Iraq Vet War Critics Detained at Bragg

[unhappycamper]

Iraq Vet War Critics Detained at Bragg
Fayetteville Observer | December 18, 2007

Two Army veterans of the war in Iraq were detained for several hours Dec. 17 on Fort Bragg, N.C., after handing out baked goods and anti-war literature at one of the post's shopping centers.

The veterans, Jason Hurd, 28, and Steve Casey, 23, both of Asheville, belong to Iraq Veterans Against the War, a national group that opposes the United States' military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Hurd is president of the group's Asheville chapter; Casey is the vice president.

Hurd and Casey said they arrived on Fort Bragg shortly before noon Monday. They set up a folding table outside the Reilly Road Mini-Mall and started handing out paper bags of brownies and cookies.

The latest monthly newsletter from Iraq Veterans Against the War was attached to the bags.


Rest of article at: http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,158521,00.html?wh=wh



uhc comment:

Meet Jason Eric Hurd:

http://www.ivaw.org/user/617



Jason Eric Hurd
Branch of service: Army National Guard of the United States (ARNG)
Unit: Troop F 2/278th Regimental Combat Team
Rank: Specialist
Home: Asheville, North Carolina
Served in: Fort Leonard Wood, MO; Fort Sam Houston, TX; Fort Lewis, WA; Kingsport, TN; Baghdad, Iraq; Bristol, TN

I was born in Kingsport, TN where I lived my entire life until I joined the U.S. Army in 1997 at age 17. Like many other young recruits, I was graduating from high school and had no desire to go to college at that point. I thought the Army was the best option for me--an opportunity to get out on my own and earn college money for later without burdening my lower middle-class family. My father supported me and took pride in me, but he didn't like my decision to enlist.
My father, Carl C. Hurd, was a marine in World War II. Carl participated in the Pacific campaign and saw both the battles of Tarawa and Guadalcanal--two of the bloodiest occurences of the war. He rarely spoke about these battles; but when he did, he always collapsed into tears before the end of his stories.
Carl told me once about the most frightening moment of his life. He stood atop a machine gun turret on his ship as it came under Japanese air attack. Carl remembered firing sporadically at approaching enemy planes and yelling, "Die you sons of bitches!" Obviously, my father knew the negative psychological consequences of war because he still bore the scars of his experience decades later. Carl begged me not to enlist.
Against Carl's wishes, I enlisted as a medic and left for basic training on August 21, 1997; I was 17 and had graduated from high school just 3 months prior. Like every other new Private in the military, I was gung-ho at first. But I slowly became disillusioned with the Army's prevailing leadership style: lower a soldier's self-esteem to keep him submissive.
I completed my four-year enlistment on August 20, 2001--less than a month before 9/11. Originally, I intended to get out of the Army altogether and go to college in Tennessee, but a National Guard recruiter approached me with enough college money to sway my vote. With no break in service, I agreed to another 6 years in the Tennessee Army National Guard.
In November 2004, I deployed to central Baghdad with Bristol, Tennessee's Troop F 2/278th Regimental Combat Team after a 5-month long train-up. My unit's radio call sign was "Force" and being the liberal one in my unit, I quickly earned the affectionate nickname "Force Hippie"--Hippie for short. Over the next year of my life, I saw numerous car-bombings, body parts, dead civilians, dead soldiers and witnessed the general suffering that followed the U.S. military across Iraq. By the end of my tour, I had major depression and suicidal ideations. I didn't tell anyone about my problems, however, because I was the medic and medics need the absolute trust of the soldiers they serve.
Since my return from Iraq in November 2005, I have spoken out against the Iraq War across Southern Appalachia. I have argued that there is a direct correlation between the violence in Iraq and our presence there. Our mere presence in Iraq actually promotes violence and increases animosity against the U.S. I now live in Asheville, NC and am President of the newly formed Asheville chapter of IVAW (The Boondocks Chapter). Along with my fellow chapter members, I intend to do everything in my power to put an end to the massive suffering the U.S. has caused in Iraq.


Steve Casey does not have a profile on IVAW.


Way to go, gentlemen. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[mac2]

1. Vets detained

What democracy and freedom of speech?

The Wall Street Journal says, there are people in the Bush administration who want to put protestors in mental institutions (old Russia and Nazi like actions).

We are fighting for freedom by destroying it? Too Orwellian and distrubing for this citizen.

Let them go! They already served this country which is more than I can say for the present leaders who have betrayed it.

[mac2]

2. X Vets

know more than anyone what is wrong with the Iraq and Afghani war. The many suffer while the few profit off death. Thanks Steve for being an America who will try to stop this wrong.

What can we do for you and your organization in Asheville?

[unhappycamper]

3. You could always email Janson & say thanks.

The IVAW is doing the same thing the VVAW did in the sixties and seventies.

http://www.ivaw.org/node/1930

[e-mail]