http://mfso.org/ http://mfso.org/article.php?id=1181 A powerful report on the growing epidemic of military suicides and the failure of the military and the Veterans Administration's response. Features Joyce and Kevin Lucey whose son, Cpl. Jeffrey Lucey, USMC, killed himself after being denied treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The Luceys are members of Gold Star Families Speak Out, a national chapter of Military Families Speak Out whose members' loved ones have died as a result of the war in Iraq. http://mfso.org//downloads/PelosiBetrayalPressRelease.pdf As House Speaker Nancy Pelosi prepares to implement a strategy that will fund the Iraq war through 2008 and into the first term of the next president, Military Families Speak Out members across the country and on military bases around the world are outraged at this massive betrayal of our loved ones, all of our troops, our families, this nation and the people of Iraq.This strategy is designed to allow Congress to avoid a potentially embarrassing vote in the weeks and months leading up to the election in November, and to prevent a new president from having to ask for war funding in his/her first months in office. It is a cruel maneuver being done on the backs, bodies, and spirits of our troops. http://mfso.org/article.php?id=1179 Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) has called on Senators to filibuster the Iraq war funding bills that Congress is about to vote on. Many people have asked us why MFSO is calling for a filibuster and how a filibuster might stop funding for the war, bring the war in Iraq to an end and get our troops home. http://mfso.org/article.php?id=1178 A short film profiling MFSO member Lisa Leitz and exploring the complexities of opposing the war while being married to an active-duty Navy pilot. http://mfso.org/article.php?id=1171 Military Families Speak Out (MFSO), a nationwide grassroots organization of people opposed to the war in Iraq who have relatives or loved ones in the military, is seeking an Organizer to be based in our Boston, MA office. We are looking for an exceptional organizer who is thoroughly committed to the MFSO mission of bringing an immediate end to the war. 2008-05-05 http://mfso.org/article.php?id=1176 This is the second time my grandson, Bob, has been to Iraq, but this time he is leaving behind a wife and 9-month-old child. And this time, conditions in Iraq are much, much more volatile and hostile than when he went as part of a “liberation force” in the initial invasion in March 2003. Nearly three-fourths of the American people think that we should bring our troops home, but Congress isn’t listening. The media have all but forgotten about the occupation and continue to call it a “war.” But the war ended on May 2, 2003, when our president declared “mission accomplished.” 2008-05-05 http://mfso.org/article.php?id=1177 The rinse and redeploy cycle that keeps sending our loved ones to fight and die in a war for oil does not honor the sacrifice of the fallen. It is an unconscionable violation of the legitimate purposes and constitutional laws governing the use of the military. Every additional deployment adds moral insult to psychic injury and bodily harm. Each day that the war continues perpetuates the blatant disregard for the bravery and commitment of our troops and reduces the cost of their lives to mere pennies. 2008-05-05 http://mfso.org//downloads/CongressMustAccomplishItsMission.pdf In November, 2006, the American people elected a Congress that they believed would end the war in Iraq.A year and half later, this mission remains unaccomplished. Instead, Congressional leaders including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. John Murtha are reported to be planning to give President Bush the funds to continue this nightmare well into 2009 so they can avoid a controversy-laden vote on war funding in the weeks leading up to this November's election. And we are being told to once again wait for an election, to wait for a new President to get us out of Iraq. 2008-05-05 http://mfso.org/article.php?id=1175 My daughter and I struggle to make sense of what's happened to her. In addition to the fears all military families face, I've had to face the fact that Iraq and its people did nothing to us. I've had to face the realization that we were duped into the war, that my child was led to kill people who posed no threat to us. 2008-05-05 http://mfso.org/article.php?id=1133 On February 20, 2007, Sergant Brian Jason Rand shot himself under the Cumberland River Centre Pavilion in Clarksville outside Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Rand had just returned from a second tour to Iraq, and had filled out a post-deployment health assessment form, admitting to combat-related nightmares, depression and mood swings. But he never received any help with the demons that lead to his death. Rand's sister, MFSO member April Somdahl, remembers his life and death. 2008-05-05 http://mfso.org//downloads/housefundingpressrelease42208.doc.pdf April 24, 2008 - Nationwide -- As Congressional leaders meet behind closed doors to iron out the details of yet another supplemental war funding bill, members of Military Families Speak Out are expressing anger and dismay at published reports that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Rep. John Murtha, and other leaders who have previously spoken out against the war are preparing to put forward a bill funding the Iraq war for an entire year in an apparent effort to avoid a contentious debate in Congress in the run up to the November election. 2008-05-05 http://mfso.org/article.php?id=1173 There seems to be a lot of confusion about what it means to support the troops. Supporting the troops does not mean remaining silent in the face of tragic mistakes and deceit on the part of our civilian and military leaders. In a democracy, soldiers out of uniform and military family members are allowed to have and voice their opinions about the wisdom or folly of any particular war. Our democracy will remain healthy only if our leaders are held accountable for their mistakes. 2008-05-05 http://mfso.org/article.php?id=1170 At one point during the Q & A session, the MFSO members were asked to stand. People clapped and Phil Donahue said this is the 5% of the population (that is being affected by the war). I think when MFSO members are together we are more powerful and strong and also feel so vulnerable because we have so much to lose. 2008-04-16 http://mfso.org//downloads/filibuster press release 4-15-08 final.pdf April 15, 2008 - Nationwide -- Paula Rogovin doesn't just want to hear what policies Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama might pursue in Iraq should they become President -- she wants them to commit to using the power they already have as Senators to bring her Marine son home from his second deployment to Iraq. 2008-04-16 http://mfso.org/article.php?id=1167 As the price of gas hits a local high, a coalition of groups plans to make a point tomorrow -- April 15, of course -- about the high cost of the war in Iraq. 2008-04-16