Jeff Hanks awaits punishment, More soldiers come forward, Veterans Day Round-up 18NOV10

Donate now to support IVAW's continued work with Operation Recovery. Read more about Jeff Hanks' story here. Donate to Jeff Hanks' legal defense fund here and put "JH Legal Defense" in the Special Project box. Give us your feedback here. Update on Specialist Jeff Hanks                                     Photo courtesy of HillbillyReport.org A week ago, Specialist Jeff Hanks turned himself in to Fort Campbell, Kentucky after going AWOL when the Army denied him medical care.  Jeff's father had contacted IVAW, after hearing about our Operation Recovery campaign to stop the deployment of traumatized troops.  Because of our efforts in a short period of time, Jeff's story got covered in a number of local and national media outlets, including a feature on CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, seen by an audience of millions.  Jeff's command was extremely hostile when he turned himself in on Veterans Day, but after the CBS story aired on Friday, they changed their tune. The good news is that since then, Jeff was allowed to see a civilian behavioral health professional off base who officially confirmed that he has PTSD.  His commander can't deny that now, and his ongoing treatment will be covered by his military insurance.  Now he awaits with uncertainty any punishment that the Army may hand down. I just got off the phone with Jeff's wife, Christina, who said they expect to hear something in the next 24 hours about consequences for Jeff, and they are very nervous about possible punishment from the Army.  She described how difficult this ordeal has been on them and their two daughters, ages 3 and 5.  She thinks that supportive emails would provide a big morale boost to Jeff and the family as they prepare for what lies ahead.  Please send letters of support to Jeff and Christina via email at CMH1more30@yahoo.com.  We will keep you updated as Jeff's situation un-folds. Two more AWOL Soldiers from Fort Campbell come forward Since Jeff went public with his story, two more AWOL soldiers from Fort Campbell have contacted IVAW with similar stories.  One attended Jeff's press conference and spoke about his similar experience of seeking medical care for PTSD only to be denied by the military.  Another contacted us from Florida, where he has been staying with relatives while he figures out how to get the care he needs.  IVAW's Operation Recovery campaign is presently working with both soldiers to support the best course of action for each of them.  We will keep you posted about their cases. Veterans Day Week of Action Round-Up         Volunteers prep goodie bags for GI outreach at Ft. Lewis Iraq Veterans Against the War took to the streets last week in honor of Veterans Day with a variety of actions and events around the country.  Check out our Photo Gallery of these events.  Here is just a partial list: NYC members marched in Vet Day parade and recruited two new members The Philly chapter outreached on campuses and wheat-pasted information about the Operation Recovery campaign Savannah, GA members did GI outreach and held an Operation Recovery teach-in Central IL members did campus outreach to veteran students Chicago members held a Veterans Day ceremony, organized the Intrusive Thoughts art opening, held a Warrior Writers workshop, and wheat-pasted posters around the city in a special collaboration with Just Seeds artists collective Madison, WI members chalked Operation Recovery facts on the sidewalks of their campus Kansas members participated in Ride to the End and did outreach in Manhattan, KS and on Fort Riley Fort Lewis members did base outreach to GIs and celebrated the anniversary of the Coffee Strong GI cafe San Francisco members held a teach-in about the Operation Recovery campaign In addition, Iraq Veterans Against the War's Executive Director filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to obtain data about the trauma experienced by the most heavily-deployed divisions of the military. Last week was very busy, but we have more work ahead of us.  Consider making a donation to support the continued work of the Operation Recovery campaign to stop the deployment of traumatized troops. Thank you! Sincerely, Aaron Hughes Field Organizing Team Leader P.S. Many thanks to James Spence and the folks at HillbillyReport.org for capturing Jeff's press conference in photos and on video last week!

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