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Army to court martial
Ryan Jackson May 30 Robert Weiss sentenced to 7 months
in brig Wounded GI Bryan Currie goes
AWOL Oregon father speaks out for
resister
Sgt. Matthis Chiroux declares Iraq recall resistance
"This occupation is unconstitutional and illegal and I hereby lawfully refuse to participate... I refuse to participate in the occupation of Iraq." Courage to Resist. May 15, 2008 Sgt. Matthis Chiroux served in the Army until being honorably discharged from active duty last summer after over four years in Afghanistan, Japan, Europe and the Philippines. Today he publicly announced that he is refusing orders to be recalled from the Army's Inactive Ready Reserve (IRR) to deploy to Iraq. Matthis took this courageous stand in the Cannon House Office Building Rotunda after fellow members of Iraq Veterans Against the War testified before the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Video of Sgt. Matthis Chiroux's May 15, 2008 statement Statement of Sgt. Matthis Chiroux. May 15, 2008 Good afternoon. My name is Sgt. Matthis Chiroux, and I served in the Army as a Photojournalist until being honorably discharged last summer after over four years of service in Afghanistan, Japan, Europe and the Philippines. As an Army journalist whose job it was to collect and filter servicemember's stories, I heard many stomach-churning testimonies of the horrors and crimes taking place in Iraq. For fear of retaliation from the military, I failed to report these crimes, but never again will I allow fear to silence me. Never again will I fail to stand.
Army to court martial objector Ryan Jackson
Ryan's court martial has been rescheduled for Friday, May 30th—it was originally Tuesday, June 3rd. The "Free Ryan Now!" vigil outside of Ft. Gordon will be rescheduled for Thursday evening, May 29th. More info TBA. War objector Army PFC Ryan Jackson was temporarily moved from his brig cell last week and arraigned at Fort Gordon, Georgia. Ryan was formally charged with multiple counts of AWOL stemming from his attempt to be released from the Army prior to Iraq deployment. He is scheduled to face a special court martial—with a maximum one year prison sentence—on Friday, May 30. Since voluntarily returning to Fort Gordon on April 14 and formally applying for a conscientious objector discharge, Ryan has been held in pre-trial confinement at the Charleston Navel Brig. Action Alert! Write Ryan:
Objector Robert Weiss sentenced to 7 months in brig
VILSECK, Germany – U.S. Army conscientious objector Robert Weiss was sentenced to seven months confinement during a court martial Tuesday at Rose Barracks in Vilseck, Germany. Weiss pled guilty to charges of desertion and missing movement, which reduced the court martial's proceedings mostly to the sentencing phase. In early December of 2007, Weiss learned his application to be classified a conscientious objector and receive an honorable discharge was denied. Weiss was assigned non-combatant duties while deployed to Forward Operating Base Prosperity in Iraq at the time, and learned of the development immediately before traveling to the United States on leave. As his leave expired and his Dec. 22, 2007, return flight to Iraq drew near, his C.O. beliefs compelled him to miss the flight and avoid the combat patrol duties he would be assigned upon landing.
Wounded GI Bryan Currie goes AWOL 
Listen to the Courage to Resist audio interview here (17:30 min.) Courage to Resist. Bryan Currie joined the Army in November 2004 because he says, "I thought it would be a good thing to fight for my country." He was trained as an Infantry Grenadier and was deployed to Afghanistan in 2006 for 11 months. He describes what he experienced when he got injured: "We were on a convoy to pick up another soldier. I was the driver. On the way back my truck got hit by a land mine.... me, I got burned, I lost four teeth, broke my jaw, got shrapnel on my hands, I was jolted forward so my knees are all swollen and my back's always sore." He was treated in Afghanistan and was out of combat for three weeks and was sent back to driving trucks. When he returned to the US he saw several military psychiatrists who treated him for PTSD. " They'd give you a bag of pills and they'd say, ' Here, try these and if that one doesn't work try another and if you find one that does, stick to it." The military psychiatrist described Bryan's profile as undeployable, but after pressure from his unit's leadership, the doctor changed his status to deployable and Bryan was scheduled to redeploy to Afghanistan. Bryan waited until two days before deploying. He packed his bags and left. He is currently AWOL. He attempted turning himself in to a base in New York, but his fear of being sent overseas again caused him to leave. "I'm 100% against the military," he says,"I've done a complete U turn."
Oregon father speaks out for resister
By Erich Burmeister. May 12, 2008 Passion and empathy: Why is it that it takes a harsh reality to kick in your own front door, grab you by the scruff of your own all too relaxed neck, before you really cry again. Maybe its cancer, a hurricane, a drunk driver, somebody gone crazy with a gun on campus, in a shopping center, on the job, on the freeway, or maybe a kid with a gun in a war, a soldier, your kid, like mine PFC James Burmeister. Action Alert: Write James! |
Sgt. Chiroux declares Iraq recall resistance
