Skip to main content

ATTENTION: This site is no longer active but remains as an archive.

Iraq Veterans Against the War has become About Face: Veterans Against the War. About Face can be found at aboutfaceveterans.org

Iraq Veterans Against the War

Join IVAW

Donate to IVAW

  • About
    • Founding of IVAW
    • Mission, Values, and Vision
    • War in Afghanistan
    • Why We Are against the Wars
    • Resolutions
    • IVAW Timeline
    • Board of Directors
    • Advisory Committee
    • Staff
  • Events
  • Campaigns
    • Operation Recovery
    • Winter Soldier
      • Breakdown of the Military
      • Civilian Testimony
      • Corporate Pillaging
      • Cost of War at Home
      • Crisis in Veterans Healthcare
      • Future of GI Resistance
      • Gender and Sexuality
      • Legacy of GI Resistance
      • Racism and War
      • Response to DoD
      • Rules of Engagement
      • Press Coverage
      • Press Releases
    • Right to Heal
  • Members
  • Resources
    • AWOL
    • Active Duty
    • Conscientious Objector
    • Depleted Uranium
    • History of Resistance
    • IRR Reactivation
    • Lariam
    • PTSD
    • Profiles of Resisters
    • Resources for Veterans
    • Stop Loss
    • Women's Resources
    • Mesothelioma
  • Press
  • Contact
    • Press
    • Speaker Request

Telling Our Stories

published by Matt Howard on 02/14/13 1:17pm
Posted to: 
Staff

IVAW Members are speaking out about their experiences in the military. They are shedding light on the stigma around mental health care, the economic factors that motivated their enlistment and the questionable methods of waging war in our current era.

LA Chapter President Cameron White spoke about the economic drivers compelling our foreign policy, the usage of drones, and questionable practices at Guantanamo Bay with 'The Young Turks' recently. "We have suspended habeas corpus for those that aren't U.S. citizens...our country is by and large numb to that...we need to reevaluate that values system and how we treat people that aren't U.S. citizens whether they are combatants or not" said the former Marine. 

 
Curtis Sirmans, member of IVAW's Volunteer Organizing Team just recently separated from the Army and described the challenges of asking for medical care from the military to HuffPost Live. "Soldiers are encouraged by their lower level leadership and their peers not to get help because of stigma. If you go to get help you get chastised by your peers. It really discourages people from getting help", said the former Infantryman. Curtis is now a committed leader in IVAW and has been instrumental in our testimonial collection process at Fort Hood. Check out the clip here.
 
Bay Area Chapter leader Jason Matherne also had an opportunity to speak to Huff Post Live recently and described the economic circumstances motivating his enlistment in the Navy. Jason said "I came from a working class family...I paid off my [college] debt by serving. A lot of people I served with were in the military because they were trying to get money for college or paying back money for college." Jason explained that the current enlistment model is at its root an economic draft "You have recruiters going into neighborhoods on the low side of the socioeconomic scale promising everything under the sun..." The video is here.
 
We are getting the word out there that other veterans and service members are not alone in this fight! Stigmatization for seeking care for mental health, and recruiting practices that target working class communities and communities of color have no place in our society.  If you are a Post 9/11 veteran that wants to speak to these issues and more, let us know at media@ivaw.org.

Restrepo Director Dies in Libya

IVAW mourns the passing of Tim Hetherington, photojournalist and co-director of the Oscar nominated documentary film Restrepo. We had the honor of meeting Tim in New York City at a joint screening of another Oscar nominated...

There's No Quick Fix for Veterans

Huffington Post, There's No Quick Fixes for Veterans  April 13, 2011. By Maggie Martin "It has been nearly five years since I left the Army and still my time in the service is fresh in my mind. I think about my...

"Kill Team" in Afghanistan

March 27, 2011 / By Mark Boal Rolling Stone reports, "How U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan murdered innocent civilians and mutilated their corpses – and how their officers failed to stop them." http://www.rollingstone....
Aaron Hughes's picture

Iraqis Take to the Streets, Call for Real Democracy

Repost from Truthout Friday 25 March 2011 by: David Bacon, t r u t h o u t | News Analysis The war in Iraq is supposedly over. The US administration says the occupation, which began on March 20 eight years ago, is ending...

Malalai Joya National Tour

(Reposted from Afghan Women's Mission) Malalai Joya, the acclaimed Afghan activist and author of A Woman Among Warlords with Derrick O’Keefe, will tour the United States this Spring to call attention to the on-going...

Iraq/Wisconson Labor Solidarity: Two Statements

In the wake of the threat posed to what remain of labor rights in Wisconsin, and the public’s powerful response, two Iraqi labor leaders, Hassan Jum’a and Faleh Abood, penned solidarity statements in late February on...

Pages

  • « First
  • ‹ Prev
  • …
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • …
  • Next ›
  • Last »

Supporter Newsletter!

Donations

Make a single donation or become an IVAW sustainer by making your donation a recurring one. Please consider making your generous gift right now.
Donate Online Today!

Speaker Request

Please be advised that we get many speaker requests, but regret that we are sometimes unable to fill them.
Speaker Request

Joining IVAW

Iraq Veterans Against the War is open to Active Duty, National Guard and Reservists who have served since 09/11/2001.
Join IVAW

Navigation

  • About
  • Events
  • Campaigns
  • Committees
  • Chapters
  • Members
  • Resources
  • Contact