Troops Home Now!

Editorials from MFSO members:

Army Mom’s Response to Mobilizing the US Military to Stop American Demonstrations

As a proud mother of an Army officer who was deployed to DC last week, I am completely disgusted that President Trump, who obviously does not understand the Constitution, issued an order to deploy active duty U.S. Army troops to DC and no one else in his cabinet signed off on it! Trump just told the Secretary of the Army to, “Do it.”

Also, before a president can invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807, he along with his attorney general must first issue a “proclamation to disperse”, which they did not do.

This act allows a President a major exception to deploy our military on U.S. soil, which is otherwise unconstitutional. Trump did exactly that, yet of course he found a loophole so that he didn’t initially have to call it the Insurrection Act. You see, Washington DC is a federal district under the exclusive jurisdiction of the US Congress. It is not a state and it has no governor that needs to request or approve such action.

To give a bit of history, President Ulysses S. Grant invoked the Insurrection Act in 1871-72 during and after the Civil War to protect African-Americans from attacks by the KKK and to enforce equal protection under the 14th amendment of the Constitution.

In 1957, President Eisenhower called on the US Army’s 101st airborne division to safely escort nine black students into Little Rock Central High School after the governor used the Arkansas National Guard to prevent students from entering the school! In 1962 and 1963, President John F. Kennedy deployed The National Guard to stand in the school house door and also to enforce desegregation orders on Alabama public schools. In 1968, President Johnson brought in the 82nd and the 101st Airborne to the Detroit riots and also in response to protests sparked by MLK’s assassination. It was last invoked in 1992 by President George H.W.Bush in L.A. after the state requested assistance during the Rodney King riots.

Now, exactly the opposite is happening. In contrast, after states called up the National Guard to maintain order, Trump decided it was further necessary to propose the use of the Insurrection Act and unilaterally brought into DC the military police from the National Guard. He then mobilized the Army’s 82nd Airborne without the request from any local, city or state government! Trump wanted troops to rise against and control crowds of US citizens that were lawfully and peacefully protesting, which is their first amendment right. Trump’s fear and intimidation tactics were outrageous in my opinion. Apparently the ACLU agrees and has filed lawsuits against the President and Attorney General Bill Barr for ordering an attack against White House protesters. Did he expect that the military would fire upon innocent citizens? This is not what they signed up for.

The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 limits the use of military personnel under federal command for law-enforcement purposes in the United States. General Mark Milley, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, verbalized yesterday on TV that he felt it was a mistake that he was in front of the church for Trump’s photo op moment after the National Guard blasted peaceful citizens and the press with pepper bullets and tear gas. General Milley went on to say that it created the perception that the military was involved in domestic politics!
The way Trump shamefully ambushed some of his cabinet for this last minute stunt was beyond outrageous in my opinion. Trump’s actions have also drawn criticism from multiple military leaders. General James Mattis, former Defense Secretary said, “We do not need to militarize our response to protests, we need to unite around a common purpose.” Mattis went on to say that, “Trump was the first president in my lifetime that did not try to unite the American people- does not even pretend to try. Instead he tries to divide us.”

Our military does not need to be used as pawns in this situation. To make matters worse, after my son returned home from three nights in DC, I was mortified to find out that for two of the nights, they had to sleep on the floor of a dirty gymnasium with no blankets etc. The last night there, they put some of them up in a hotel that had been used for COVID-19 patients that they had re-purposed! Is that any way to treat our men and women in uniform? As far as I’m concerned he should’ve put them up in Trump Tower!

These peaceful protests are a long overdue uprising against hate, prejudice and injustice in our country. I hope that everyone goes out to VOTE in November. Please let your voices be heard. 🙏🏼☮️

A Concerned Army Mom
Military Families Speak Out

In the News:

Afghanistan’s vision for peace: A conversation with its President   This is a transcript of an interview of Afghanistan’s President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani on his views of Afghanistan.  I believe it’s always a good idea understand how leaders of a country think about how to lead their country out of war.  Link to story

Taliban still hasn’t met conditions for US withdrawal from Afghanistan   It’s looking like most everyone is pushing back on Trump’s plans to leave Afghanistan-from our own members of congress and US generals. It sure looks like no one is ready to bring our family members home.  Link to story

US troop reinforcements arrive to secure oil region in Syria  US troops are said to be expanding their base at the Al-Omar Oil Field, to the east of Deir Ez-Zor  Link to story

Taliban, US Spar Over Al-Qaida Presence in Afghanistan  Why does the U.S. believe we can only leave if Al-Qaida is out of Afghanistan? Anyone can say I’m Al-Qaida.  The Taliban on Thursday rejected a top American general’s assessment that the al-Qaida leadership is still based in Afghanistan, insisting that no foreign fighters linked to the group are present in the country.  Link to story

From Jeff’s desk  DOD has stopped allowing family members moving to the Gulf States, but have not removed the families currently in the area.  In my view, this looks like the military is looking into removing a large number of troops from the area. On the other hand, they may be thinking that in the long term it may be riskier to keep families there.

Note: The opinions reflected above and in future editorials are not a reflection of  any official stance approved by the MFSO board, which meets monthly and posts official positions decided by the board on our website. Your responses and opinions are welcome. If you would like to send your own editorial on any MFSO related issue, please send to mfsooc@earthlink.net

Contributions & editing by: Army mom, Jeff Merrick & Pat Alviso-CA.

Military Families Speak Out

May 2020

Troops Home Now?

Editorials from MFSO members:

By Dan Kelly

WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT – What are we committed to creating?

As I dance with the emotions that always emerge on Memorial Day, I’m struck both by my grief and my awareness that what I do with it is my choice.  A lot of men and women were left behind, friends, comrades, children, families.

How do we honor them?

Life is a process of creation and recreation. The question is what are we going to make of it?  It’s time to take stock of our recreating. Each day we’re at a powerful crossroad that defines how we use our grief and, indeed, the rage that often underlies it.  Once again it is time to consciously choose between having the rage and pain drive us, or to own its presence without letting it defines us.   The pain of loss is always an opportunity to change poison into medicine, heal and create new realities.

We have two choices. We can continue at the whip-end of all that we’ve been through as veterans and warriors as the families of warriors OR we can transcend the pain in a redoubling of our commitment to a world beyond warring.   The price of the former is the bile of bitterness. The reward for the latter choice is a renewal of compassion and a reclaiming of our vitality and voice that honors the fallen.  When we shift our ground-of-being to one of compassion as the framework to live out of possibilities beyond the pain and brokenness we do what they would have us do: live fully.

As Wernor Erhard said years ago, to move on, choose what you have as perfect as it is AND as it isn’t as the opening from which to re-create.  I’d suggest that we don’t forget that recreation is re-creation. Holding it as such, we can find joy in reinventing ourselves, the ails and pains of the process notwithstanding.  I firmly believe the purpose of life is to live with joy and happiness, regardless of the circumstances we find ourselves in.  What we experience as loss, trite as it seems, is, nonetheless, a new opening.

The greatest gift we can give ourselves is to create a sense of equanimity. That isn’t sitting passively in the lotus position in the proverbial cave. It is, rather, a most demanding and rigorous discipline of reflection, meditation,  and self-nurturing leading  us to a continuing  discovery of our own innate spirituality. That includes doing the work we need to do to create real ontological clarity about who we choose to be and root ourselves in possibility and a vision or stand for who we say we are. With that clarity which only you can create for yourself you can be empowered to be peacemakers as exemplars rather than as victims of war.

When we live out of that clarity rather than stick ourselves with the abundant evidence for what’s broken, we find two precious things: an internal peace and the capacity to serve our children and extended circle with wisdom and love that transforms the quality of life in our space. When we can find equanimity in the face of the storm we can embrace what’s broken as a nuisance and use it as an opening in our personal world for transformation.   None of that is possible without compassion. And in order to live compassionately we must grant compassion to our own selves. When we do, we find humor in our struggling and quit fighting against it.

Now it’s time for you to put the rigor in place to find joy in the now that you stand in.  Life’s much more pleasant when we embrace possibility in the face of whatever is broken, whether our broken hearts or our broken culture.   In knowing the brokenness can inform us we can put our energy into transformation rather than knee-jerking in response to the onslaught of what’s broken.   Our cultural malaise is a result of allowing the powerful evidence for brokenness to define who we are in the face of it instead of just informing us.  Personal and cultural workability comes out of clarity about who we say we chose to be and the courage to live out of a well conceived and well articulated declaration.

When I’m at my best I live out of my own ontological statement: who I “be” is love, compassion and humor as an opening to transformation in every realm of my life.  EVERY realm: friendships, business dealings and my stand for peace in the world.  None of that was possible until I chose to puzzle through what I chose to be as  a defining framework for myself.

That simple statement has been the nexus for everything I’ve created in my space: relationship; friendships; the property I’m blessed to inhabit (Kelly’s Coop); and my roles in activism that gives me openings to contribute in my community as well as  my reach into the wider world.  My joy is a direct correlate of my choice to exercise the rigor of that stand: to be love, compassion and humor as the opening for transformation in my space.  May we stand for workability and vitality rooted in a celebration of life that is the greatest measure we can give to those we left behind as we work for a compassionate world at peace.

Dan serviced in Vietnam 1966-67, Parent of OIF Marine and livers in Arivaca, AZ.

In the News:

Delay of military funerals adds additional sorrow Military Families are finding that closure is elusive without honor guard, gun salute or folded flag ceremonies.  The Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration suspended military funerals at San Diego’s two national cemeteries in March in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Link to story

Remembering Pat Tillman without the spin  Pat Tillman Memorial Day Run and remembering the wars continues.   Link to story

They survived the worst battles of World War II and died of the virus.  Inside the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home was a man who had served as a jailer to Hitler’s top aide, a man who had rescued Japanese kamikaze pilots from the sea and a man who carried memories of a concentration camp.  Link to story

Afghanistan’s Ghani Vows To Expedite Release Of Taliban Prisoners  Afghan President Ashraf Ghani launched a process on May 24 to release up to 2,000 Taliban prisoners after welcoming an offer by the militants of a three-day cease-fire to mark Eid al-Fitr, the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.  Link to story

Our son, a Marine, died needlessly in training at Pendleton.  Nearly as many service members were killed in the last year in high-risk training as in combat.  Why is a Marine or soldier dying every single month in military vehicle rollovers? Can anything be done to reduce this appalling death toll?  Why are military tactical vehicles – Humvees, LAVs, Bradley fighting vehicles, MRZRs, 7-ton trucks top-heavy and prone to tip over?

Link to story

Will Trump pull U.S. troops out of Afghanistan despite continued Taliban attacks?  Mr. Khalilzad and the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Austin S. Miller, were to meet with Taliban representatives in Qatar last week to “press for steps necessary to commence intra-Afghan negotiations, including a significant reduction of violence,” according to the State Department.  Link to story

China to push for stable Afghanistan in regional conference  A stable Afghanistan plays into Chinese economic interests, as Beijing looks to extend the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor through Afghanistan as part of its Belt and Road Initiative. China is currently Afghanistan’s largest foreign investor, with significant stakes in oil and copper developments. Afghanistan also shares a short border with China.  Link to story

Note: The opinions reflected above and in future editorials are not a reflection of any official stance approved by the MFSO board, which meets monthly and posts official positions decided by the board on our website. Your responses and opinions are welcome. If you would like to send your half page editorial on any MFSO related issue, please send to mfsooc@earthlink.net

Contributions & editing by: Dan Kelly-AZ. Jeff Merrick & Pat Alviso-CA.

Troops Home Now?

Editorials from MFSO members:
By Al Glatkowski

We won’t go back to normal, because normal was the problem.
Hi, Al Glatkowski here, VVAW-OSS/VFP/MFSO, back home and checking in from my town in North Carolina.  We are all hoping that each of our families in MFSO are safe, well, and practicing “Social Distancing.”  Having recently returned from Belize, CA (when I left, the only country to not have any Covid-19 cases), I was fortunate to drive back through both Belize and Mexico with no challenges and into a new reality here stateside.  I followed the news while traveling but still actually entered a new world ~ so to speak ~ upon my return home and quarantine for just a bit over two weeks.  With time on our hands, Cindy and I began to weed the gardens, both flowers and veggies.  Cindy jokingly referred to our organic “Victory Garden” as a way to supplement our fare.  A good thing considering the recent reports of lack of workers to harvest farm produce.  I have always been proud to use the words”Victory Garden,” as it has been a staple of my family even before my birth.  Link

I co-Admin several FaceBook pages and quickly tried to catch up on a lot of what I missed out on.  What struck me hard in the face was the word “WAR” and how easily it was being bantered about and now ceaselessly used to describe the actions and preventative measures to deal with a Pandemic.  Interestingly the word Pandemic comes from the Greek ~ Pan “all, and Demos. “people or population,” or all people.  The word “War” to describe this “Pandemic” is a good metaphor, particularly for a national leader who has no understanding of war outside of his narcissistic need to overwhelm his opponents, gaslight the gullible, and prove his value to the top 1%.  Let’s see, how many “Wars” do we have here in the US?  War on Poverty (a joke), War on Drugs (questionable at best), and others I am certain.  The con-man is the “War President” now, eagerly and clearly getting and keeping us all toeing the line.  Oh, and how easily many of us have fallen for this new “War.”

I made the effort to keep in communication with other activists while abroad and during my rests stops.  I traveled with a 12-volt cooler, my own water, a cardboard box of non-perishable food, hand sanitizer wipes, toilet paper and bottled coffee, most all purchased in Belize before I began my 8 day journey, and slept in my pickup as much as possible.  All was worth its weight in gold I later found out.  Belize closed its last border the day I left, and the International Airport the next.  It was an interesting journey.  While little Belize was awaiting the arrival of Cuban assistance, doctors and nurses, had already been testing people in different parts of the country, (yes they have it there and have already lost several citizens), but life went on along the small back roads, and the occasional toll highways, I traveled back to the states through Mexico.  Crossing the US border was never so easy.  On my road trip back I could see each state’s visible reaction to the virus: one could see from the Interstate that Texas had closed their malls by the time I got there (and Texans love their malls!); Louisiana wasn’t yet so tight; Mississippi was a blur other than sleeping for a hour or two at rest stops; Alabama? Another blur; the governor of Georgia was still defiant; South Carolina was closed; and so was North Carolina.  I am glad I reached out to folks along the drive.

If we’re not doing something now, then we are doing something wrong.  After I got home, I quickly discovered that people are finding ways to keep up with their activism.  I immediately signed up for different webinars being offered by groups I follow on FaceBook and through other means of communication.  I have reached out to be on zoom calls, Jitsi calls, etc.  The first thing I realized is that we must step up and figure out alternative ways of doing active resistance against the wars.  We can no longer do things in the same way we did before.  It is complicated, but we are now required to think outside of our box, outside of our normal parameters.  I have learned of one group that organized a rolling caravan for immigration rights of the detainees, a clever way to stay safe and still get their message out.  Other actions I have learned of included issue-related online cocktail hour discussions; warrior writers projects online groups in NJ with Paula and Jan; post card campaigns; and yes, some of our veteran brothers and sisters are out on the frontlines bringing food and medical care to those in need, particularly the homeless, hungry and elderly.  Other groups, just like the MFSO board, are meeting online to reflect, share and brainstorm ideas on how to have the greatest impact during this shutdown.

While we continue to get disappointing news that so many long planned events by our allies have or are being cancelled, (VFP annual convention in Albuquerque, Poor People’s Campaign in DC, 50th anniversary of Kent State), what can we do?  SHARE, SHARE,SHARE!  Share everything you think someone needs to know about online!  HASHTAG (#EndTheWarsNow!) your anti-war postings or any post for that matter.  Seriously reflect on your own actions and begin to grow outside of the box!  If you share only with like-minded people maybe now is the time to expand the horizon.  I don’t expect many will pick fruit and vegetables for the wages that have been normally paid to non-union farmworkers: I now call my garden the “Victory Garden over Capitalism.”  Take a risk.  Learn how to Zoom or Jitsi or GoTo Meeting.  Many offer free access for limited size meetings.  Inspire others and then do it again.  Eight or nine days ago I made the decision to daily call 5 friends, just to check in with them, discuss what’s happening in their lives and areas and to share things from my side of the country, but I did so all along my drive as well.  It’s a Pandemic, a public health Pandemic, I don’t need the con-man’s “War.”


Al Glatkowski, and his wife Cindy live in a coastal community in N. Carolina. They have had two sons in the military, one a Gulf War Navy Veteran and the other an active duty Army officer an former Blackhawk Army  pilot that was deployed to Afghanistan twice. Al was a Merchant Marine in Vietnam in 1967, and continues to be an antiwar activist.

In the News:

Military fights virus on two fronts  As the Pentagon deploys hospital ships, it shifts plans after dozens of sailors are infected.  It already has canceled or reduced several large-scale training exercises, halted the movement of troops overseas and domestically, confined the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt to port in Guam after an outbreak aboard the warship, and shuttered many of its recruiting offices around the country.  Link to story

U.S. threatens to cut aid as Afghan talks teeter  Kabul government risks losing $2 billion unless it negotiates with the Taliban.  Link to story

US-Led Forces Pull Out of 3rd Iraqi Base this Month  The K1 Air Base is the third site coalition forces have left this month, in line with U.S. plans to consolidate its troops in two locations in Iraq.  Link to story

Swing state Republicans back U.S. troop pullout from Middle East  A new poll shows that supporters of President Trump in the key battleground states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin strongly support bringing U.S. troops home from the Middle East. The Tarrance Group poll found a majority and often supermajority support for pulling troops out of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, as well as the recent Afghan peace deal and pursuing diplomacy instead of military conflict with Iran.  https://bringourtroopshome.us/polls

Taliban, US commander discuss violence reduction in Afghanistan  The commander of US forces in Afghanistan has met Taliban leadership in Doha to discuss the need to reduce violence in the war-torn country, which threatens to derail a fragile peace process,  Link to story

Probably the closest the US Navy has come to a mutiny  Captain Crozier was fired after a leak of a letter he had emailed to Navy leaders detailing the service’s failures in dealing with a coronavirus outbreak on the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt.  Link to story

Note: The opinions reflected above and in future editorials are not a reflection of  any official stance approved by the MFSO board, which meets monthly and posts official positions decided by the board on our website. Your responses and opinions are welcome. If you would like to send your own editorial on any MFSO related issue, please send to mfsooc@earthlink.net