Tod Ensign, Author at Toward Freedom

Draft Chatter

Tod Ensign June 30, 2005 Tod Ensign

George W. Bush’s decision to unilaterally invade Iraq in March 2003 has placed a severe strain on the US military. The Army currently has almost half of its 32 combat brigades deployed there, with two more assigned to Afghanistan. This means that three-quarters of its forces are either committed to combat zones or recuperating from recent combat.

About 60,000 of the 140,000 troops in Iraq are activated reservists from National Guard or Reserve units. These “weekend warriors” have been involuntarily kept in the war zone an extra three to five months, despite promises that their tours would be limited to one year. Meanwhile, the Pentagon has used “stop loss” orders to keep about 50,000 GIs on active duty past their discharge or separation dates. read more

Military Misdeeds 7/04

Tod Ensign June 23, 2005 Tod Ensign

Back from the fighting, a US vet tells all and refuses to serve

Camilo Mejia joined the Army in 1995 to get college assistance and new experiences. Following a three-year hitch, he joined the Florida National Guard, partly for promised tuition assistance at Florida’s state universities. Mejia, a Nicaraguan citizen, had moved permanently to Miami with his mother when he was 18 years old and is a permanent resident with a green card.

On March 15, 2004, after six months’ duty in Iraq, Staff Sergeant Mejia decided to leave the military and talk about what he saw. His first engagement was a public rally and press conference at the Peace Abbey near Boston, MA. The next day, he submitted a formal application for discharge as a conscientious objector (CO) to Maj. General William G. Webster, Jr., commanding general of Ft. Stewart, Georgia. Mejia provided details of the torture and abuse of detainees he witnessed at Al Assad prison, adjacent to Baghdad’s International airport, in early May 2003. read more

IRAQ, Is Take a Stand, by Tod Ensign (03/03)

Tod Ensign June 2, 2005 Tod Ensign

William Faulkner once wrote, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” This certainly applies to current US policy toward Iraq. As the war drums in Dubya’s White House beat ever more loudly, GIs’ families are beginning to mobilize against another invasion.

During the first Gulf War, family members played an important role in sparking opposition within the military’s rank and file. Two families with children who have recently been sent to the Gulf War zone are leading efforts to establish a new anti-war organization, Military Families Speak Out (MFSO). read more

The Pentagon’s Vaccine Mutiny (6/00)

Tod Ensign June 1, 2005 Tod Ensign

When the Pentagon’s plan to inoculate all 2.4 million US service men, women, and reservists with an obscure anthrax vaccine surfaced almost three years ago, few people anticipated the opposition that would emerge. During an environmental review period, "public comments" submitted by veterans’ rights group Citizen Soldier and others raised questions about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine, previously used by only a small number of workers, and urged that independent civilian scientists and groups be allowed to participate in studies. Typically, the Pentagon ignored these suggestions, preferring to storm ahead on its own. read more

The Battle for Vieques Is Far from Over (11/00)

Tod Ensign May 27, 2005 Tod Ensign

Despite setbacks, the campaign to expel the US military from the Puerto Rican island of Vieques continues to expand and intensify. Until May 2000, for more than a year, protesters succeeded in bravely placing their bodies on the line between the island and Navy bombs at 13 encampments (TF, Nov. 1999). During this period, at least two major military exercises, slated to include bombing, shelling, amphibious landings, air assaults, ship-to-ship warfare, and anti-submarine operations had to be canceled. read more

Military Misdeeds

Tod Ensign May 19, 2005 Tod Ensign

Back from the fighting, a US vet tells all and refuses to serve

Camilo Mejia joined the Army in 1995 to get college assistance and new experiences. Following a three-year hitch, he joined the Florida National Guard, partly for promised tuition assistance at Florida’s state universities. Mejia, a Nicaraguan citizen, had moved permanently to Miami with his mother when he was 18 years old and is a permanent resident with a green card.

On March 15, 2004, after six months’ duty in Iraq, Staff Sergeant Mejia decided to leave the military and talk about what he saw. His first engagement was a public rally and press conference at the Peace Abbey near Boston, MA. The next day, he submitted a formal application for discharge as a conscientious objector (CO) to Maj. General William G. Webster, Jr., commanding general of Ft. Stewart, Georgia. Mejia provided details of the torture and abuse of detainees he witnessed at Al Assad prison, adjacent to Baghdad’s International airport, in early May 2003.
After his CO application was filed, no one from General Webster’s staff contacted Mejia regarding his allegations. Facing court martial for desertion of duty in Iraq, Mejia based his defense partially on international law violations he witnessed when his unit mistreated Iraqi detainees five months before the period covered by Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba’s May 2004 report on Army torture at Abu Ghraib prison. read more