Humvee: Four-wheel-drive jeep used to patrol streets and transport troops, an acronyn for “High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle”
IED: Improvised explosive device
JAG: Judge Advocate General, the judicial arm of the U.S. military
Kalashnikov: An AK-47
KBR: Kellogg, Brown, and Root—a large civilian contractor operating in Iraq, subsidiary of Halliburton
KIA: Killed in action
M-16: A military issue assault rifle
M-60: A machine gun used by American forces
Mark 19: A belt-fed grenade launcher
MedEvac: Medical evacuation, from Iraq usually to Landstuhl Medical Center in Germany
Medic: A trained soldier who is responsible for providing first aid and frontline trauma care
Mortar: Fires shells at a much lower velocity and higher ballistic arc than other ordnance; their shells explode on impact with target
MP: Military police
MRE: Meal Ready to Eat, dehydrated food for troops in a combat zone
NCO: Noncommissioned officer, e.g., a sergeant
Peshmerga: Kurdish militia
Platoon: A military unit typically composed of two to four sections or squads and containing about thirty to fifty soldiers
PTSD: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
R&R: Rest and recreation, a short vacation soldiers are sometimes allowed to take during a deployment
RPG: Rocket-propelled grenade
SAPI Plates: Small arms protective inserts, ceramic armor plates used in vests to repel fragmentation and small arms fire
SMAW: A Shoulder-Launched Multipurpose Assault Weapon, a type of rocket launcher
TBI: Traumatic brain injury, physical brain damage
TRICARE: The military’s health care plan
UCMJ: Uniformed Code of Military Justice, military law
Appendix
The official Rules of Engagement card
issued to Sergeant Adam Kokesh by the U.S. Marine Corps
Acknowledgments
Jose Vasquez for IVAW
Jose Vasquez represented IVAW in the testimonial editing process for this book and led the verification team on the Winter Soldier organizing committee. He served fourteen years in the U.S. Army and Army Reserve and was honorably discharged in May 2007 as a conscientious objector. Currently he is a PhD candidate in Cultural Anthropology at the Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY), where he is conducting research on the politics of veteran status in contemporary American society.
• • •
Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan was a grassroots effort in the truest sense of the word. Hundreds of family members, friends, and allies donated their time, energy, and money to ensure the voices of veterans were heard during four historic days in March 2008. On behalf of Iraq Veterans Against the War, I want to thank everyone that contributed to getting testifiers to the event and ensuring they were supported throughout the process. Your dedication made all the difference in this important endeavor.
To our family in Vietnam Veterans Against the War and Veterans for Peace, we are truly honored to stand on your shoulders. You all started a tradition in 1971 of veterans coming home and telling the truth about war; we thought it was important to continue that tradition. You are all warriors for peace. To our loved ones in Military Families Speak Out, Gold Star Families for Peace, and Gold Star Families Speak Out, we thank you for walking with us as we bear the burden of war together.
Many, many allies offered their skills and expertise toward this momentous effort. To our co-author Aaron Glantz, thank you for your tenacity and deep understanding of our experiences. We’ve learned as much from you as you have from us. It’s been a journey, my friend. Thanks to Ngoc for letting us steal you for weeks at a time.
Thanks to John Stauber for helping to make the right connections. Anthony Arnove, thanks for having the vision to publish these testimonies and the patience to put up with our drama. Julie Fain, thank you for your attention to detail. Jared Rodriguez, thanks for capturing us in the best possible light. And Tony Swofford, your words and empathetic ear are greatly appreciated. Thanks to Gerald Nicosia for your enthusiastic support. Ron Kovic, thank you for your powerful statement of support.
To the Winter Soldier organizing committee, your professionalism and dedication are immeasurable. For those of us in IVAW who know the humble beginnings of this whole process, we can read these lines and smile. Thanks to Fernando Braga, Aaron Hughes, and Liam Madden for their vision and infectious motivation. Thank you, gentlemen, for getting the ball rolling and giving the strategy team a boot in the ass.
Ally team: Jethro Heiko, Susie Husted, Matt Daloisio, Matt Smucker, Lori Hurlebaus, Joseph Gainza, Saif Rahman, Ward Reilly, and Nico Amador managed our numerous relationships with allies that were our “force-multipliers.”
A/V and Web team: Danya Abt, Nick Jehlen, and Dan Summer helped make us presentable in audio, video, and digital formats. I can only imagine the hours you all put in.
Fundraising team: Amadee Braxton kept her watchful eye on the bottom line and fundraised like a champion.
Logistics team: Lily Hughes, Catherine Miller, Amy Meyer, and Lynn Phares did an amazing job making sure we had everything we needed and handled angry veterans with grace. Thanks to Lori Hurlebaus for maintaining order behind the scenes. Special thanks goes to Barry Romo, Ken Nielsen, and Bill Branson of our security detail; your efforts were instrumental in maintaining the “safe space” that we promised our testifiers. Thanks to Ryan Harvey and all the musicians, especially The Nightwatchman!
Media team: Emilie Surrusco and the whole media team took on a tremendous task and reached our strategic goal of coverage in the military media. Thanks to Francesca Lo Basso, Doyle Canning, Susie Husted, Ward Reilly, Geoff Millard, Matt Smucker, Vida Mia Ruiz, Lisa Cantu, Jane Song, Selena Coppa, Matt Daloisio, Nan Levinson, Nick Martin, Sarah Hirsch, Uruj Sheikh, Becca Rast, Saif Rahman, Adam Navarro-Lowery, Alain Jehlen, Charlie Anderson, Michael Applegate, and Suren Moodliar.
To the many journalists and filmmakers who took the time to listen, we say thanks. Thanks to Ariel Leve and Nina Berman for their story in the Sunday New York Times Magazine. For extended live, international coverage, special thanks to Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!); Aaron Glantz, Aimee Allison, and Esther Manilla (Pacifica—KPFA); Brian Drolet (Deep Dish TV); and everyone at Free Speech TV. For filming our forthcoming official documentary, thanks to Dave Zeiger (Displaced Films), Lenny Rotman (Northern Lights Productions), and their production teams. Thanks to Ric Rowley and Jacquie Soohen (Big Noise Films); and Matt Renner and Maya Schenwar (Truthout.org) for their coverage and support. And many, many more.
Outreach team: Aaron Hughes, Adrienne Kinne, Lovella Calica, Selena Coppa, Robert Clack, and all the regional coordinators were instrumental in reaching veterans and GIs with stories to tell.
Testimonial team: Perry O’Brien led the team with passion and focus. He had the unenviable task of selecting who would testify onstage.
Civilian testimony: Fernando Braga helped bring the stories of Iraqi and Afghan civilians to the table. Thanks to Alive in Baghdad (Brian Conley, Steve Wyshywaniuk, Omar Abdullah, Hayder Fahad, Isam Rasheed, Ahmad Muhammad, Firas Ekal) and Joan Seckler for risking your lives to collect and translate the Iraqi testimony. Also thanks to Dave Enders and Alaa Majeed for help with the translations.
Legal team: Kathy Gilberd, Michael Siegel, and Jeff Lake ensured our testifiers had the legal support they needed. Thanks to James Branum, J.E. McNeil, Dan O’Connor, and Jim Klimaski.
Mental health: Nancy Goldner, Ginny Hughes, Johanna (Hans) Buwalda, and Ray Parrish provided and organized professional mental health support.
Peer support: Adam Kokesh, Jeff Key, Tina Richards, Eric Estenzo, Resistance, and the whole peer support team kept us sane. Thanks to all the team coordinators, Bill Main, T.J. Buonomo, Toby Hartbarger, Rick Duncan, Mike Totten, Mike Marceau, and Frank Radosin; and to the Vietnam vets wh
ose presence kept the lid on things for all their brothers and sisters in the audience, Bill Perry, Thomas Brinson, Elliot Adams, and Doug Ryder.
Ally panels: Martin Smith organized our ally panels, which helped provide context for our stories. Adrienne Kinne helped secure speakers as well. Jen Hogg and Patty McCann took the lead on the gender and sexuality panel. Our deepest gratitude goes to all our excellent panelists for their insights and unwavering support.
Verification team: Thanks to all our volunteers that did legwork on the verification process: Chere Krakovsky, Hannah Wolfe, Carlos Harris, Fabian Bouthillette, Luis C. Montalvan, Al Stolzer, Aimara Lin, Chris Lombardi, Elaine Brower, Kevin Huyge, Melissa Morrone, and Uruj Sheikh. Nick Martin was a real trooper interning with me on the verification team. Selena Coppa, Brandon Day, Ryan Johnson, Adam Kokesh, Patty McCann, Ryan McCarthy, Kenyon Ralph, Jim Reddin, and Hart Viges helped collect testimony. Special thanks go to Tanya Austin and Jason Wallace for taking up the slack in collecting on-site testimony.
Most importantly, to our brothers and sisters who offered testimony. Your bravery and sincerity are commendable. You trusted us with the deepest parts of your souls. You are all true patriots and our world is a better place because of the work you do. Let’s continue to struggle together to end the suffering these wars and occupations have caused.
Acknowledgments
Aaron Glantz
I am very grateful to all the brave veterans who shared their stories at Winter Soldier. Special thanks to former staff sergeant and IVAW board member Jose Vasquez, who spearheaded the difficult three-way negotiations between myself, Haymarket Books, and IVAW to make this book happen and then worked long and hard with little compensation both on the Winter Soldier verification team and on the nuts and bolts of this book. I’m also grateful to Jose and his wife Emi who allowed me to set up shop in their spare room for weeks on end while we cranked the book out. I’ll try not to make such a mess next time. Thanks also to Perry O’Brien, Aaron Hughes, and Luis Carlos Montalvan. Thanks to Julie Fain and Anthony Arnove at Haymarket for rushing to get this book out before the November 2008 election. Thanks to my agent Michael Bourret at Dystel and Goderich Literary Management for understanding that we have do work sometimes even though it doesn’t make the most money. Thanks to Gerald Nicosia, Penny Coleman, and John Stauber for their inspiration and support and to photographers Jared Rodriguez and Mike Hastie for their arresting images.
Thanks to Sasha Lilley at KPFA for green-lighting Pacifica Radio’s historic, three-day live broadcast of Winter Soldier, which laid the groundwork for this book. Thanks to the rest of my broadcast team: Aimee Allison, Esther Manilla, and Jon Almielah, with whom I shared this most important experience. Your professionalism, dedication, intelligence, and compassion are unmatched. In addition to your great work, I am grateful for your friendship and support. Thanks for helping me cry over this material and keeping me from quitting this difficult but important task. Thanks to therapist Rachel Erwin for donating her services.
Thanks to the other editors who published my freelance articles on Winter Soldier, who got the story out and kept me paid while I made my way through this labor of love: Katherine Stapp, Jeffrey Allen, David Barsamian, Monica Lopez, Tena Rubio, Harold Myerson, Andrew Lam, Joshua Holland, and Emily Schwartz-Greco. Thanks to Dal Lamanga, Jack Sawyer, and Historians Against the War for their generous support of this project. Thanks to Investigative Reporters and Editors for granting this project a Freelancer Fellowship Award.
Thanks to journalists Esther Manilla and Sarah Olson for helping me slog through these transcripts and for giving me such good advice about how to proceed. Thanks to Dahr Jamail and Salam Talib for being with me in Iraq and also at Winter Soldier. We are in the very unique space of seeing this war from both sides of the gun. It is a very difficult place to be, but the bridge we can build is very important. Salam, I will always remember running over to your scooter and giving you a giant hug as we signed off the air as Winter Soldier concluded.
Finally, but most importantly, I owe a deep debt of gratitude to my wife Ngoc Nguyen for her unconditional love. Thanks for understanding the mission I have taken on these last five years and for encouraging me to continue when I get discouraged. You worry about me enough but not too much. Thanks for all the “processing.” I appreciate it more than I let on.
Contributor biographies
About Iraq Veterans Against the War
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 servicemembers and veterans who are against the Iraq 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 health care (including mental health), and other supports for returning servicemen and women.
Our membership includes recent veterans and active-duty servicemembers from all branches of the military service, National Guard members, and reservists who have served in the U.S. military since September 11, 2001. IVAW’s strategy is to mobilize the military community to withdraw its support for the war and occupation in Iraq.
Today, IVAW members are in forty-eight states, Washington, D.C., Canada, and on numerous bases overseas, including Iraq. IVAW supports all those resisting the war, including conscientious objectors and others facing military prosecution for their refusal to fight. IVAW advocates for full funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs, and full quality health treatment (including mental health) and benefits for veterans when they return from duty.
About Aaron Glantz
Aaron Glantz is an independent journalist whose work has appeared in the Nation, the Progressive, the San Francisco Chronicle, the American Prospect, Forbes, Alternet, and on Democracy Now! and Yahoo! News. In addition to Winter Soldier, he is author of the San Francisco Chronicle bestseller How America Lost Iraq (Tarcher/Penguin) and the forthcoming The War Comes Home: Washington’s Battle Against America’s Veterans (University of California Press).
Aaron reported extensively inside Iraq from 2003 to 2005 and has been covering veterans’ issues since his return to the United States. He the recipient of a Project Censored Award, an Investigative Reporters and Editors Freelancer Fellowship Award, and a California Journalism Award. He is currently a Fellow at the Carter Center’s Mental Health Program and the Hechinger Institute at Columbia University Teachers College.
About Anthony Swofford
Anthony Swofford served in a U.S. Marine Corps Surveillance and Target Acquisition/Scout-Sniper platoon during the Gulf War. After the war, he was educated at American River College, the University of California, Davis, and the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop. He is author of Jarhead: A Marine’s Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles and the novel Exit: A Novel. He lives in New York.
About Jared Rodriguez
Jared Rodriguez is a documentary photographer, military family member, and activist living in New York City. He is currently working on a portrait project about antiwar activists, veterans, and military family members. He can be reached at www.jaredrodriguez.com.
About Mike Hastie
Mike Hastie served as a U.S. Army Medic in Vietnam from 1970 to 1971. He says that when he photographed the anger, anguish, grief, and sense of betrayal visible in testifiers at Winter Soldier, he felt like he was taking pictures of his own PTSD and the trauma of his fellow Vietnam veterans.
About Haymarket Books
Haymarket Books is a nonprofit, progressive book distributor and publisher, a project of the Center for Economic Research and Social Change. We take inspiration and courage from our namesakes, the Haymarket Martyrs, who gave their lives fighting for a better world.
Their 1886 struggle for the eight-hour day, which gave us May Day, the international workers’ holiday, reminds workers around the world that ordinary people can organize and struggle for their own liberation. These struggles continue today across the globe—struggles against oppression, exploitation, hunger, and poverty.
Also from Haymarket Books
Beyond the Green Zone: Dispatches from an Unembedded Journalist in Occupied Iraq
The critically acclained, indispensable account of life in Iraq under U.S. occupation, now with a new afterword. ISBN 978-1-931859-61-5.
Road from ar-Ramadi: The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Camilo Mejía
Camilo Mejía with a foreword by Chris Hedges • A courageous, personal account of rebellion within the ranks of the U.S. military in wartime—written by the first soldier to publicly refuse to return to fight in Iraq. ISBN: 978-1-931859-553-0.
Winter Soldiers: An Oral History of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War
Richard Stacewicz • Thisis the story of the soldiers who spoke their conscience and helped end the war in Vietnam. 978-1-931859-60-8
War Without End: The Iraq War in Context
Michael Schwartz • In this razor-sharp analysis, TomDispatch.com commentator Michael Schwartz demolishes the myths used to sell the U.S. public the idea of an endless “war on terror. 978-1-931859-54-7.
Vietnam: The (Last) War the U.S. Lost
Joe Allen • This history from below analyzes the impact of the war in Vietnam on the region and its people, as well as on American workers, students, and politicians, and discusses the relationship between the era’s antiwar, labor, and civil rights movements. ISBN: 978-1-931859-49-3.
Blackwater (Español)
Jeremy Scahill • The New York Times bestseller and scathing exposé now in Spanish, in a fully updated edition. ISBN: 978-1-931859-62-2.
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