So much happening over the next couple weeks! We encourage all of our members to participate in convention activities in Cleveland, OH and Philadelphia, PA. Please take a  look into the actions listed below,  and consider joining them to remind people that we are still enduring endless war, the (human) costs of these wars, and the only  solution, which of course, is to bring all of our troops home now.  As candidates talk about security, we must be ready to challenge our next president to do the right thing and stop these endless wars.

MFSO is working on coordinating activities at the conventions and will have Missouri member Casey Stinemetz as a coordinator for all MFSO activities at the DNC. If you are able to go, please let us know so we can connect you or you can reach her directly at the number below. She leaves Friday morning for the DNC and will be part of a caravan that is stopping in Columbia, OH and Pittsburgh, PA .

Here is a list of many actions, events, and gatherings that are happening in Philly during the DNC. FDR Park in Philly will have “wash up” facilities, and 1501 Cherry St (AFSC), 101 North Broad St (Methodist Church), and the S.E. Corner of 4th & Arch Streets all will have very limited Washroom/restroom facilities. If you plan to come to the DNC please e-mail casey@veteransforpeace.org.  Casey will be there with free MFSO t-shirts for the first part of the DNC, on Sunday and Monday (July 23rd and 24th) .

Whether you are attending the RNC or DNC events, if you are willing  to talk to the media, please let us know by e-mailing mfso-oc@earthlink.net.

Other Events Happening at the RNC & DNC:
The World Can’t Wait
Counter RNC 2016
Code Pink Schedule

On July 6, 2016 President Obama announced his intention to maintain 8,400 troops on the ground and in harms way in Afghanistan.

That announcement was followed by news that the President had authorized an additional 500 troops for Iraq, bringing the total authorized US force in Iraq to over 4,600. There are reportedly hundreds, if not thousands, of further US troops in Iraq in Syria on ‘rotational’ deployments and non-disclosed missions.

Miiltary Families Speak Out [MFSO] opposes this continuation of ENDLESS WAR that has neither reduced incidences of terrorism throughout the world, nor made life safer for the people of Afghanistan or here at home. After nearly 15 years, it is time to end, not prolong, the war in Afghanistan. This has to stop.

Bring Home Our Troops, Take Care of Them When They Get Here!

Take Action:

• Sign The Petition
• Contact President Obama! E-mail, Call (202)-456-1111, or Fax (202)-456-246
• White a letter to the editor or op-ed
• Share, post, tweet this alert!
• Donate to MFSO

Members of MFSO were out for July 4th celebrations with the message “Peace Is Patriotic” in Huntington Beach, CA. Members held white umbrellas with this message as part of the Veterans For Peace float.

Being present at these events is one way to spread the MFSO message and talk to people about the need to bring home our troops.

Bring Home Our Troops. Take Care Of Them When They Get Here 

On Monday, June 6th, nine military family members, veterans and supporters were present at the Hilary Clinton Rally on Monday, June 6th in Long Beach CA. This was not a rally for us for or against any candidate. We are simply following all the candidates, as we have with Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump, stop avoiding the important issue of these endless wars and to meet with us.

Will you stand with MFSO to ask for all the candidates, including Hillary Clinton, to discuss wars and to have a meeting with veterans and military families?

Please join military families at the 2016 Veterans For Peace convention in Berkley, CA! This year’s theme will be “Peace At Home, Peace Abroad. A Just and Sustainable Future for the World’s Children.”  You can register for the convention online.

Jeff Merrick, veteran and Military Families Speak Out leader, will present the latest information on Depleted Uranium- today’s Agent Orange. This PowerPoint presentation and round table discussion will cover the history and use of DU, how it is used in modern warfare, and its effect on civilians from areas that we have contaminated with DU.  Military families will be on hand to share how DU has impacted our loved ones and their children.

The extensive destruction by Depleted Uranium (DU) on the environment in the U.S., Iraq and other countries caused by the ever increasing desire for more powerful weaponry will be examined.  Strategies will be proposed on how to increase awareness about this on-going travesty and what we can do about it. Every person in attendance will be given an informational packet with testing resources.

Bernie Sander spoke in Carson, CA on Tuesday, May 18th. A few MFSO members attended the rally with this message: “Talk to military families and veterans, Bernie. We  want all troops out of the Middle East now”.

It was great getting our message out to thousands of Bernie fans. We were definitely seen and heard. We’re hoping to get a meeting with Bernie in the near future. A campaign spokesperson approached us and gave us his number to help us get an appointment set up.

Military Families Speak Out will host a panel at the upcoming Left Forum in New York City. Left Forum convenes the largest annual conference of a broad spectrum of left and progressive intellectuals, activists, academics, organizations and the interested public. 

Nancy Lessin, MFSO co-founder will be moderating this panel made up of  military families who will be speaking about their own experiences with military suicide. Sharing their very personal stories will be parents Tim Kahlor (CA), Joyce and Kevin Lucey ( MA), Marcia Westbrook ( WVA) and wife Tracy Eiswert (FLA). Please join us! 

Left Forum 2016
May 20th-22nd: 10:00am Room L 123
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
The City University of New York
524 W. 59th Street, NYC

Compared to the U.S. population, both deployed and non-deployed veterans have a higher risk of suicide. According to studies, over 22 veterans and active duty military die by suicide every day. If you are concerned about a veteran, please get help.

By Rosemarie Slavenas
His boots are empty now, the hopeful one who wore them ground beneath the juggernaut of war.
Where we laid him, a stone will stay, flags flutter, and flowers sway, watered by tears and rain.
War is cruel, and love must suffer long. But can it suffer so in vain?
Do you hear their voices calling from out those empty boots? We went where we were sent, and there we faced the worst.
Upon our broken bodies, dare you take a stand? Or will our deaths, just like our lives be lost in desert sand.