The Fort Lewis Chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War invites you to attend a . . .

Stop Stop-Loss Rally

Saturday, May 9th at Noon

Meet at Coffee Strong

15109 Union Ave SW in Lakewood

From Coffee Strong we will proceed to Freedom Bridge which leads to the gates of Fort Lewis where we will distribute information and educate soldiers about their rights. The event will conclude at COFFEE STRONG where soldiers and participants will be entertained by fire dancers and live music. COFFEE STRONG is located off of exit 122 on I-5, just across the interstate from Fort Lewis.

On May 9th the IVAW Ft. Lewis will begin its Stop Stop-Loss Campaign. Right now Fort Lewis, the largest military base on the West Coast, is preparing to deploy three infantry brigades to Iraq and Afghanistan over the next four months. This means that 10,000 soldiers will be leaving to serve in occupations foreign occupations.

IVAW will assemble with other groups in the community to rally against the systematic mistreatment of soldiers that is necessary to maintain the military's current op-tempo. These injustices include:

Stop-loss: When soldiers join the Army they sign a contract that indentures them for a selected number of years. Often soldiers who are ready to leave the Army are involuntarily extended so that they can deploy for an additional year or more. The practice of stop-loss is evidence that soldiers are not willing to fight in these wars. It is our responsibility to demonstrate to these soldiers that the community supports them, even if the army wishes to put them in harms way against their will.

Mental and Medical Health Care- Given the fast pace of training and deployment, commanders often discourage soldiers from seeking mental and medical health care. Many soldiers who have wounds and mental issues from previous deployments are denied access to the health care that they desperately need. Absent of mental and medical health care, many soldiers self-medicate to alleviate the mental and physical pain from which they suffer. This leads to drunken driving, arrests, and disciplinary action against soldiers.

Military Sexual Trauma- According to the Department of Defense, one in three women are sexually assaulted in the course of their military careers. The DOD acknowledges that sexual assault is underreported. The Army goes to great pains to keep instances of sexual assault quiet. On Fort Lewis, if a victim reports the incident to anyone outside of her chain of command, the victimizer will be notified. This practice ensures that victims rarely speak out, protecting commanders and sexual predators from scrutiny.

IVAW Fort Lewis will be joining with other groups from the community to hold a rally outside the gates of Fort Lewis to demonstrate our support of these soldiers who are being exploited by the military. The anti war-community needs to show service people and their families that they are not suffering alone.

Call Coffee Strong at 253-581-1565 with questions or for more information.