LAT: California Iraq vets, some still on active duty, take a public antiwar stance

[DeepModem Mom]

They also serve their conscience
California veterans, including some still on active duty, are speaking out against the U.S. presence in Iraq.
By Rone Tempest, Times Staff Writer
April 30, 2007

WALNUT CREEK, CALIF. — Off duty in Baghdad, Army Sgt. Ronn Cantu operates an antiwar website.

When not repairing Black Hawk helicopters for the California National Guard, Jabbar Magruder conducts counterrecruiting sessions with would-be enlistees.

Fresh from two tours each in Iraq, decorated former Marines Sean O'Neill and Mike Ergo give antiwar speeches at Northern California high schools.

Although their numbers are still small compared with the draft-fueled Vietnam veterans' movement four decades ago, California's Iraq veterans are gaining a voice in opposition to America's continued military presence in Iraq. Recent antiwar demonstrations in Los Angeles, San Francisco and other cities have seen the first sizable contingents of veterans from the conflict.

The protesters even include some soldiers — like Cantu, of Los Angeles — who are still on active duty. "I've taken a public antiwar stance," Cantu, 29, recently e-mailed from Baghdad, where he serves in intelligence with the 1st Cavalry Division, "but I didn't shirk my responsibilities."

O'Neill, a 24-year-old Marine veteran from Fremont, said he likes to take the antiwar message to conservative areas of the state "to add legitimacy and to show that it is not just crazed leftists who are against the war."

For the most part, the military has tolerated the antiwar activities of its active-duty soldiers and reservists.

"While not on duty or in uniform, our service members maintain similar rights as other Americans," said Lt. Col. Jon Siepmann, director of public affairs for the California National Guard. "There are, however, limitations that exist to ensure the good order and discipline of the service and to maintain an effective chain of command."...

Cantu belongs to an organization called Iraq Veterans Against the War and is an active antiwar blogger. Except for a letter of admonishment he was given for his largely antiwar website http://www.soldiersvoices.net , he said, "the Army has respected my rights."...

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-dissent30apr30,0,6406438.story?coll=la-home-headlines