The following are statements from four of the people who participated in the Fort Hood troop deployment blockade in Killeen, Texas.
Matthis Chiroux:
I am a former Army sergeant and war resister. I was press-ganged into the Army by the Alabama Juvenile "Justice" System in 2002. While in the military, I occupied the nations of Japan and Germany for more than four years, with shorter tours in the Philippines and Afghanistan.
I was a Public Affairs noncommissioned officer specializing in strategic communications. In reality, I was a propaganda artist. I was discharged honorably to the Individual Ready Reserve in 2007.
While I have always been against the war in Iraq, I began resisting it actively in 2008, after I received mobilization orders for a year-long deployment to Iraq. I refused those orders in Congress in May of 2008, calling my orders illegal and unconstitutional. I believed appealing to Congress would end the war. When 13 Members signed a letter of support for my decision and sent it to Bush, I thought we had won a victory for peace. This was more than two years ago. The president has changed, and the wars and destruction drag on.
Today, I am blocking the deployment of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment with my fellow vets and military family members because the wars will continue to victimize our communities until we halt this bloody machine from within. I am putting my body on the line in solidarity with the people of the Middle East, whose bodies have been shot, burned, tortured, raped, and violated by our men and women in and out of uniform. I cannot willfully allow Americans in uniform to put their lives and the lives of Iraqis in jeopardy for a crime. We are here because we have a responsibility to ourselves as veterans and as humans of the world. I will not rest until my people, ALL PEOPLE, are free.
In Struggle and Solidarity,
Matthis Chiroux
Disobedient
Bobby Whittenberg-James:
I am a Marine veteran of the war against the people of Iraq, a Purple Heart recipient, and a third generation military service member. I joined the Marines in June of 2003, believing the lies about weapons of mass destruction and an imminent threat to our safety. I have since come to learn that these wars and occupations do not keep the people of the United States or the Middle East safe, but instead serve the interests of politicians, capitalists, and corporations: the ruling elite.
These unjust wars and occupations rob the people of Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen of their dignity and their right to self-determination and serve to make the people of both the Middle East and the United States less safe. They also serve to further destabilize a region that has suffered under the boot-heel of western colonialism for over a century. The U.S. Empire also supports both financially and militarily the brutal apartheid regime that occupies Palestine. All of this is done in our name with our money, and I am here to say "Not in my name!"
The recent information leaks about the U.S. Empire’s wars lay bare their war crimes and crimes against humanity. We must face the truth, even if it makes us uncomfortable or shows us something about ourselves that we don’t want to see. When we find the truth, we must respond accordingly. I will not be complicit in the killing of people. Since I do not believe that the government or the capitalists will end these wars, I will vote with my body.
Bobby Whittenberg-James
Disobedient
Crystal Colon:
I was a sergeant in the Army for five years, stationed at Fort Hood the entire time, save two deployments to Iraq totaling 26 months. I was a Signal Support Systems Noncommissioned Officer, coordinating communications for various commands. I was honorably discharged in Jan., 2010, and have been organizing in the veterans peace movement ever since.
I first began to question the war in Iraq during my first deployment in ’05-’06. After my friend Robbie was killed, I was very deeply affected. I started questioning why we were in Iraq. It felt like he had died for nothing. After returning from Iraq, I planned to leave the military. I was stop-lossed and forced to return to Iraq for 15 months, in total held beyond the length of my enlistment more than 450 days. Since leaving the military, I have been active with the veterans peace movement, speaking out about my experiences and supporting troops who refuse to fight.
I am doing this today because I can’t allow this war in which I have fought to continue. I can’t allow other soldiers to make the same mistake I did, deploying in support of a war crime. As a veteran of Iraq, how could I not do this today? For the people I helped occupy, for the friends I lost and stilI have over there, for the soldiers on those buses. How could I not do this today? I should have disobeyed. I should have never boarded those buses to Iraq. I wish someone had tried to stop me.
Crystal Colon
Disobedient
Cynthia Thomas:
I have been an Army wife for 18 years. My husband has been deployed three times since the wars began. During his second deployment, he was severely wounded and medevaced to Walter Reed Army Hospital on life support. Even though he had posttraumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury,and suffered three fractures in his back, three fractures on his pelvis, and countless other injuries, the Army deployed him a third time. This was devastating to our two daughters, our step-son and to me.
Three months after my husband deployed for the third time, our stepson called to inform me he was joining the Marines. That was the exact moment I realized that our children would be fighting these endless wars. I decided that I needed to start resisting.
The reason I am doing this today is because for the past three years that I have been speaking out and advocating for Soldiers, things have only gotten worse. I have heard countless stories from vets and activevduty soldiers that give people nightmares. I have heard stories from family members that would shock people awake if they would just listen! Our military community is being destroyed!
If these wars are destroying our soldiers and military families with 12 to 15-month, often repeat deployments, how do you think the Iraqi and Afghan people doing? They have been living these wars 24/7, 365 days a year for nearly a decade! My youngest daughter is an Operation Iraqi Freedom baby. She was less than one-year-old when her father left to invade Iraq. I look at her, and I see an Iraqi or Afghan child having to live in constant fear with no end in sight! I am doing this for our community, for my girls, for my husband and our Marine. I am doing this for the Iraqi and Afghan People. Enough is enough. If soldiers really want to go fight, they’ll have to go through me.
Cynthia Thomas
Disobedient
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Free Bradley Manning! The crime there is the slaughter of 12 people in Iraq – not the attempt to stop this kind of horror by whoever released that video.
It’s not a crime to take steps that might be outside minor laws to prevent or halt much greater crimes.
You people seem to have no clue. Fabricating lies and ignoring facts. Yes we are still deploying to Iraq, the key word you seem to have missed is that we brought an end to COMBAT ops. We are now focused strictly on rebuilding and policing, not actively seeking out combat.
PS: How the fuck does this site have a link torally support for Bradley Manning and right under that is a link saying that “Crimes are crimes no matter who commits them”? Fuckboy DID commit a crime, therefore, he should remain in the brig
The people who have been going after Matthis in these comments are a) studiously avoiding talking about any of the other participants in this righteous and important action at Ft. Hood, b) revealing by their agitation over this how pointed and significant this protest at Ft. Hood actually is because if the direct action were as insignificant as these critics say it was, then they wouldn’t be bothering to comment and bellyache about it, and c) they snipe at Matthis so much because of the important role that he plays and others who step forward as he has will as well. If this was only four people stopping the deployment for ten minutes and what they did IS so meaningless, I think the naysayers here doth protest too much.
Sorry Matthis; ya gotta spend more than six days in Afghanistan before you can call it a “tour,” even a short one.
In response to #2
Matthis would have only been a coward if he had actually betrayed his convictions knowing that the wars of empire that the US is waging around the globe are immortal, unjust and illegal and had gone along with his deployment.
It takes no courage whatsoever following orders. You just do what someone tells you to do.
Real courage is standing up for what you know to be right regards of the consequences, even if you are the only one who will at the time do so.
Matthis Chiroux comments are laughable. In order to be sentenced to army service in this country you have to pick it over jail time as ‘gang pressing’ is no longer allowed. So he choose the military during a war and back out of deployment? Thats not resisting thats just plain old cowardice.
This people are right on! We need much more of this kind of resistance to STOP THE FUCKING WARS now!