or her story and realize I could no longer hear their words, too overwhelmed to absorb the violent reality they exposed.
I expected that coming to this event I could not help but to walk away with a feeling of solidarity with the soldiers who chose to share their experiences and a new arsenal of evidence with which to condemn the war. But what crystallized for me that first night was something less obvious.
One of the panelists, Barry Romo, a member of Vietnam Veterans Against the War and a participant at the original Winter Soldier investigation of 1972 explained, “ For working class people, putting on a uniform and getting a medal is a really the highlight of your life…When you tell the truth, when you end the culture that military service is what makes you a man or a woman as opposed to political action, to fight for justice – that is the real legacy we have to leave behind.”
The inspiration these words offered received an immediate applause from the crowd but even more profound for me was what Romo articulated about the internal struggle many vets go through when they decide to speak out against war.
For many of us who come into our activism through a direct experience with oppression that is shared by other members of our community or because of having our awareness raised during college or because of a faith community that supports engagement in social justice, it may be feel like less of a crisis of values to speak up for what we believe to be true and just.
In that moment what I began to internalize was a deeper sense of appreciation for the break some soldiers make with values that at one time may have been central to how they saw themselves and their participation in the military.
As a counselor on the GI Rights Hotline I know that not every person who enlists in the military goes in subscribing to the patriotic myths espoused by the military but to varying degrees many soldiers are proud of their choice to serve and feel a sense of loyalty, if not to their country, at least to their comrades. For someone in this position to begin vocalizing opposition to war creates not just political risks but personal ones as well – risk of losing the support of friends or family or a sense of belonging to something that was once important.
As someone who is queer and a person of color it’s easy for me to balk or feel threatened by aspects of military culture that show up in veteran-led anti-war activities. Gaining a better understanding of the transformation some of these veterans have been through and the ways many of them are striving to change the culture around them allowed me to meet them where they are at to both support and challenge what the GI resistance movement can look like from this point forward.
Winter Soldier: From Vietnam to Iraq
The term “Winter Soldier” was derived by a quote from Thomas Paine, a writer of the American Revolution who admonished the “summer soldier and sunshine patriot who will, in crisis, shrink from the service of their country.”
Veterans in opposition to the Vietnam War chose to use the term for the Winter Soldier Investigation in the 70’s to imply that by speaking out they were stepping up for the good of the nation. This large-scale public hearing, held in a hotel in Detroit, gave veterans the opportunity to go on record about the fact that human rights abuses committed in Vietnam were not the result of “a few bad apples” but a pattern of atrocities that were inevitable given U.S. policy during that war.
The aim of Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan was to hold a four-day event that would feature video, photographs and “testimony from U.S. veterans who served in those occupations, giving an accurate account of what is really happening, day in and day out, on the ground.”
The panelists covered topics such as violation or abandonment of the military’s “Rules of Engagement,” allowing for the opportunity of needless civilian deaths, racism that is perpetuated by the military to dehumanize Iraqi’s and discrimination and harassment related to gender and sexuality within the military.
Additionally, panels of scholars, journalists and other specialists gave context to the testimonies and issues such as military contractors and the lack of adequate health care for veterans who suffer from physical and mental injuries as a result of their service.
The full report will be published in our Fall 2008 issue of The Objector Magazine.
For video reports and more information please check out IVAW's website.
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