Thirteen people were arrested on Aug. 10 at Fort McCoy near Sparta, Wisc., for witnessing against the U.S. government's illegal and immoral war in Iraq.

One of them was Joy First, Ph.D. Joy is deeply committed to bringing peace to our nation and the world. Although she lives in Wisconsin, she regularly travels to Washington, D.C., (at her own expense) to participate in non-violent civil disobedience. I had the honor of being arrested with her in the Supreme Court action Jan. 11 (the charges against her were dropped as she was not wearing a T-shirt that asked to stop torture) and on March 12 for the Ghosts of the Iraqi War action in the U.S. Senate. We go on trial for the latter on Sept. 29.

This account is based on her essay about the action:

The action was organized by Witness Against War, a campaign of Voices for Creative non-Violence (www.vcnv.org). Ten people are walking the 450 miles from Chicago, the site of the 1968 Democratic National Convention, to St. Paul Minn., the site of the 2008 Republican National Convention. Along the way, the peace pilgrims are interacting with local communities to raise awareness of the role and culpability of BOTH political parties in the continuing horror and carnage in Iraq and calling for an immediate end to the occupation and war.

About 50 people took part in the Aug. 10 action. The group walked six miles to Fort McCoy, chanting and singing along the way.

It is always stressful putting your safety on the line when risking arrest. Sometimes you get an arresting officer who does not agree with your political views, and even when treating them with the utmost respect and kindness (being the peace you want to see in the world), they take that as tacit permission to treat you roughly and sometimes even cruelly.

Even in the best of circumstances, you'll be physically uncomfortable being handcuffed for hours on end and will not have ready access to bathrooms, food and water. We know, however, that this is nothing compared to the plight of US soldiers and citizens of Iraq.

The 13 people who were risking arrest walked up to a roadblock at the base, where an officer told them that they could go no further. Jeff Leys, co-coordinator with Voices for Creative Nonviolence, told the officer that the group had come with an open letter to those on the base, and the group would like to talk to the soldiers and explain why they were at the base. The peace pilgrims were calling on the government to end the war, bring all military personnel home, take care of our returning soldiers, and support Iraq in its reconstruction.

They also wanted to enter the base to talk to soliders who might soon be deployed to Iraq and let them know what their rights are. Jeff let the officer know that some of the group were choosing to enter the base in a non-violent manner despite the warning.

When the 13 did begin to enter, about twice as many Army military police officers immediately swarmed out of the building and came towards the group. They were very polite as they began to handcuff and lead the pilgrims into a large garage-type area for processing.

Those arrested included: Kathy Kelly, 54, of Chicago; Jeff Leys, 44, of Watertown, Wisc.; Joy First, 54, of Madison, Wisc.; John Bachman, 56, of Eau Claire, Wisc.; Brian Terrell, 52, of Des Moines, Iowa; Renee Espeland, 47, of Des Moines, Iowa; Kryss Chupp, 49, of Chicago; Ceylon Mooney, 33, of Memphis; Eileen Hanson, 34, of Winona, Minn.; Joshua Brollier, 25, of Clarkesville, Tenn.; Lauren Cannon, 38, of Chicago; Alice Gerard, 51, of Grand Island, N.Y.; and Gene Stoltzfus, 68, of Ontario, Canada.  

They were kept in handcuffs the whole time they were being processed. Each was given a citation for trespassing and were told that they would be mailed a date for a mandatory court appearance in federal court in Madison.

After 90 minutes to two hours, they were then taken back to the edge of the base and released to their fellow pilgrims, who were waiting for them with food, water and hugs – not necessarily in that order. Kathy Kelly was not among those released, as she had some outstanding warrants.  

Joy is in her late 50's had grown children and grandchildren. Here is what she says about her witness:

“As I continue my resistance to our government’s actions, I constantly question what I am doing and why. I know that what I am doing will not stop the war today or tomorrow. I know that we need many more people to be involved in civil resistance. But for today, I know that I must continue my resistance. I have to continue to do all I can in speaking out against the illegal and immoral actions of our government. I believe that what we do does make a difference.”

Here is the letter the group wanted to deliver to the solider to at Ft. McCoy:

OPEN LETTER TO THOSE SERVING AT FORT MCCOY AND TO THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT

We today come to Fort McCoy to seek an end to the war in and occupation of Iraq by the United States.

We come to Fort McCoy because of its key role in training National Guard units deploying to Iraq—a training that should end immediately with the commitment of the U.S. to keep National Guard units home and withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq.

We seek the following commitments from the United States government:

1. The complete withdrawal of all U.S. military forces from Iraq;
2. An end to all U.S. military action within and against Iraq, whether that action be air, ground or naval;
3. Full funding for the highest quality health care for veterans and for all who live within the U.S.;
4. An end to “stop loss” orders; and
5. Full funding provided by the U.S. for the reconstruction of Iraq after 18 years of economic and military warfare.

Already the U.S. has spent over $600 billion to wage the Iraq war.

The total cost of the war will almost certainly come close to $1.4 trillion by 2018, even if somehow total troop deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan are reduced to 75,000 troops by 2012.

Virtually no money remains appropriated to be spent for the reconstruction of Iraq.

The Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction has repeatedly reported on the misspending of reconstruction funds by the U.S. The U.S. has an obligation to provide funding for the reconstruction of Iraq following these past 18 years of economic and military warfare.

Neither Senator John McCain nor Senator Barack Obama is calling for the complete withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq any time soon. Senator McCain speaks about basing troop levels in Iraq upon “conditions on the ground”, without further defining what he means. Senator Obama talks about withdrawing 1 combat brigade per month while leaving a “residual” force behind to train the Iraqi military and police; to safeguard the U.S. embassy; and to engage in “counter-terrorist” activities.Most likely this “residual” force would be in the range of 30,000 to 60,000 U.S. troops remaining in Iraq indefinitely.

Meanwhile the strain upon service men and women and their families continues unabated with repeat deployments to Iraq. The Washington National Guard’s 81st Heavy Brigade Combat Team will deploy to Iraq for the second time this fall. The 32nd Red Arrow Brigade Combat Team of the Wisconsin National Guard will deploy to Iraq in 2009. This will be the largest deployment to combat of the Wisconsin National Guard since World War II when it logged the most days in theater of any U.S. Army unit.

We call upon the United States to keep the National Guard at home in the U.S. and to end these repeat deployments abroad.

We come to Fort McCoy to, in some small way, act in solidarity with members of the military who choose to nonviolently resist this war by refusing to be deployed to Iraq. We encourage members of the active duty military, Reserve and National Guard to consider refusing deployment orders and to be in contact with the GI Rights Hotline regarding their rights within the military at 1-800-394-9544.

Sincerely,
Witness Against War