Iraq Veterans Against the War encourages Active Duty, National Guard, and Reserve troops that have questions about the war to contact us and speak up about your experiences.
Know Your Rights
The chain of command doesn’t tell you about it but, you have rights. You can join and participate in IVAW. Click here to find out more.
Want to know more about joining? Click here.
GI Rights Hotline
A network of nonprofit, nongovernmental organizations who provide free and confidential information to service members about military discharges, grievance and complaint procedures, and other civil rights to include a toll free phone hotline (1-877-447-4487). Every member of the military should know about this resource.
Conscientious Objector information
Conscientious objectors are people who refuse to participate in the military and war. Some become conscientious objectors after they have experienced being in the military firsthand, either during peacetime or wartime. Others are civilians who do things like oppose war taxes and work to reduce the role of the military in society. Click here for more info.
Appeal for Redress
The Appeal for Redress provides a way in which individual service members can appeal to their Congressional Representative and US Senators to urge an end to the U.S. military occupation. The first Appeal signatures were delivered to members of Congress on January 16, to coincide with at the time of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in January 2007. Appeal for Redress will continue to collect signatures until all active duty, Guard, and active reserve soldiers are out of Iraq. Click here for more info and to sign the appeal.
War Resisters
Courage in the military does not always mean boldly facing the dangers of battle. The courage to stand up in the face of adversity to do the right thing and set the ethical example is a value every military member should have. Brave and courageous men and women have refused and challenged illegal and unlawful orders during numerous wars, even refusing unlawful orders to be part of illegal wars. Although widely ignored, hidden and dismissed by history, war resistors have been a huge part of military personnel challenging the unjust, unethical and illegal actions of the US government. Click here for more info.
What will happen if I go AWOL?
Being AWOL can be a serious offense, especially during a period of war. However, military personnel during the Vietnam war and the current war in Iraq have been going AWOL by the tens of thousands as a means of resisting and opposing illegal military actions/offenses and refusing to be forced by the state into violating ones conscience and legal duty to refuse and challenge unlawful orders. Click here for more info.
Health Issues Fact Sheets
The possibility of death or injury as a result of military service is often associated with combat hostilities. However, one of the leading causes of injuries amongst veterans is not a result of the hostile actions of enemy combatants. Government neglect and corruption has poisoned and abandoned military personnel, exploiting and using them for short term military corporate goals and medical trials. Thousands of military personnel since the Gulf War have been poisoned by depleted uranium used in US military armaments causing staggering amounts of cancer, illness and “Gulf War Syndrome” along with birth defects of their children conceived after the war. Personnel have also suffered the adverse affects of drugs and vaccines given to them as well developing PTSD and suffering from a lack of treatment. The US government’s response to these vital issues amongst veterans is to deny that they exist.
Support for Families
Military Families Speak Out (MFSO)
MFSO is an organization of people opposed to the war in Iraq who have relatives or loved ones in the military. Formed by two families in November of 2002, we have contacts with military families throughout the United States, and in other countries around the world. Our membership currently includes over 3,000 military families, with new families joining daily.
Gold Star Families For Peace (GSFP)
Families of soldiers who have died as a result of war are organizing to be a positive force in our world to bring our country’s sons and daughters home from Iraq, to minimize the “human cost” of this war, and to prevent other families from the pain we are feeling as the result of our losses.
