To ensure the AUMF amendment (which repeals the Iraq AUMF) stays in the final National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) we need to contact the following members of congress. Call their DC offices every day starting Dec 1, until the NDAA comes up for a vote, which should be any day now. If you have limited time, call the first four on the list below.  Try to call every day. Spread the word!

• Sen. Wicker ASC Chair-202-224-6253
• Sen James Risch (R- Idaho) 202-224-2752
• Sen Jack Reed (R-RI) 202-224-4642
• Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL)  202-225-3026
• Sen. John Thune-(R-SD) 202-224-2321
• Sen.  Chuck Schumer-(D-NY) 202-224-6542
• Rep. Mike Rogers-Chair-(R-AL) 202-225-3261
• Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) 202-225-27777
• Rep.  Hakeem Jeffries –(D-MA) 202-225-5936

Sample script “I am from [city/neighborhood] and I’m calling as a Member of Your organization. I strongly urge [their name] to keep the AUMF amendment in the final NDAA. (Reason-option)”

2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF)

Why 2002 AUMF is Obsolete…

Originally enacted to authorize the use of military force against Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq, the Iraq Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) is no longer relevant to present day military activities. Hussein’s regime was overthrown in 2003, and a formal end to the U.S. mission in Iraq was declared at the end of 2011 by President Barack Obama. Repealing the Iraq AUMF would constitute a matter of basic constitutional hygiene.  It is an important step toward rebalancing the division of constitutional war powers between an executive branch that has all too often usurped Congress’s war powers, and a legislative branch that has all too often ceded them. This AUMF is what has contributed to endless war. The law that authorized this long-over war should therefore be repealed.

Why should we repeal the 2002 AUMF now?

Repeal is critical now because doing so now can prevent misuse and abuse. The intent of 2002’s AUMF was to remove Saddam Hussein from power, and that has happened. Now, this outdated war authority could be used to justify a presidential overreach of unauthorized new military actions . For example, during hist first term, President Trump cited the 2002 AUMF as part of his legal justification for the 2020 assassination of General Qasem Soleimani. The Constitution says that Congress has that authority to declare when and where U.S military force is used.  Congress must repeal the 2002 AUMF to reassert their authority over declarations are war and use of military force.

Repeal of the 2002 AUMF has bipartisan and bi cameral support, as well as support in the White House. Vice President JD Vance co-sponsored and voted for an identical 2002 repeal bill in 2023, which passed with a strong bipartisan vote of 66-30. In 2021, members of the House also voted to repeal the 2002 and 1991 AUMFs by strong bipartisan votes. President Trump has also made ending endless wars a cornerstone of his presidency, stating in his inauguration speech, “we will measure our success not only by the battles we win, by also by the wars that we end.”

This law is now two decades old and it’s time to clean up the books!

MFSO took action throughout the country on Armistice Day, standing with veterans and allies to remember the original remembrance of November 11th.

Bell Ringing with Southern California MFSO & VFP Chapter 110  

Bell ringer Donald Pageler survivor of the June 8, 1967 Israeli attack on his ship, the USS Liberty

The ringing of 11 bells takes place every year on November 11^th. Veterans Day was originally called Armistice Day and for nearly 25 years Veterans for Peace has held ceremonies in cities across the country that celebrate the joy felt around the world when a ceasefire was declared at the end of World War I. That historical signing took place the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, to honor the end of a war considered so horrendous that people prayed war must never happen again. Yet it continues.

Book Talk in Orange County, CA

MFSO members and VFP chapter 110 in Orange County CA organized a book talk  at Page Against the Machine Bookstore (Long Beach CA) on Armistice Day. About Face members Joy Griffin, Fernando Islas and Louis Raprager packed the room to hear what they think are the books civilians should read to learn more about our veterans. The books they reviewed were They Were Soldiers, War and Homecoming: Veteran Identity in the post 9-11 Generation and About Face author Danny Sjursen’s Ghost Riders of Baghdad.

Nancy Lessin’s Speech at Vets Say NO! Rally in Boston, MA

I’m Nancy Lessin, co-founder of Military Families Speak Out, a nation-wide organization that began in November, 2002 when the drumbeats for war in Iraq were getting deafening. That fall, my stepson was on his way to the Middle East with the 24^th Marine Expeditionary Unit, Radio Battalion, without congressional approval or a war being declared. 

Traditionally, military families have been told to stand on the sidelines and salute, no matter how horrendously our loved ones are being used as pawns in military misadventures. We chose to SPEAK OUT, build the voice of military and Gold Star families, and join our voices with those of Vietnam Veterans Against the War, Veterans For Peace, and when it was formed in 2004, Iraq Veterans Against the War – now About Face-Veterans Against the War. 

Collectively, we knew better than anyone that our loved ones had all signed a contract – taken an oath to protect country and constitution — but the Bush/Cheney chickenhawk gang broke their side of that contract and sent troops off to kill and be killed in an invasion and occupation for oil markets – a war based on lies.

Fast forward to 2025  — the occupations our loved ones are now being deployed to are in our own cities – and Boston’s on the list. Calling up the National Guard – kids who signed up so they could go to college, teachers, fire fighters, our neighbors…they pledged a weekend a month and two weeks a year to prepare for floods, hurricanes, tornados, fires, natural disasters (or these days, unnatural, due to climate change). And again we hear the lies – not “Weapons of Mass Destruction” but “Crime on our Streets” (there’s crime, alright – all the kidnappings conducted by ICE). And we hear about fentanyl in Venezuelan fishing boats  — seems more like regime change due to Trump seeing our oil under Venezuelan soil. 

Twenty-three years ago Military Families Speak Out called bullshit on the Weapons of Mass Destruction lies, and today we call bullshit on everything the Trump Administration is doing in their march to fascism. 

We are proud to stand with About Face and all the Veterans here on this Armistice Day (Armistice meaning Stand Still the Arms). We are your families, and you are our hearts.  If there are any military families out there, or that any of you know who might want to join their voice to ours, send them to militaryfamiliesspeakout.com.

We know that it’s never been a politician who’s ended a war, or stopped a march to fascism – it’s always been a social movement. I want to thank everyone here for being part of that social movement.

Military Families Speak Out says: not one more day, not one more dime of tax-payer money, not one more abduction of our neighbors, and not one more lie – No ICE, No CUTS, No Military on our Streets, and NO Fascism. 

TAKE ACTION – Call your US Senator and ask them to vote no on HR 22 (aka SAVE AC)!

Stand with MFSO and SFI to say NO on the SAVE Act. It was passed in the House on April 10 and currently in the Senate. 

Please push your senators in congress to vote against it. It severely hinders active duty military from voting!

One of the barriers this bill is trying to impose on voters would be requiring voters to bring passports or birth certificates in person to their election office in order to register. This means – no more registration from your far-away duty station. 

Use this tool by Action Network to send a email to your senators. Tell them: Vote NO on the SAVE Act.

The deployment of U.S. military personnel to the southern border is an ineffective and costly use of resources that fails to address the root causes of migration and border security concerns. Rather than enhancing national security, this approach diverts critical military assets from their intended missions, strains defense budgets, and places service members in roles they are neither trained nor appropriately utilized. Furthermore, such deployments risk undermining constitutional protections, particularly the Fourth Amendment rights of immigrants and asylum seekers, which guard against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Military forces are not a sustainable solution for managing immigration policy or border enforcement. Civilian agencies such as Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are better equipped to handle these responsibilities through targeted personnel, technology, and infrastructure investments. The continued reliance on troop deployments reflects a short-term political strategy rather than a viable long-term solution. In addition, military involvement at the border raises significant legal and ethical concerns, including the potential for violations of due process and protections against warrantless searches under the Fourth Amendment.

Additionally, such deployments impose unnecessary burdens on military personnel, disrupting training schedules and readiness while offering little strategic value. Instead of misallocating defense resources, policymakers should prioritize comprehensive immigration reform, diplomatic engagement with neighboring countries, and enhanced border management strategies that align with humanitarian and security needs while upholding constitutional rights. We strongly oppose the unnecessary deployment of troops to the border and management strategies that don’t align with humanitarian and security needs or uphold constitutional rights. 

We strongly oppose the unnecessary deployment of troops to the border and advocate for effective, sustainable, and fiscally responsible solutions that respect civil liberties and address border security and immigration challenges.

Last month,  6 formerly deported veterans joined members of the American Legion Post 354 in Buena Park gathered to unveil a mural of their fellow deported veterans. The room was filled to capacity with US Congressman Lou Correa and the entire Buena Park City Council in attendance among other officials in attendance. Their goal was to bring awareness to the issue that over 40,000 US active duty service members are currently vulnerable to deportation. Also, US veterans who have served honorable have already been deported and await humanitarian paroles so they can return to their families. The group is heavily promoting the re-introduction of the last congressional session’s  bill HR 4569 which would end the practice of  military deportations by allowing for the process of obtaining citizenship to begin during basic training.

THE LEAVE NO ONE BEHIND MURAL PROJECT

A mural project supporting and bringing awareness of deported veterans across the globe. Since 1996 over 1,000 honorable discharged non-citizen veterans have been deported.  All of them were here legally with green cards. It’s time to bring them home. Supported by the National Executive Committee of the American Legion. For more information https://leavenoonebehindmuralproject.org

HR 4569 is the Veteran Service Recognition Act, which would protect non-citizen veterans from deportation and ensure that they and their families would still receive the benefits they earned if they are deported and begin the process of obtaining citizenship while in basic training. This bill also expedites the process for naturalization for our non-citizen servicemembers ensuring that no veteran or service members lips through the cracks of our immigrations system.

MFSO Co-Sponsors Film Showing

To mark the anniversary of the disastrous invasion of Iraq, Veterans For Peace presents a virtual screening of What I Want You To Know, an award-winning documentary produced by two veterans who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Military Families Speak Out and Servicemembers for Ceasefire are co-sponsors. Join us and hear the latest analysis from our friend from Veterans for Peace, Matt Ho.

Here’s the trailer for the film. https://www.whatiwantyoutoknow-film.com/about

Military Families Speak Out applauds President Joe Biden’s and Secretary of Defense General Lloyd Austin’s decision to drain the fuel tanks at the United States Navy’s Red Hill storage facility on the Hawaiian island of Oahu of 125 million gallons of fuel that were contaminating the base’s water supply.  The recent emergency relocation of 4,000 military families on the Hawaiian island of Oahu due to the leaking fuel tanks called for quick action to protect those who serve from the contaminated drinking water. MFSO is greatly relieved to hear of this important step that has been taken to protect the health and safety of our troops and their families.  

Military members and their families face many hardships in the service of their country, but being exposed to hazardous chemicals such as petroleum products and PFOC’s, the “forever chemicals, shouldn’t be one of them. Subjecting our service members and their families to hazardous conditions is not only extremely unsettling for military personnel, but could also contribute to a national security crisis. MFSO member US Army Colonel (Ret.) Ann Wright, speaking of the situation regarding military families in Oahu said, “National security involves the health and welfare of our people.”

MFSO urges the President to drain the fuel tanks in Oahu without any further delay and to direct the Environmental Protection Agency to set Minimum Safe Levels for PFOC exposure to protect our military families and the surrounding communities at this base and the other 400 bases that are being evaluated for contamination. In addition, free testing kits for measuring PFOC exposure should be made available to all concerned, as well as increased medical monitoring of those affected by the contamination.

(MFSO) extends our deepest condolences and unwavering support to the communities of New Orleans and Las Vegas in the wake of these heartbreaking tragedies. The pain and trauma experienced by survivors, families, and first responders echo the profound struggles that military families and veterans know all too well.

As families of service members, we recognize the long-lasting impact of violence and disaster. Survivors of mass violence and natural disasters often face emotional scars that are invisible yet deeply damaging. The fear, helplessness, and grief that arise from such events can trigger or intensify post-traumatic stress (PTS), a condition that many of our veterans and military families confront daily.

Post-traumatic stress is not limited to the battlefield; it is a reality for anyone who has endured life-threatening experiences. In the aftermath of these tragedies, many survivors may experience flashbacks, anxiety, depression, and isolation—symptoms similar to those faced by veterans returning from war. These shared struggles highlight the urgent need for comprehensive mental health support and compassionate care for all affected individuals.

MFSO calls on policymakers, healthcare providers, and community leaders to prioritize trauma-informed care and expand mental health resources for survivors of violence and disaster. Just as our veterans require ongoing support for invisible wounds, so too do the countless civilians now burdened by trauma.

Let us unite to support healing and recovery, recognizing that the path forward requires empathy, understanding, and action. No one should have to navigate the lasting effects of trauma alone.

In solidarity,
Military Families Speak Out

(more…)