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Rally at Ft. Lewis aims to reach out to veterans and active service members

By Matt Nagle

This week marks the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq, and Tacomans are taking the opportunity to make their feelings known about the war and the treatment given to soldiers fighting it. While last weekend’s demonstration in front of the Army recruiting station at Tacoma Mall focused on ending the war, a family-friendly G.I. rights rally this Saturday at the gates of Ft. Lewis will reach out to both veterans and active duty soldiers to assure them they are not alone in their struggles.

The March 22nd event begins at noon at Harry Todd Park in Lakewood where service members will find resource tables with information on free speech rights that all active duty soldiers have along with resources for accessing counseling, basic needs and separating from the military. There will be crafts, face painting and a puppet show for the children along with musical entertainment.

At 1 p.m. a participatory discussion will be held in two groups, one for military families and one for veterans and active duty soldiers. Others are welcome to attend and listen.

Speakers at 2 p.m. will include Chanan Suarez Diaz with Iraq Veterans Against the War; Seth Menzel of GI Voice; Maggie Pondolfino of Oregon Military Families Speak Out (www.mfso-oregon.org); and union leader Steve Kofhal with American Federation of Government Employees.

At 3 p.m. a march will step off leading to the gates of Ft. Lewis for a vigil on behalf of the nearly 4,000 troops who have died so far in the war. A banner will be unfurled over Interstate 5 then marchers return to the park at 4 p.m.

“Here on the fifth anniversary of the war, for America it’s really the service men and women who are paying the biggest price,” said co-organizer Tom McCarthy. “Because the strain of the war has been borne especially by the soldiers, after five years it’s taking its toll. The military is in such a situation that it can’t help but abuse soldiers and their families.”

Organizers point out that according to the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count (www.icasualties.org), there have been at least 3,980 U.S. military fatalities and nearly 30,000 wounded since the beginning of the war. They say that because the military is so overstretched at this point, service men and women are being abused by extended hours, the stop-loss policy, and forced to deploy or stay in battle longer, even with untreated medical and mental conditions.

Manzel, also a co-organizer of the march and rally, served in the U.S. Army from 2002-2006 and spent a year in Iraq. He talked about a buddy of his who just returned from a third tour of active duty despite that his friend was “obviously suffering from post traumatic stress disorder from his first two deployments... he’s an absolute mess,” Menzel said. An IED attack left his friend with nerve damage to his shoulder and arm, making it impossible for him to wear body armor. “This is not an isolated thing. The military can’t keep its numbers up so they’re forced to drag these wounded soldiers back into combat.”

McCarthy talked about the “disgraceful lack of resources” at home for those fighting the war, particularly backlogs at the Social Security Administration. “We hear a lot about the VA (Veterans Administration) backlog, but not so much about backlogs at the Social Security Administration. This affects veterans as well as those coming back from Iraq who need to access those benefits.”

McCarthy and Manzel said the purpose of Saturday’s peaceful march and rally is to support G.I. rights and inform the soldiers and their families of what those rights are, particularly when it comes to freedoms of speech.

“The military is very worried about people in the military speaking out. They’ve gone to great lengths to keep soldiers away from this,” Manzel said, pointing to a memo sent out by U.S. Northern Command (Northcom) advising military personnel, their families and even civilians to stay away from protest actions planned this month at sites all over the country.

“The idea of soldiers speaking out about how they’re treated could really change the minds of a lot of people who support the war because of their ignorance of the realities of war,” Menzel said. “As long as they say nothing disrespectful of their commanders or the president, (soldiers) are will within their rights to speak out about how they’re being treated.

“Families are so important in ensuring that soldiers have safe working conditions. Military wives can say things to commanders that soldiers would never dream of saying.

“I hope they come out in spite of what the military says.”

Harry Todd Park is located at 8720 N. Thorne Lane S.W. For more information or to add your group’s name to the sponsors list, call (253) 250-9290 or visit www.givoice.org.

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