By Sarah Lazare, Courage to Resist for Truthout. June 16, 2009

Free Dustin Stevens and all war resisters!

• Donate to Dustin's defense fund: couragetoresist.org/dustin
• Write: Dustin Stevens, 82nd Replacement Detachment Bldg., C-8750 Lae Street Stop-A., Fort Bragg NC 28310

At Fort Bragg, North Carolina, AWOL soldiers find themselves detained for months under difficult conditions in an extended legal limbo they cannot escape.

Dustin Stevens is one of about 50 soldiers being held at Fort Bragg awaiting likely AWOL and desertion charges that seem like they will never arrive, he says. A former soldier who refused to continue military service seven years ago because he did not want to fight a war, Stevens says that he and his colleagues are being held in legal limbo - a no man's land of poor living standards and arbitrary punishments - while awaiting charges and possible court-martial.

GI outreach PDF leaflet

GI outreach leaflet by Courage to Resist. June 17, 2009

"GI resistance against war is anything that gives service members and veterans a voice and makes it harder for the military to function like a well-oiled machine. It ranges from reading anti-war literature to refusing an order to refusing deployment to a war zone. GI resistance is not dishonorable, and it will not put the lives of your buddies in jeopardy. Rather, it is a concrete way to end war and bring the troops home. GI resistance played a central role in ending the war in Vietnam. Having a fighting force that was difficult to control was a key factor in forcing the U.S. government to pull out..."

The back side of leaflet lists contact information for various organizations that support GI resistance.

View, save, and print outreach leaflet

By Carl Davison. June 8, 2009

"As I expected, not long after presenting this to my whole chain of command and refusing to go on not just one but several flights going to Iraq, I was fined, demoted, incarcerated and then discharged."

The logic of direct GI resistance is simple; To withhold your labor from something you think is morally wrong, simply saying, I have chosen not participate in something that is at odds with my values and I will tell the military this face to face with pride and dignity so others can learn from my example.

By Dahr Jamail, Inter Press Service. May 26, 2009

MARFA, Texas — “It’s a matter of what I’m willing to live with,” Specialist Victor Agosto of the U.S. Army (photo right with supporters), who is refusing orders to deploy to Afghanistan, explained to IPS. “I’m not willing to participate in this occupation, knowing it is completely wrong.” Agosto, who returned from a 13-month deployment to Iraq in November 2007, is based at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas.

Help support Victor! Donate to his defense fund at /victor