The membership is composed of American military veterans, active-duty service personnel from all branches of the military, and U.S. National Guard members and reservists who have served since September 11, 2001. Prospective members are required to provide proof of military service. The group was founded in July 2004, with much controversy due to its exclusion of Desert Storm veterans, who most obviously had served in Iraq and were opposed to war. Desert storm Veteran Dennis Kyne spoke at the opening session during the VFP convention against this separation. To date, veterans who served in Iraq before the re-invasion in 2003 have still not been invited to membership. The group formed at the annual Veterans for Peace convention in Boston with guidance from VVAW Vietnam Veterans Against the War seven veterans: former Executive Director Kelly Dougherty, Tim Goodrich, Mike Hoffman, Alex Ryabov, Jimmy Massey, Isaiah Pallos, and Diana Morrison. By 2008 the majority of the founding members had separated from the organization. By 2010 IVAW had 61 chapters around the United States; one in Toronto, Canada, made up of war resisters; and a chapter in Germany, five of which are on active duty military bases. The six active duty chapters are on Fort Drum, New York; Fort Meade, Maryland; Fort Lewis, Washington; Fort Hood, Texas; Lawton-Fort Sill, Oklahoma; and Camp Lejeune and MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina. Members of the organization reside in all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Canada, Europe, and on numerous bases overseas, including bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. Membership is currently over 1,800 persons. IVaW is no longer operational.
Truth in Recruiting
IVAW has actively participated in a nationwide Truth in Recruiting campaign aimed at countering alleged misconceptions of military service propagated by recruiters. Currently many IVAW members are involved in "equal access" policies at high schools across the country.
Stop-loss policy
IVAW has protested the military's stop-loss policy, which is an extension of soldiers' Active Duty service period by the Department of Defense. All service members sign up for a minimum of eight years of total service, a portion of which is served in the Inactive Ready Reserve. The Defense Department may recall members from inactive service as noted in their enlistment contracts. Several tower-guard vigils against the stop-loss have been held in various places including Colorado Springs, Colorado; Bellingham, Washington; and Washington D.C.
Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan
was an event in Washington, D.C. in March 2008, run by IVAW, at which U.S. veterans spoke about their experiences during the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan. It was inspired by the similar 1971 event put on by Vietnam Veterans Against the War.
Following the Fort Hood shooting of November 5, 2009, Michael Kern, former President of the Fort Hood IVAW chapter attempted to hand President Obama a statement from the organization, when the President visited his barracks at Fort Hood on November 10. The statement in part demanded that the military radically overhaul its mental health care system and halt the practice of repeated deployment of the same troops. In August 2010 members of the IVAW took part in protesting the deployment of the 3rd ACR as the troops were leaving for Iraq. During the protest at least one person tried to stand in front of the buses carrying the troops.
Refuge in Canada
A majority of Canadians are of the view that U.S. war resisters who had fled to Canada to avoid having to serve in Iraq should be able to remain in Canada. The Canadian parliament is considering an amendment to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, which would provide legal sanctuary for U.S. war resisters.
