Through the Years ....

Sunday, January 7, 2007

project A Shrunken Sweater makes a child's dress; Wardrobe Refashion

from Wardrobe Refashion June 2006; A Shrunken Sweater makes a child's dress

My next project was to try to salvage a cute little wool sweater that my husband shrunk when my first daughter was a baby.

I cut off the short, stiff sleeves and some of the length. I then fashioned a "handkerchief" skirt from a layer of eyelet and a layer of lace I had in my stash. At the waist I added buttonholes for a velvet ribbon that ties in the back. And I can't forget the embellishment: some felt flowers at the neck. Now the shrunken sweater has been reborn into a fall/winter dress for my second daughter!

TFTCarrie blog

Everything old is new again.... a phrase from a song

Introductions and getting started: I'm a child of the Pleasantville 1950s, a teen during the turbulent 1960s, a wife and mother during the 'earth mother' 1970s, a career mom in the 1980s, a grandmother in the 1990s, and now an empty nester in 2007.

Spent the past 4 years immersed in activism efforts trying to end war in Iraq and bring the troops home. So immersed, that I let go of a lot of pleasures I used to enjoy before the Iraq war and it's time to yank my life back into balance.

So what did I used to do that I don't do now, what did I used to like that I don't get to do as much of now and what were all those projects I was going to do when I had more time.... ??

I like collectibles, and have collected items from different eras.
I like vintage things that aren't exactly 'antiques' or collectibles.
I like trash to treasures kind of things and projects.
I like historical perspective of how families managed in different eras.
I am looking at sustainable living, simplistic living, meaningful living, frugal living, 'green' living.
I like learning about diy projects.
I like learning about and doing my kitchen vegetable gardening, putting up the produce.
I like crocheting, simple sewing projects.
I like 'decorating' my home. We bought a house built in 1892, in a fishing village - Bay Tower House, we call it - visit our blog at HouseBlogs.
I like my dog = Jake, an australian shepherd.
I liked the cat, inherited from my daughter, when I didn't think I liked cats.
I like the idea of new recipes, although I don't love cooking - been doing it for decades, so like to spice things up.
I like thrift stores, sales, collectible shops, antique shops, off the beaten path kind of shops. I don't like 'box stores'
I like oil painting.
I like reading for leisure and learning.

I'm a homebody by nature and prefer to find treasures and pleasures exploring things I can do in my home.
I'm also an explorer, wanting to explore new places, new ideas, new trails, knowing I have a home to come back to.

So what's the purpose of this blog? It's a place for me to collect ideas from others who are more creative than I in thinking how to repurpose, refashion, re-use, re-new, re-utilize old into new.

As I wander in my internet travels, I am so often finding happy discoveries amongst the many who share on the internet and today I was so excited when I found Wardrobe Refashion blog, I just knew when I finished looking it over I was going to make a new blog for myself. I recently was involved in trying to purge my closets and storage of decades old clothing I've saved and managed to complete the project. So several bags to go out to thrift store and several other bags remain to be used in sewing/crafting/quilting projects. Then today when I found Wardrobe Refashion blog, well those bags set to go out to the thrift stores will get another looking over for what might be useable in 'refashioning' projects. I'm excited and animated about some great new ideas for using the 'stash' I've saved over the past decades.

My family and friends find it humorous that I save stuff like I do, and my kids (adults now) like to laugh at some of the things I have saved - like some of their clothing from when they were kids. Some have said I need an 'intervention' to get rid of clothing, shoes, and purses that date back to 1980s. Of course I do - need an intervention, and I'm delighted with the new ideas being shared by so many people who are interested in retro fashioning old into new..... I have a whole new world stretching out before me.

posted by Lietta Ruger

Army Subpoenas Reporters and Activists To Testify Against Lt. Watada

First it was reporters being subpoenaed (Dahr Jamail, Sara Olson, and Gregg Kakesako) and now it expands to local activists in Washington state. The Army has issued subpoenas to local WA state activists to testify in the upcoming court martial of Lt. Watada. Veterans for Peace, Washington based organizer Gerry Haynes; Veterans for Peace organizer organizer Tom Burkhart; Olympia Movement for Justice and Peace member Phan Nguyen - received subpoena's to testify.

Military subpoenas reporters and activists to help prosecute Lt. Watada.
Pre-trial hearing underway today, however judge delays testimony of those subpoenaed until full court martial February 5. Journalists say free press threatened. Activists say Army demands they "name names" in effort to chill anti-war organizing.
At a Tacoma, Washington press conference yesterday, January 3, Olympia-based anti-war activist Phan Nguyen described his objections to having been subpoenaed last week by the Army to testify against Lt. Watada. Nguyen, a member of the Olympia Movement for Justice and Peace, was the moderator of a number of press conferences in June 2006 regarding Lt. Watada and his objections to serving in an illegal and immoral war in Iraq.
When contacted directly by Army prosecutor Captain Daniel Kuecker last week, Nguyen refused to answer any questions without first speaking with a lawyer. However, Nguyen described the Kuecker's line of questions as focusing on the behind the scenes workings of the anti-war movement in the Pacific Northwest. "Kuecker basically demanded that I name the names of any key organizers that had anything to do with the public support campaign created to support Lt. Watada," explained Nguyen. "They are clearly on a political fishing expedition. Unless we fight back, this could have a chilling effect on anti-war organizing at a time when we have to step up to end the war."
Seattle chapter Veterans for Peace (VFP) organizer Gerri Haynes has also been subpoenaed by the Army. Apparently, Haynes landed on the Army's radar because she played a public role in organizing the Veterans for Peace National Convention in Seattle last August. Like Jamail, the Army is looking for information regarding Lt. Watada's speech to the convention. Like Nguyen, Haynes confirmed that Kuecker "wanted the names of convention attendees and organizers." Another VFP organizer Tom Burkhart has been placed on the Army's witness list.

above was quoted from Courage to Resist

Planned Support Actions

The campaign to support Lt. Watada plans a protest and press conference at the gates of Fort Lewis this morning from 8 AM to 11 AM as the pre-trial hearing begins.

Supporters can also express their support writing to Fort Lewis Commanding General;

Lt. General James Dubik,
Commanding General Fort Lewis,
1 Corps Building 2025 Stop 1,
Fort Lewis WA 98433.

The Citizens' Hearing on the Legality of U.S. Actions in Iraq: The Case of Lt. Ehren Watada

will be held on January 20-21 in Tacoma, two weeks before the court martial of Lt. Watada at Fort Lewis. The national event will put the Iraq War on trial, in response to the Army's trial of Lt. Watada.

Iraq War veterans, experts in international law and war crimes, and human rights advocates will offer testimony, in a format that will resemble that of a congressional committee. We are inviting testimony by Iraq War veterans and experts to inform military personnel and other citizens to reflect deeply on their roles and responsibilities in an illegal war." Testifiers will include:

Denis Halliday Former UN Assistant Secretary General, coordinated Iraq humanitarian aid; 

Daniel Ellsberg Military analyst who released the Pentagon Papers in the Vietnam War; 

Richard Falk Professor Emeritus of International Law at Princeton University; 

Ann Wright Retired Army Colonel and State Department official; 

Nadia McCaffrey Gold Star Families Speak Out; Brussels Tribunal advisory board; 

Darrell Anderson Army 1st Armored Division in Baghdad & Najaf; awarded Purple Heart; 

Harvey Tharp Former U.S. Navy Lieutenant and JAG stationed in Iraq; 

Antonia Juhasz Policy-analyst and author on U.S. economic policies in Iraq; 

John Burroughs Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy Executive Director; 

Benjamin G. Davis Assoc. Prof. of Law, University of Toledo; expert on law of war; 

Geoffrey Millard 8 years in Army National Guard; now in Iraq Veterans Against the War; 

Francis Boyle Professor of international law at Univ. of Chicago (via video); 

Eman Khammas Iraqi human rights advocate (via video).

The hearing will present the case that Lt. Watada would, if allowed, make at his court martial. He maintains that the war on Iraq is illegal under international treaties and under Article Six of the U.S. Constitution. Further, Lt. Watada argues that the Nuremberg Principles and U.S. military regulations require soldiers to follow only "lawful orders." In Lt. Watada's view, deployment to Iraq would have made him party to the crimes that permeate the structure and conduct of military operations there.

see more on Citizen's Hearing at website - www.wartribunal.org/

Reflecting on this day of milestone marker 3,000 US military deaths in Iraq - Who else has seen Vietnam Wall Memorial in DC

Who else has seen the actual Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC? I have, in DC, and the replica Vietnam Wall at the state capitol in Olympia, and the traveling Vietnam memorial replica wall - total of three times over the course of my 55 years. I know everyone who sees the wall is overcome by the sheer numbers of names engraved into the black walls. I know my experience of visiting the Vietnam Wall in DC was a visceral experience and personal experience for me....a vigil I dreaded to undertake, for it was the first time in my lifetime that I would see the actual real Wall.

My own history back to that era was firmly in a container with the lid tightly secured and tucked away in the cobwebs in my mental attic. Popular opinion back in that era was not favorable to returning Vietnam veterans or their families. It was safer for us as a family then to quickly put it away, leave it behind and try to move on....

You've heard that expression recently, I'm sure -- get over it and move on. That was one heard repetitiously after the last Presidential election. And yet, were it so simple to get over it and move on, would we be in another situation in Iraq not unlike the situation of Vietnam? I pull the container from my attic, brush off the cobwebs, loosen the lid and let the history wash over me.

I cannot be silent this time, I cannot let young wives and children endure what I endured in silence so long ago. I have something to say this time and I do, and it resonates with many, I know, I can tell by their reactions and actions. Others have something to say and it resonates with many, and eventually it will resonate strongly enough that the outcry of no more cannot be missed. But not yet, not this year, perhaps next year.

The Vietnam Wall Memorial in Washington D.C.

One walks by the first wall which is not so tall and one begins to take in the engraved names. You then walk to the next wall and the next and the walls grow increasingly higher with more engraved names filling out the growing spaces on the increasingly higher walls. By the time you are feeling hopelessly overcome and overwhelmed, you look down the length of the wall to see how much further you will have to walk and how many more walls and engraved names you will have to see before you have completed the walk. As the heighth of the walls reach peak height, the walls then begin decrease in size again until you have reached the last wall and the 'end of the Vietnam conflict' and can now exit the memorial walk of the walls.

That walk registered with me hard as I made that walk, holding my vigil candle, September 2005 in Washington DC. As I walked the walls, I remember thinking at that time, what will the Iraq memorial look like when it is built and how many names will have to be honored in that memorial. I remember reflecting back to when I was young and my then husband was drafted and sent to Vietnam.

I was a young military wife, pregnant with our first child, in my first 'real job', marking time anxiously, hoping he would come home alive to participate in the life of our first child - or even wounded and alive, but please, not dead, not killed in action. I felt empathy wash over me as I contemplated the young wives and children of the young men and women deployed in combat today in Iraq and Afghanistan. I could feel so strongly their youth and the acuteness of loss...how will the new memorial begin to encompass the magnitude of the loss is what was reeling in my mind. It is so much more than numbers.

What I didn't notice until reading David's story was that indeed the Vietnam Wall Memorial is designed to reflect back your own reflection. It occurs to me how appropriate that symbology was then in Vietnam war era and now in Iraq/Afghanistan era....we are each and every one of us complicit somehow and deep reflection is encumbant on each of us as we memorialize today at this milestone marker that as of today 3,000 U.S. troops have been killed - we go into the new year with that number as a marker. It is all we have because no other symbology is permitted at this by this Administration.

We have no way to acknowledge, reflect, mourn, honor except for what the civilian community provides in the way of vigils to try to grasp the overwhelming loss, to try to honor what has already been lost, to try to scream attention that the future memorial to honor the war dead in this era already has too many names...

But then today is the day before a new year, and traditional celebrations tonight ought to be a bit muted to reflect that today is also the day our country has reached another milestone in Iraq. Perhaps when the fireworks are shooting off from the Space Needle in Seattle after an evening of drink, merry-making and celebrating, some will remember to remember that for 3,000 families it is not a celebration. Rather it marks that our country will move into another new year the same way we did last year - with our military still in Iraq, adding more names to the future memorial that will mark this time.

Let us reflect and be reminded it is our own reflection we see in the Vietnam memorial - and we see our reflection because we are the living, mourning the dead. Perhaps it will strengthen resolve in each of us who reflect today that with a new year we must act to do something different so that we are not re writing this memorial next new year's eve.

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends." Martin Luther King Jr.

by Lietta Ruger on Sun Dec 31, 2006 at 01:13:38 PM PST

U.S. military deaths in Iraq reach 3,000 - washingtonpost.com

U.S. military deaths in Iraq reach 3,000

Reuters
Sunday, December 31, 2006; 2:46 PM

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of U.S. military deaths in Iraq has reached 3,000 since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, an authoritative Web site tracking war deaths said on Sunday.

The milestone comes as President George W. Bush weighs options, including more troops, for the deteriorating situation in Iraq, where daily violence plagues Baghdad and much of the country and has killed tens of thousands of Iraqis.

The Web site, www.icasualties.org, listed the death of Spec. Dustin R. Donica, 22, on December 28 as previously unreported, and said that 3,000 U.S. military personnel had now died.

A U.S. military spokesman in Iraq could not immediately confirm that Donica's death had not previously been reported. No soldiers were reported killed by small arms fire on December 28 but the death of an unidentified soldier in a bomb attack north of the capital was announced.

U.S. military deaths in Iraq reach 3,000 - washingtonpost.com

Christmas at Home 2006

Wow, it was April 2006 we made the last entry to this blog! No way to 'catch up' 10 months of no posts. Life has certainly moved on for us, but not this blog.

Okay, so Christmas 2006. We purchased (at seriously reduced price) a new artificial Christmas tree. We already have a huge 6 foot tree that completely takes up either the upstairs or downstairs cupola if that is where we place it. Or takes up the whole front of the living room if that is where we place it. It certainly holds all the decades of Christmas ornaments back to when the children were, in fact, children. Now, they are grown with children of their own.

It's kind of sad in a nostalgic kind of way to put up the big tree with all the years of ornaments unless the kids and grandkids are going to come for Christmas visit. For now they are scattered about, and sometimes they can do the travel, sometimes not. I wanted instead a smaller more compact tree that I could tuck in a corner and I'm quite satisfied with the size of this smaller tree.

Our Christmas gift to ourselves this year. A nice double recliner loveseat. We have for several years now been discussing getting either couch or loveseat that has dual recliners. It was still years in the future for us as a purchase. When we were out and about taking in Christmas bazaars and such like, we came across a garage sale that we almost didn't stop at and found this great dual recliner at a price too good to pass on.

Nope, not telling, but we knew we would not likely come across such an affordable price for this kind of piece of furniture again and it was in such good, cared for shape. We left, both yearning and wishing we hadn't committed to dental work and $$ cost to us. Somehow we managed to talk ourselves into believing we could tighten the budget belt, squeezing hard, eat beans and rice, and doing so could manage to pay the dentist $$ and treat ourselves to this Christmas present. Now, it's February and we are recovering but recliner is paid for and so is the dentist $$.

posted entry by Lietta Ruger

Toothless Me ..."Are ya ready Roy?" - Gabby Hayes

Yesterday, Lietta and I drove to Deep River Dental in Raymond and Dr. Hamilton pulled all of my top teeth.

I was surprised at how easy and rapidly it went once I was good and numbed up and breathing a little bit of nitrous oxide (laughing gas). I remember some sort of minor interruption while he gave one of my teeth another shot of numb juice, touching my gums with my tongue and saying "4 down and 4 to go," with which he agreed.

Shortly thereafter he was done, the upper plate was put in immediately and I was warned not to take it out, prescribed pain medication and an appointment to come back next day (this morning) where he checked and made minor adjustments in the plate.

Once the numbness went away, I was glad for the pain killer hydrocodon but have only taken 4 doses since the pulling.

Dr. Hamilton is also the local Mormon bishop and I have had some interaction with him previously. He's a good dentist and I've seen him in action at the one church meeting I was invited to attend back in April.

Lietta now cooking soft foods with mashed potatoes and shredded meat (beef, pork and chicken) as the foundation.

Tonight I removed the plate for a salt water rinsing as instructed and looked at my toothless self for the first time. It's not readily obvious although Lietta said she could tell right away. The gums are already covered over without stitches as the plate served that function.

I've been off work yesterday and today and will return to work tomorrow.

Spent lots of time on the computer, online and playing Age of Kings to pass away the time, especially yesterday when the pain was more pronounced. I did sleep good though but have been drowsy all day.

Now 7:45, Lietta working on supper and I'm writing.

A Gallery of my real oil paintings

Lietta paintings

click on the photo to view gallery of my oil paintings over the years

Using Paint tool - digital painting

click on the painting to see more at my Picasa public gallery

Military Publications Monday Will Call for Rumsfeld's Resignation

Four publications of the Military Times Media Group plan to call on U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to resign - The Army Times, Air Force Times, Navy Times and Marine Corps Times will issue the call in an editorial scheduled to run Monday.

The editorial, released to NBC News on Friday ahead of its Monday publication date, stated, "It is one thing for the majority of Americans to think Rumsfeld has failed. But when the nation's current military leaders start to break publicly with their defense secretary, then it is clear that he is losing control of the institution he ostensibly leads."

The editorial will appear just one day before the midterm election, in which GOP candidates have been losing ground, according to recent polls.

The newspapers are part of the Military Times Media Group, a subsidiary of the Gannett Co., Inc. The publications are sold to service members and their families.

Democrats and Republicans alike have called for Rumsfeld's resignation, arguing he has mishandled the war in Iraq, where more than 2,800 members of the U.S. military have died since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003. Cheney has faced sharp criticism for his hard-line views and is viewed favorably by only about a third of Americans in polls. Bush said that "both those men are doing fantastic jobs and I strongly support them."

The editorial was posted Saturday on the Web sites of the four publications: Army Times, Navy Times, Air Force Times and the Marine Corps Times.

Read the editorial - Army Times

Bush stands on bodies of the troops ridiculing Senator while relevance of more significant Iraq news demands Commander in Chief attention

see the chart and read more at New York Times

Military Charts Movement of Conflict in Iraq

By Michael R. Gordon
Published: November 1, 2006

WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 — A classified briefing prepared two weeks ago by the United States Central Command portrays Iraq as edging toward chaos, in a chart that the military is using as a barometer of civil conflict.

(note; per the chart, guestimate how long before it reaches the red zone chaos indicator on the graph bar - days, weeks? How many U.S. troops killed in Iraq in October 2006 alone - over 100 and how many thousands more Iraqis killed in the same month?)

Also note the interesting observation by Andrew Sullivan

While the media is obsessed parsing the ad libs of someone on no ballot this fall, something truly ominous has just happened in Iraq. The commander-in-chief has abandoned an American soldier to the tender mercies of a Shiite militia. Yes, there are nuances here, and the NYT fleshes out the story today. But the essential fact is clear. In a showdown for control of Baghdad, the Iraqi prime minister took orders from Moqtada al-Sadr, and instructed the U.S. military to withdraw from Sadr City. The American forces were trying both to stabilize the city but also to find a missing American serviceman. He is still missing.

And see where Washington Post reports on how US Air Force has to beg for more money to bring home wounded troops.

Air Force said to seek $50 Billion emergency funds
By Andrea Shalal-Esa
Reuters
Tuesday, October 31, 2006; 2:50 PM
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force is asking the Pentagon's leadership for a staggering $50 billion in emergency funding for fiscal 2007 -- an amount equal to nearly half its annual budget, defense analyst Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute said on Tuesday.

Promptings from Podcasts at Military Brats Registry -

I plan to listen to the series of podcasts placed at Military Brats Registry, and then write some thoughts about them.
Leaving an entry here more to quickly link to the page list of podcasts; Military Brats Registry Podcasts

It's here! The Military Brats Registry "Every Brat Has a Story" podcast is now available. The program can be downloaded to your computer or mp3 device such as the Apple iPod. And if you're using iTunes or iPodder you can subscribe to automatically download to your device. Click on "podcasts" in iTunes and enter "Military Brats" in the search box, then subscribe (free!). Each episode will be automatically downloaded into iTunes and to your iPod.

Exploring my history being raised as a Military Brat - 1950s and 1960s

Back in earlier days of internet, a website called Military Brats Registry came into being. I found my way there somehow and I truly don't remember and registered. Remember this was the 'early days' of internet, so formatting websites, forms, signing up and security looked a little different then. Later I heard media reporting on Military Brats Registry and how it was gaining in popularity. It was good to hear, cause it meant many 'military brats' were interested and glad for this new found home on the internet.

Along the years, I learned of dvd production in the works and waited and waited and waited. Finally dvd 'Brats, Our Journey Home' was released and I promptly bought a copy. Or I should say my dear husband promptly bought a copy as gift for me. We watched it together as soon as it arrived in the mail. And it resonated with me so strongly in so many ways. I took notes (that's my nature when I'm really interested in both capturing and remembering) and spent some time today revisiting some of those older military brat sites I remember from late 1990s.

I wanted to chronicle the links, websites, books, resources and I really didn't want to start a whole new blog to do it. So I looked around at all my blogs, and decided this one was the most logical place to spend some time chronicling my military brat history and building link connections. I'll be adding some link banners to the sidebar, and blogging new entries in what will seem my own homecoming exploration.

This is a bittersweet project for me to undertake for a multitude of reasons, yet it will also be strengthening to make the connections, all the 'aha' moments that tell me more about who I am to me. My parents divorced when I was about 14 which abruptly ended our connection to military life. Unfortunately, it was an ugly divorce that my father worked to obstruct. He could get quite mean in his effort to control or manipulate the circumstances. He kept and/or destroyed all the mementos, photographs, slides, keepsakes, etc that were our history over those years. As a consequence, my mother doesn't have much she can share visually, and neither do I except what I can recover from my spotty memory. It helps that other military brats are sharing their memories as it serves as 'triggers' for me in remembering and in what I hope to chronicle here at this blog.

Appeal for Redress by U.S. Troops to Congress - The Call of US Troops for Iraq Withdrawal

Our troops are speaking, and this time directly to Congress. In campaign 'Appeal for Redress' the numbers of active duty troops signing the appeal is increasing daily, if not hourly. How many U.S. Troops killed in Iraq this month - 91 - and the month is not yet over.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) More than 200 active duty U.S. armed service members, fed up with the war in Iraq, have joined an unusual protest calling for withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country, organisers said on Wednesday.

The campaign, called the Appeal for Redress from the War in Iraq, is the first of its kind in the Iraq war and takes advantage of U.S. Defence Department rules allowing active duty troops to express personal opinions to members of Congress without fear of retaliation, organisers said.

"As a patriotic American proud to serve the nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to support the prompt withdrawal of all American military forces and bases from Iraq," states the appeal posted on the campaign's Web site at www.appealforredress.org.

Convergence - something people in the Pacific Northwest know about when it comes to weather. I sense convergence in the growing discontent with Iraq invasion/occupation coming together from different factions.

U.S. Troops speaking strongly on their own behalf - 200 today and will be more tomorrow, and more the next day and more the next day:
Appeal for Redress

An Appeal for Redress from the War in Iraq

Many active duty, reserve, and guard service members are concerned about the war in Iraq and support the withdrawal of U.S. troops. The Appeal for Redress provides a way in which individual service members can appeal to their Congressional Representative and US Senators to urge an end to the U.S. military occupation. The Appeal messages will be delivered to members of Congress at the time of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in January 2007.

The wording of the Appeal for Redress is short and simple. It is patriotic and respectful in tone.

As a patriotic American proud to serve the nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to support the prompt withdrawal of all American military forces and bases from Iraq . Staying in Iraq will not work and is not worth the price. It is time for U.S. troops to come home.

If you agree with this message, click here.

The Appeal for Redress is sponsored by active duty service members based in the Norfolk area and by a sponsoring committee of veterans and military family members. The Sponsoring committee consists of Iraq Veterans Against the War, Veterans For Peace, and Military Families Speak Out.

Members of the military have a legal right to communicate with their member of Congress. To learn more about the rights and restrictions that apply to service members click here.

Attorneys and counselors experienced in military law are available to help service members who need assistance in countering any attempts to suppress this communication with members of Congress.

Several members of Congress have expressed interest in receiving the Appeal for Redress.

Click here to send the Appeal to your elected representatives.

Growing number of US Soldiers speaking out in Resistance Actions taken by troops directly - Seven since Lt. Ehren Watada, Fort Lewis, WA, refused in June 2006 to deploy to Iraq citing his belief of illegal orders to an illegal war in his press conference in Tacoma in June 2006. Read more of his account, the charges against him and the progression for Lt. Watada since his first press conference at website; Thank You Lt.Ehren Watada

Spc Suzanne Swift (2)June 2006; Spc Suzanne Swift arrested at her mother's home in Oregon June 2006 for being AWOL and missing movement.Suzanne cites repeated sexual harrasment by her superior officers. Now confined at Fort Lewis, WA waiting court martial. Read more at website

Sgt Ricky Clousing (3) Aug 11, 2006; Sergeant Ricky Clousing, who grew up in Sumner, Wash., south of Seattle, served in Iraq as an Interrogator, returned, deserted, turned himself in at Fort Lewis, WA after giving press conference at Veterans for Peace conference at University of Washington in Seattle, WA on August 11, 2006. Read more of his account at Seattle Draft and Military Counseling Center website. Sgt Ricky Clousing

Spc Mark Wilkerson (4) Aug 31, 2006; Army Specialist Mark Wilkerson,held press conference to announce his plans to turn himself in to Fort Hood in Texas, after being AWOL (Absent Without Leave) for more than 18 months. Wilkerson, served in the 720th Military Police Battalion in Iraq from March 2003 to March 2004, went AWOL when his request for ‘Conscientious Objector’ status was denied by the Army in November 2004. Read more at his blog, Red, White & Blurry

Spc. Augustin Aguayo (5)Sept 26, 2006; After a two and a half year struggle with US Army to be recognized as a conscientious objector, Agustin Aguayo went AWOL (absent without leave) on Sept. 2, 2006 in order to avoid a forced (second) deployment to Iraq. On September 26th, Agustin, after holding press conference turned himself in to Ft. Irwin Army base. Later that day Aguayo was taken from the Frankfurt airport to the U.S. Army Confinement Facility-Europe in Mannheim, Germany, where he will be in pretrial confinement while Army officials review the evidence to determine the status of his case, according to 1st Armored Division spokesman Maj.Wayne Marotto." Read his blog account at blog

Darrell Anderson (6) Oct 3, 2006; Darrell Anderson, who deserted to Canada last year after being wounded in Iraq, wants to come home. Darrell Anderson,who sought refugee status in Toronto has decided to return home and face a possible court-martial. Oct 3, 2006 he turns himself in to military custody; on Oct 5, he was released from Ft. Knox with an "other than honorable" discharge without facing court martial.

article published by Kevin Tillman 'After Pat's Birthday' (7)Oct 19; 2006; Kevin Tillman, US Army veteran, brother of Pat Tillman who was killed in Aghanistan publishes article 'After Pat's Birthday' which gets reviewed by Randal C Archibold in
New York Times
excerpts from Mr. Archibold's Oct 23, 2006 review;
“Somehow the more soldiers that die, the more legitimate the illegal invasion becomes,” Mr. Tillman wrote in the 660-word essay

“Somehow,” Mr. Tillman added, “American leadership, whose only credit is lying to its people and illegally invading a nation, has been allowed to steal the courage, virtue and honor of its soldiers on the ground.”

In what are apparently his most expansive public remarks since the death of his brother at age 27, he also does not spare the American public, which he suggests too often relies on superficial gestures to support the troops instead of holding politicians accountable.

“Somehow back at home, support for the soldiers meant having a 5-year-old kindergartener scribble a picture with crayons and send it overseas or slapping stickers on cars or lobbying Congress for an extra pad in a helmet,” he wrote.

Mr. Tillman ended with a suggestion that the elections on Nov. 7 are an opportunity for people opposed to the war to send a message.

(Kevin Tillman joined the Army with his brother Pat Tillman in 2002, and they served together in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pat was killed in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004. Kevin, who was discharged in 2005, has written a powerful, must-read document - link )

Also see information provided at Iraq Veterans Against the War (www.ivaw.org)
IVAW supports war resisters and conscientious objectors. Learn more about service men and women who are presently refusing to participate in the occupation of Iraq.

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