TROOPS: Stand Down for Black Lives
An Open Letter from Veterans to Recently Activated National Guard Troops
UPDATE: Almost 900 Veterans have signed this letter and we’re receiving messages from dozens of troops looking to refuse orders or know their options if they get them. If you would like help spread the message, you can find printable fliers and posters, graphics and other resources here. Share on social media, distribute them or post them up where they can be seen!
Attention Members of the National Guard,
We write you as fellow veterans and service members with full knowledge of what’s at stake as many of you are being asked to mobilize against civilians in your own country. As your neighbors fill the streets demanding the justice this country promised them, your command is undoubtedly telling you that you’re being activated in service to your community. And yet, it is your community members who fill the streets, while your Commander in Chief tweets about using you to murder people over something as insignificant as property damage.
A moral choice lies before you. As veterans who have faced similar tests of conscience, only to realize too late that we chose wrong, we cannot stress enough the impact this decision will have on the rest of your life. We all took an oath to defend the country from enemies foreign and domestic. Are Black protesters the enemy of this country? Today you have to decide whether you are loyal to the values you swore to uphold or to the commanders who would order you to turn on your neighbors for demanding justice. You cannot be loyal to both.
We know that it is your intention to be of service and prevent more harm, but we urge you to remember the deadly legacy of the National Guard enacting violence against protesters- Watts in 1965, Kent State in 1970, Los Angeles in 1992, and many other examples in recent history.
The military is designed to be lethal, not to de-escalate.
We urge you to have the courage to do the right thing. Refuse activation orders.
No amount of property is worth a single human life. Are you really prepared to carry out the violence President Trump threatened against Minnesotans and others? We ask that you stand up for Black lives by standing down. We know the consequences you may face for disobeying orders. Many of us have faced them ourselves. And many of us live with the consequences of following orders we shouldn’t have, and can tell you that the cost of moral injury is far greater.
There is a long legacy of troops choosing what’s right over what’s ordered. You are not alone in your convictions. To discuss your rights and the options available to you, contact the GI Rights Hotline at 1–877–447–4487. You can also connect with veterans ready to support you as peers and stand with you in your decision by emailing support@aboutfaceveterans.com.
Very respectfully,
About Face: Veterans Against the War and the undersigned
Veterans click here to add your name to this letter
Veterans (895, updated 6/9)
Devin Griffin, Air Force
Koni Delgado , Air Force
Michael Turek, Air Force
David Yhann, Air Force
Ksenia Voropaeva, Air Force
Christina Burgtorf, Air Force
Jack Koning, Air Force
Evan Anderson, Air Force
Tashi-Kali Macket, Air force
Madison Coveno, Air Force
Steve Griffin, Air Force
Stephen Dutschke, Air Force
Kyle Harlow, Air Force
Christine Meisenheimer , Air Force
Corbett Brattin, Air Force
Percy Hilo, Air Force
Sandra Barrett-Hoomani, Air Force
John Spitzberg, Air Force
Tim Pluta, Air Force
Phillip Pflager, Air Force
Wilford Vogt, Air Force
Fred Norman, Air Force
Nancy Cook, Air Force
Lori Quintana , Air Force
Ronda Shelton, Air Force
Kevin Parent, Air Force
Bill Wilson, Air Force
Dave Paolo, Air Force
Joris Hines, Air Force
Andrew Kincare, Air Force
Toni Brooks, Air Force
Jim Rutherford , Air Force
Courtney Ferebee , Air Force
Brian Brown, Air Force
Jeff Camp, Air Force
Chris Wencker, Air Force
Francis Moulton, Air Force
Shana Press, Air Force
Greg Bowman, Air Force
Ashley Kerwin, Air Force
Caroline Mejia, Air Force
George Lin, Air Force
Alexis Weber, Air Force
Karen Polson, Air Force
Thomas Bauch, Air Force
Dana Briggs, Air Force
Dawn Werner, Air Force
David Nunez, Air Force
Brett Heitshusen, Air Force
David Bledsoe, Air Force
Nathan Gholston, Air Force
Wesley Will, Air Force
Michael Springfield, Air Force
Essence Rudolph, Air Force
Logan Curtis, Air Force
Su Castillo, Air Force
Heather S, Air Force
Mitchell Hursh, Air Force
Carol Frail, Air Force
Lucas Hanenkratt, Air Force
Rich Turner, Air Force
Timothy Pitz, Air Force
Elizabeth Mckinney, Air Force
Eddie Falcon, Air Force
Christina Puntasecca, Air Force
Michael Case, Air Force
Charles Burkard, Air Force
Tegan Rowley, Air Force
Alexander Dutton, Air Force
Christian List, Air Force
Amyn Gilani, Air Force
Kate Hamilton, Air Force
Joe Beltrante, Air Force
Jason Henre, Air Force
Mark Babbitt, Air Force
Lindsay Palson, Air Force
Ken Melvoin-Berg, Air Force
Patrick Hamilton, Air Force
Daniel King, Air Force
Megan Bagby , Air Force
Josh Chapman, Air Force
Jarrod Grammel, Air Force
Jeff Maxwell, Air Force
Joshua Nguyen , Air Force
Justin Hall, Air Force
Janice Thornton, Air Force
Barry Bernsten, Air Force
Danny Quigg, Air Force
Ben Chambers-Maher, Air Force
terrence knight, Air Force
Russell Webster, Air Force
Leslie Wheaton, Air Force
Alexander Garrow, Air Force
Elizabeth Kilner, Air Force
Amanda Merritt, Air Force
Adrian Carroll, Air Force
John Gaughan, Air Force
emmett unbehagen, Air Force
Greg Arrington, Air Force
Deeanna Burleson LtCol(ret), Air Force
Biff Thiele, Air Force
Aaron Yuhas, Air Force
Michael Sauber, Air Force
Jennifer Brown, Air Force
Jasper Leal, Air Force
David Marshall, Air Force
Mario Rivera, Air Force
Stephen Cosgrove, Air Force
Breanne Biggie, Air Force
Stephen Peters, Air Force
William Young, Air Force
Rev Dr Rick Schlosser , Air Force
Terry Sheltra, Air Force
MJ Merriner, Air Force
Rhonda Strick, Air Force
Leann Stephens, Air Force
Ronald L. Cain, Air Force
Thomas Henry, Air Force
Neil M. Barker, Air Force
Eric Garcia, Air Force
Landon Hughes, Air Force
Ted Stolze, Air Force
Linda Schwartz, Air Force
Scott Baseler, Air Force
Michael Montalvo Martinez, Air Force
Hannah Mattson, Air Force
Christian Sorensen, Air Force
Greg Brown, Air Force
Cian Westmoreland, Air Force
Natalie DeLoach, Air Force
Jade Annasta, Air Force
Kingston Prescott, Air Force
Paul Johnson, Air Force
Sarah Sommer, Air Force
Ruth Kelso, Air Force
Andrea Lucy, Air Force
Brenda Johnson, Air Force
Alex Freeman-Smith, Air Force
Quintin Gorman , Air Force
Jonathan Babcock, Air Force
Dustin Kearns, Air Force
Michael Dowdy-Benivamonde, Air Force
Julie Pitt, Air Force
William Laidley, Air Force
Donald Larson, Air Force
Jessica Coulter , Air Force
Jordan Ewings, Air Force Reserve
Jennifer Lum, Air Force Reserve
Garni Thomas, Air Force Reserve
Emily Vasquez, Air Force Reserve
Thomas Brackin, Air Force Reserve
Erin Pineda, Air Force Reserve
Lisa Ling, Air National Guard
Adrienne Harding, Air National Guard
Bonitto Daley, Jr., Air National Guard
Trish Brownlee, Air National Guard
Jackie Hanzok, Air National Guard
Wesley Walker, Air National Guard
Gary McGrath, Army
Ryan Bishop, Army
Joseph Scott, Army
Jovanni Reyes , Army
Mike Conyers, Army
Jorge Rodriguez , Army
David Larsen, Army
Andrew Nixon, Army
Robert Dredden, Army
AJ Goodman, Army
Robyn Fishburne, Army
Daniel Rogers, Army
Matthew McManus, Army
Spenser Rapone, Army
Amanda Madison, Army
Joseph Farkas, Army
Ava Salas, Army
Maggie Martin, Army
Brian Trautman, Army
Wesley Ware, Army
Jacqueline Singh, Army
Geoff Hogate, Army
Stan McCoy, Army
Jenn Webster, Army
Wendy Barranco, Army
Amy Divin, Army
Naomi Rodela, Army
Tim Hardin, Army
Mikaila Thomas, Army
Andrew Yip, Army
Zachary Yeary, Army
Nathan Hughes, Army
Arya LaVallee, Army
Arny Stieber, Army
John Gieler , Army
Adam Dowd, Army
Joel Isaacson, Army
Marybeth Knowles, Army
Marvin Sawyer, Army
Doug Rawlings, Army
William potvin, Army
David Giffey, Army
Amanda Vidri, Army
Rand Dawson, Army
Ed Murphy, Army
Steve Bean, Army
Steve Claassen, Army
Ellen Chung, Army
Bill Butler, Army
James Brown, Army
John Barron-Wike, Army
Stephen Davie, Army
Robert Prokop, Army
Andy Berman, Army
Dan Ryan, Army
Steven Linden, Army
Garett Reppenhagen, Army
Douglas Stuart, Army
Pamela Hagans, Army
Ray Cage, Army
Hollis Higgins, Army
Jeff Scroggin, Army
George Marzocchi, Army
Dan Morgan, Army
Steve Morse, Army
Kenneth Pelo, Army
Larry Brink, Army
Xeena Spellman, Army
Cara Bissell, Army
Ned Long, Army
Clesson Oakes, Army
Richard Sinnott, Army
John Hutchcroft , Army
Lorraine Dumas, Army
Casey Lovell, Army
Christopher Countey, Army
David Brown, Army
Reese Forbes, Army
Marc Cryer, Army
Jaclyn Polhamus, Army
Bryan Urquhart, Army
Jim Casteris, Army
Donald Reith, Army
Danny Beever, Army
Allen Hallmark, Army
Art Sanchez, Army
Christina Sitton, Army
Ellen E Barfield, Army
Thomas Riddering, Army
Terry Hansen, Army
James J DiPisa, Army
Ilmarinen Gouge, Army
Thiéyacine Fall, Army
Richard Hyland, Army
Russell Chisholm, Army
Hank Ickes, Army
Jason Mott, Army
Daniel T, Army
Gerry Condon, Army
Civilian Allies (47, Updated 6/7)
Meagan Rossin; Rodgers Frantz; Amy Henry; Marilyn Brock; Patsy Martinson; Aisha Anjum; Carol Trabing; Jason Brinkman; Myra Mendible; John Alder; Gaia Quay; Maureen Biscardi; Adrienne Weller; Dave Ransom; Michele Ortiz; Gerald Nadreau; Liz Millman; Darren Mitton; Edith Castorena; Rebecca Pera Cole; Siri Margerin; Eva Hutt; Michael Timms; Rachael Baskind; Elyzamarie Damaso; Dee Knight; Ryan Keane; Carl Smith; Kevin Bailey; Marian Cruz; Hank Lin
Veterans click here to add your name to this letter
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