Like many other non-profits, our ability to raise operating funds has been impacted by COVID-19.  We had planned on participating in many events this year and have a surplus of t-shirts that we have not been able to sell at our usual tabling events.  Please consider helping us spead the word about MFSO and our mission by purchasing and wearing your MFSO T-Shirt!

Available in all adult sizes in either white or black.

To donate by check, please make your check out to MFSO and send to:

On July 18th, 2020, the 18th Annual Peacestock: A Gathering for Peace will take place virtually at 1pm via Zoom. Register here.
What is Peacestock?
Peacestock is a mixture of speakers, activists, and musicians. Peacestock features timely topics and seeks speakers who are well respected on those topics. Browse the archives of previous Peacestock festivals for reference, and watch video of our speakers.
Where can I register for the 2020 virtual event?
Register here: peacestockvfp.org/tickets
Who organizes Peacestock?
Peacestock is sponsored by Veterans for Peace, Chapter 115, in Red Wing and Veterans for Peace, Chapter 27, in Minneapolis, and has a peace-themed agenda.
Where can I connect to Peacestock on Social Media?
Facebook users: Please join our Peacestock Facebook page, found at https://facebook.com/peacestock
Twitter users: Please follow our Twitter account @peacestock, found at https://twitter.com/peacestock

Welcome to the VFP 2020 Online Convention!
We are excited to announce Veterans For Peace’s first Online Convention! We know that many of us will miss being able to greet each other in person but we also know that each and every one of us wants to make sure all of our members are safe and healthy. Convention will take place from August 2nd-9th, with the theme “Human Rights over Nuclear Might”. Since our founding, Veterans For Peace has had it in our goals “to end the arms race and to reduce and eventually eliminate nuclear weapons” and the week will mark the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. (This year also marks the 75th anniversary of the first nuclear explosion of all time at the Trinity Site, New Mexico, which occurred on July 16, 1945).

While we are so disappointed to not connect with everyone in person, we also see the amazing opportunity this presents for our organization. We see this as an opportunity to broaden our audience to many folks who have been unable to join us in person and to expand the possibilities of who may be able to participate and present for our workshops. Everyone in New Mexico has been amazingly generous and allowed us to rebook everything for 2021, so we will not miss out on the opportunity to gather in New Mexico next year!

We are busy making plans on an amazing array of workshops and plenaries and even creative ways to incorporate some social times. This year’s convention will highlight work being done to address nuclear weapons as well as nuclear colonialism and broader topics such as what decolonizing the peace movement looks like and highlight some of the amazing work being done within Veterans For Peace. We will be updating this website in the coming months with more information, which will include options on how to learn and navigate the convention technology. We will be doing our best to make sure that everyone who wants to participate will be able to have the technological support needed. Stay tuned for more details!
Signed,
2020 Online Convention Committee

Robert Vivar, MFSO board member and co-founder and co director United US Deported Veterans was interviewed on Via Voices last week. After living 40 years in the US, he was deported in 2014. His son is active duty Army and grandson recently enlisted in the US Marine Corps and so Robert works daily to help veterans before and after they’re deported. Take a listen to his recent interview on Via Voices and share our gratitude for the incredible work of our MFSO board member and humanitarian activist is doing. https://youtu.be/QcTh8jHxnqs

Military Families Speak Out participated in the 23rd annual Long Beach Veterans Day Parade on Saturday, November 9, 2019 on Atlantic Avenue in North Long Beach. Photo by Geronimo Quitoriano

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After 17 years of military intervention resulting in the needless loss of lives and trillions of dollars spent on endless wars, the Trump Administration has requested options from the military for withdrawal plans, including a complete withdrawal. This means we could be seeing the end of the war in Afghanistan finally within our reach.  This, along with the order for the complete withdrawal of troops from Syria and the scaling back of support to the Saudi action in Yemen is a good sign that even this administration is recognizing the futility of continuing all of these wars.

MFSO has always been at the forefront of this struggle, and is well poised to push hard this coming year to be the voice that can make a difference in finally getting all of our troops home and back in the arms of their loved ones. And so we begin the New Year with a campaign to lobby members of Congress and tell the story of the human cost of war- the story that our members know personally.

The voices of our active duty military, veterans and their families must be heard.  We are the people, along with millions of civilians in these war-torn countries, who have paid the price, and continue to pay the price, of a senseless U.S. foreign policy.

As you know, bringing all of our troops home has always been the main goal of MFSO, and our members are in a unique position to demonstrate the reality of war. By speaking from experience, we bring the reality of war home – death, lifelong injuries, post-traumatic stress, moral injury, suicide, traumatic brain injury, and much more.

We firmly believe that our families have been instrumental in getting the country on our side, so that the majority of Americans now understand that these wars do not make us safer, but in fact, have created more enemies for us.

In our concerted effort to end the war in Afghanistan, we ask for your help to continue this arduous work. Pease consider making a one-time donation to MFSO. If you have not already joined the growing list of sustained donors, please consider doing so. We are an all volunteer organization, without dues, and no hired staff. By supporting Military Families Speak Out, your tax deductible donation goes directly into funding actions that promote stopping unjust wars.

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In 2018, your generous donations supported MFSO in:

Numerous national and internationally aired interviews from around the country
Poor Peoples Campaign actions- CA, MO, DC
Op-Ed editorials
MFSO literature distribution across the country
Meet up, a new member orientation, outreach, tabling and member support at Veterans for Peace Convention- Minnesota
Regular on-going vigils across the nation
Workshop presentations in MI and CA
Congressional lobbying for a new AUMF (Authorization for the Use of Military Force)
Support for members participating in actions across the country
Key organizers for 100^th Anniversary of Armistice Day weekend in DC which included the Silent march at Arlington Memorial, the Peace Congress, feeding the homeless and Occupy the VA.
Heart 2 Heart Tour- CA, ORE, AZ, NM, and OK
Support for families of deported veterans and their families, including border visits and assistance to prevent deportations and support to pass legislation to end veteran deportation

As this year draws to an end, MFSO is ready to confront the biggest challenge yet- to end the war in Afghanistan. Won’t you please consider being a part of history and making a one-time donation or become a sustaining member today?

MFSO welcomes all comments from members and supporters. Please send us your thoughts throughout the year via our website, Facebook, email or just give us a call anytime.

Pat Alviso
National Coordinator
Military Families Speak Out

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