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I enlisted in the Coast Guard six months after I graduated from high school. I went to basic training in Cape May, NJ in January of 2001, and my first duty station was the 378’ USCG Rush in Honolulu, HI. I grew up in the Unitarian Church and had some illusion that I was going to make the military more humane by joining. What I didn’t realize was that you don’t change the military, the military changes you. I was disappointed in our mission, which was really focused on protecting American fisheries and seemed to have very little to do with lifesaving. I was also surprised by the dehumanization of other people, including fellow shipmates that I saw. I realized fairly quickly that I had made a mistake, and as impulsively as I joined the Coast Guard I went AWOL.
I was discharged from the Coast Guard in July of 2003, and by September I was already volunteering as a GI Rights Counselor. Despite my own bad experience, I really see a democratic military as an important institution in this country, and fully support those who are in and choose to continue serving our nation through military service. I am committed to making sure that service members are treated fairly while in, that they get the benefits they earned once they’re discharged, and that our nation doesn’t send them off to fight immoral and illegal foreign wars and occupations like the ones in Iraq and Afghanistan.
After getting discharged, I’ve volunteered as a GI Rights Counselor, worked as the coordinator for the GI Rights Hotline in Washington State, worked to support war resisters like Ricky Clousing and Ehren Watada, worked with the First United Methodist Church of Tacoma on their sanctuary resolution, attended The Evergreen State College where I got my B.A. in March of 2009, and worked on staff at Washington State Jobs with Justice from 2005-2008 where I learned a lot about strategic organizing, direct action, and non-profit management.
I joined IVAW after co-founding, along with fellow IVAW member Seth Manzel, Coffee Strong which is a GI Coffeehouse just outside the gates of Fort Lewis in Washington State. Coffee Strong is focused on providing service members with resources, support and access to alternative information. It’s a great project, and is still staying strong thanks to the hard work of NW IVAW members like Seth, Andrew VandenBurgh, Michael Williams, Josh Simpson, and others. In April of 2009 I was hired as the Executive Director of IVAW, and have relocated to Philadelphia to work in the national office.
