Introductory training session for anyone seeking to help GIs know their legal options

Sunday, June 21, 4:30-6:30
Joy Mennonite Church, 504 NE 16th, OKC

A workshop entitled AWOL No More: (Relatively) Painless Processing Out of the Army will be offered on Sunday June 21 at 4:30 pm. The program will help volunteers learn about the regulations concerning AWOL soldiers and how to help them return to civilian life by turning themselves in and, when eligible, being processed through the Army’s PCF at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma. The Ft. Sill facility is one of only two in the U.S. where “absent without leave” service members who meet certain requirements can surrender and be discharged.

Leading the workshop will be James M. Branum, an attorney with a private practice specializing in military law who has worked with hundreds of soldiers to facilitate their surrender to and separation from the Army. Branum is the supervising attorney with the Oklahoma GI Rights Hotline, serves on the board of the National Lawyers Guild’s Military Law Task Force and is a co-founder of the Oklahoma Center for Conscience.

”No special experience or knowledge is required for the workshop,” Branum said, “and it can serve as an introductory level training for anyone interested in going on to become a volunteer counselor with the Oklahoma hotline.” He added that the session also would be useful for family and friends of AWOL servicemembers who are concerned about the repercussions of being absent without leave.

The Oklahoma GI Rights Hotline, which is not affiliated with the military, provides free, confidential, and accurate information on US military regulations and practices to servicemembers, veterans, potential recruits, and their families.

Because of Ft. Sill’s status as a PCF base, Oklahoma-based volunteers are in increasing demand in both counseling and non-counseling positions, to provide information, assistance, and in some cases to transport and/or accompany GI’s to the facility.
The event is free and refreshments will be provided. Donations for the Oklahoma GI Rights Hotline will be gratefully accepted.

For more information, call the Oklahoma Center for Conscience at 405-236-4938 ext. 2.

As of Sunday, Sept. 30, 2007, at least 3,803 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes seven military civilians. At least 3,099 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military’s numbers.

The AP count is five higher than the Defense Department’s tally, last updated Friday at 10 a.m. EDT.

The British military has reported 170 deaths; Italy, 33; Ukraine, 18; Poland, 21; Bulgaria, 13; Spain, 11; Denmark, seven; El Salvador, five; Slovakia, four; Latvia, three; Estonia, Netherlands, Thailand, Romania, two each; and Australia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, South Korea, one death each.

Since the start of U.S. military operations in Iraq, 28,009 U.S. service members have been wounded in hostile action, according to the Defense Department’s weekly tally.

The latest deaths reported by the military:

Including:

(Harrah, OK) Brown, Kevin R. Staff Sergeant 25-Sep-2007
and
(Wayne, OK) Scripsick, Bryan J. Corporal 06-Sep-2007

(from Iraq Casualties)

My heart goes out to their families and friends.

The Draft Card is on the Table- But No One Looks Like They are Going to Pick it up!

On Friday, Aug 10, Michelle Norris of NPR’s All Things Considered pressed “War Czar” Lt. General Douglas Lute about whether or not he foresaw a return to the draft. He responded, “I think it makes sense to certainly consider it, and I can tell you, this has always been an option on the table, but ultimately, this is a policy matter between meeting the demands for the nation’s security by one means or another.”

This has resulted in a flurry of discussion about the draft in some circles, reporters pressing the issue in press conferences (such as August 14, 2007′s National Press Club meeting with Gen. George L. Casey), and many calls to Selective Service and the Center, and has evoked responses from at least 2 presidential candidates. (Edwards and Clinton).

CCW has monitored draft issues for decades, and we have always warned that the government has retained the possibility of resuming a draft if it felt it was necessary because of military shortfalls. And with the current wars and shortfalls, we have urged our supporters to be prepared for the possibility even though we didn’t see any evidence of an imminent draft- and we continue to encourage people to be ready, just in case.

The fact that such a statement was made by such a highly placed official in an administration that has always said publicly that a draft was bad policy and unnecessary is cause for some concern. Was the administration floating a trial balloon, to see how the public would react to a draft as some have suggested?

We have carefully investigated this matter, and as of this writing we see no evidence that the administration is gearing up for a draft. In fact, Selective Service officials have told us that they have not been told to gear up for such a scenario. On Friday the Associated Press quoted National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe saying, “The president’s position is that the all-volunteer military meets the needs of the country and there is no discussion of a draft. Gen. Lute made that point as well.”

And he did. In the same interview he went on to say, “Today, the current means of the all-volunteer force is serving us exceptionally well. It would be a major policy shift – not actually a military, but a political policy shift to move to some other course.”

So the evidence suggests that this is not a trial balloon moving towards a draft. However, our advice to be ready just in case still stands.

Although there is no immediate evidence that the draft is returning, now is a good time to make sure that your representatives in Congress hear from you:

A draft is unacceptable!

With increase pressure on meeting recruitment goals, the discussions of a possible invasion of Iran, the possibility of the return of the draft remains.

You can locate your Congressional members online at:

http://www.house.gov/

and

http:/www.senate.gov/

Links to contact Oklahoma legislators here

If you are a young person who feels a strong moral conviction against war (ALL war), or the parent of one, you should register as a conscientious objector, and begin a file documenting your beliefs — regardless of whether there’s a draft or not. For more info and assistance with this process, see www.okobjector.org.

Army suicides at highest level in 26 years
USA Today – 8/16/07
Army soldiers committed suicide last year at the highest rate in 26 years, and more than a quarter did so while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a new military report.

Fatigue cripples US army in Iraq
The Guardian/Observer – 8/12/07
Exhaustion and combat stress are besieging US troops in Iraq as they battle with a new type of warfare. Some even rely on Red Bull to get through the day. As desertions and absences increase, the military is struggling to cope with the crisis

Homeless vets: A hidden crisis
Orlando Sentinel – 8/6/07
A growing number of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans are joining the ranks of Florida’s homeless after returning home. Experts say a system already buckling under one of the nation’s largest homeless populations might collapse under the weight of a new wave of veterans, many saddled with mental-health issues and crippling brain injuries.

The best way to help these GIs is to get them out of the situation they never should have been in to begin with. Short of changing the past, or completely overhauling the regime in DC instantaneously, doing whatever small things (in comparison) one can to keep deployed service people as sane as possible in their insane circumstances, is a worthwhile project.

Even some comfort items might help.

To this end, in Oklahoma City, the Democratic Party is organizing a collection of items to send to Iraq and Afghanistan for the soldiers. The effort is being spearheaded by Katherine Scheirman, a retired Army Air Force officer (sorry, can’t remember the rank see update below), who is also active with the Peace House and the OKC Peace Planners group.

[Update: Dr. Katherine Schierman, MD, Col. (ret) USAF]

The announcement is on the front page of okdemocrats.org right now, but there’s no link, so it’ll rotate off and eventually disappear (please, people, learn how to use dynamic content and archives!), so I’ve posted the story at OKIMC.