Garett Reppenhagen served with Jeff Engelhart in Iraq and co-authored the blog "Fight to Survive". Garett points out that through their entire GI resistance process, they stayed within the boundaries of UCMJ and were granted honorable discharges. Garett was the first active-duty member of IVAW. Seventy-five percent of the veterans of this war are still in the military; they are career soldiers. That is what makes anti-war organizing difficult in the military. Yes, they oppose the war, but they also want to remain in the military. The military?s family atmosphere, the safe environment of a military base for raising children, the school benefits, the health care, and the bonuses all make GIs reluctant to risk their position. But Garett says soldiers can use their First Amendment rights to speak out without getting in trouble, and IVAW stands ready to help them learn how. IVAW is asking soldiers and veterans to join a fight to make America better, says Garett.
Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) was founded by Iraq war veterans in July 2004 at the annual convention of Veterans for Peace (VFP) in Boston to give a voice to the large number of active duty service people and veterans who are against this war, but are under various pressures to remain silent. From its inception, IVAW has called for: * Immediate withdrawal of all occupying forces in Iraq; * Reparations for the human and structural damages Iraq has suffered, and stopping the corporate pillaging of Iraq so that their people can control their own lives and future; and * Full benefits, adequate healthcare (including mental health), and other supports for returning servicemen and women. Learn more at www.ivaw.org
