Bragg Briefs, April 1970

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Page

BRAGG BRIEFS

GIs UNITED Against the War in Vietnam

BRAGG BRIEFS is
Constitution of the
GI's gas one
alter

70

Lifers Rip Off
Government Property

soldiers, both EM
officers alike, have received a
lot of abuse lately about their
supposed disrespect for the mil-
itary system and for the American
sovernmente Such charges are us-
ually evoked by such heinous in-
fractions as wearing one~Ts side-
burns a quarter inch too long,
failing to have oneTs hair neatly
combed immediately vpon removing
oneTs hat, or attending Gl~'s UN-
ITED meetings.

It*s about time the accusations
were aimed at a more appropriate
target: older, higher-ranking sol-
diers who show much more
spect for the system by frequent-
ly and blatantly manipulating and
misusing it for personal gaine

Think about it: who's in a bet-
ter position to know the loopholes
in the system and to use them to
his own advantage, the younz sol-
dier or the old@ Who's got the
power (i.ee, rank) to bend the
rule or regulation a little and
get by with it, the PFC or the lst
sergeant, the lieutenant or the
colonel? The answer is pretty ob-
vious, and the evidence to support
the answer is just as apparente

Let*s cite a few actual exam-
ples of real and serious disres-
pect and contempt:

Take the case of the colonel
at Fort Brass who holds some pri-
vate business interests in a tract
of land adjacent to a nearby small
towne The colonel would naturally
like to develov and profit from
this lands; and, being a shrewd
fellow, he decides to advertise
his holdingse So he orders govern-
ment photographers under his com-
mand to take government cameras
and government film, hop aboard a
sovernment airplane flown by a
sovernment pilot, and take aerial
photographs of his land. This film
is processed and printed in a sov-
ernment lab, then used by a gf0v-
ernment lithographer to make up
posters and brochures written by
government writers and printed
with sovernment paper and inke
ieanwhile government illustrators
are busy with sovernment paint and
posterboard preparing siscns to a-
dorn the colonel's acreage. If
that weren't enough, he uses sov-
ernment vehicles and sovernment
drivers to cart those signs, pos-
ters and brochures about, and for
a good measure has a few lowly
Gil*s taggins alons to lug the
stuff around. When you fifure in
the cost of manpower and mater-
ial, this little caper - having
nothing to do, mind you, with the
mission of the colonel's unit,
perpetrated solely for his own

(continued on pave 6)

Youn? and

disre-

United
at Fort Brage,
atives to the current militar

States.

published in the spirit of the Declaration of Independence and the

It is a free press published by active duty
North Carolina dedicated to establishing responsible

and economic stemSe

bonation

NCY. WF Dew Re Curt Aokecy, a

Army Policy Bans
Straight Press

The current Pathet Lao and
North Vietnamese offensive in Laos
has snown that constitutional
rights are limited by the zovern-
ment for political reasonse Such
rishts as freedom of speech and
press are suvposed to exist, yet
for the past six years the milit-
ary-industrial complex has for-
bidden the press to write about
our military involvement in Laose

The major obstacle has been
"Ground Rule 5". This is a milit-
ary regulation which forbids the
press to report on ointelligence
activities, methods of operations
or specific locatione� The penal-
ty for any such violation would
be revocation of press credentials
in South Vietname Such a corporate
giant as Newsweek has been warned
not to report on US operations in
Laose Anyone in Southern Asia can
read about our activities if they
buy The Time of India or any news-
paper published in Hong Kong. The
only ones who don't know abou¥
what we are doing is the American
publice

The present administration has
used censorship to cover up its
escalation in Southeast Asiae With
two token withdrawals of US troops
from South Vietnam, Nixon has been
able to fool many into believing
that he is dis engaging from South-
east Asia, while in reality he has
been escalating in Laos in order
to pressure the North Vietnamese.

The stalemate in the Laotian
war was upset last summer when US
financed and CIA directed Meo gue-
rillas pushed the Pathet Lao and
North Vietnamese out of the Plain
of Jarse Since then Laotian pea-
sants have been evacuated in order
to set up free fire zones. Air
combat support missions are at the
same intensity as the air war once
was over North Vietname

The credibility gap of the
Johnson administration has been
embraced by the Nixon regimee The
public's right to know has been
subverted and prostituted.

GITs UNITED Ist Annniversary - Free Poster on Back

began in
with

Lr li Ws

4

Free to Servicemen

COURT ORDERS

HE-"_--S(TBRIEN RELEASE
. Go Numa

PVT David OBrien,
months and 17 days in basic
training at Ft Bragg, was re-
leased from the Army on March
24th.

O*Brien*s suit against Secre--
tary of the Army, Stanley Resor,
November 1968 and ended
the Fourth Circuit Court of
AppealsT ruling on March 18th.
The final ruling granted O'*BrierTs
separation under the Army*s regu-
lation of lack of jurisdiction.
The Court ruled that O*Brien was
denied due process by his Select-
ive Service Board.

O*Brien said that he had filed
for deferment as a conscientious
objector and that, during an ap-
pearance before the local board,
the members stated that he was
Sincere in his claim. Much of the
decision was vLased on the valid-
ity of notes that O*Brien had tak-
en after his appearances before
the board and had entered in his
selective service files at no
time was there accuracy question-

after 20

Cade

The release wus ordered
cause of the draft boardTs
ure to grant O'brien oprocedural
due process of law." The court
concluded that the Selective
Board*s ofailure to disclose the
basis on which it acted rendered
invalid the board's order to re-
port for induction."

Although O*Brien left the Army
as a Private, he feels his time
in the Army was worthwhile onot
Simply because I won my court
case and gained release from the
Army, but because I was able to
stay in basic for over 20 months
without serving in a capacity a-
gainst my beliefs and was for the

be-

fail-

most part a liability to the Army.

Hopefully,� OBrien continued, omy
Struggle will benefit others in
their struggle with the oppres-
Sive Army. My restraining order
which stopped the Army from put-

ting me in jail was one of the

first in the country." The re-
straining order obtained by his
lawyers was issued because the
legality of his induction was be-
ing reviewed by the courts. Until
it was determined that O'Brien
was legally in the military, the
Army was restrained from court-
martialing him. With his release,
the Army was forced to drop the
charges against O*Brien for a 21_
~day AWOL in January 1969. O'Brien
went AWOL to avoid shipment to Ft
Gordon for training as an MP,
feeling that he would be unable
to serve in anti-riot duty or
harrasement of GI dissenters, a,
(continued on page 4

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April 1970

Arrest

_On Sunday March 8, two mem-
bers of GI's United, Dave O*Brien
and Bill Carothers, were legally
getting signatures in USATCI.
someone called a complaint in to
the MP station and Sgte James
Judson was sent to investigate.
He observed the petitioning and
called the MP station to have
Dave and Bill picked upe Two
Squad cars and two jeeps answered
the calle The petitions were
seized, Dave and Bill were put up
against the squad cars and sear«
ched in front of about 40 train-
eese They were then taken to the
MP station where Judson, after
contacting the Provost Marshall,
Cole Kriwinak, charged them with
illegal distribution of litera-
ture and wearing mixed uniforms.
They were held for three hours
and then released to their units.
The petitions, with about 75 sig-
natures were held for evidence.

BRAGG BRIEFS

LOCAL REPRESSION

Refused

Pyvte Coleman has been,in basic
training for 10 months. He re-
cently lost a hearing in Eastern
District Court on a Writ of Hebeas
Corpus based upon grounds of er-
roneous inductione However, he
plans to appeal the courts decis-
1on because he knows he was il-
legally inducted.

On hlarch 25, 1970, Pvte Coleman
was sent to E-7-2 for training,
but after 2 days he came back to
HHD 2nd Bde. The reason for his
transfer is that he is filing for
discherge as a conscientious ob-

jectore While in USATCI he has

been restricted for 10 months and
feels constantly harassed by the
brass on any technicality they
can finde

"Hopefully, the Brass will re-
alize that Black people aren't
willing to be trained to kill un-
der the Red, White, and Blue".

Page 2
(continued from pace 1)

task many MP*s find themselves
invloved ine

Summing up his military exper-
ience, O*Brien said, oThe Army
radicalized me with their oppres-
Sive tactics and forced me to
read and study topics I hed never
thought of before. I was opposed
to killing and participation in
war prior to my entry into the
militarys but I was typically Am-
erican in my feeling that the
country's foreign policy was cer-
tainly righte While in the milit+
ary, I realized a great deal a-
bout economics, racism, and Amer-
ican foreign policy; I realized
that people can't speak of peace
in Vietnam without actively work-
ing to.-stop imperialism. It be-
came clear that our involvement
in Vietnam was not an abberation
of our foreign policy but its
fruition.�

April 1970

BRAGG BRIEFS

J.f M.D

KINSTON, N.C.

Page 3

GI MOVEMENT NEWS

TACOMA, WASHINGTON.-ePVT Bruce

iiaclean, an anti-war GI, was hust-

led off the base at Ft Lewis and
forced into a plane - destination
Vietnam - durins the nisht of Feb
19the PVT Maclean arrived at Cam
Ranh Bay the followin: morninge
The American Serviceman's Union
initiated lecal action to have
him brought backe

PVT Maclean happens to be one
of the organizers of the October
20th ASU meeting at the Cascadian
service Club on the basee He and
34 other anti-war GI's were ar-
rested that night at the club.
He was also one of the key wit-
nesses at the people's trial of
the Army at the University of
Washington on Jan 2lste Maclean,
then AWOL, declared his support
for the Nationel Front for Lib-
eration of South Vietnam.

MEMPHIS, TENNeeee The four black

marines who were charged with con-

Spiracy and rioting have won a tPpé@-
mendous court victorye Facing poss-
ible sentences, for the charges, of

up to 86 years in the brig, eache
Instead the maximun sentence was
Six months, and the others ranged
from four months to thirty dayse
Civilian attorneys for the de-

fendants said oIt was a great vice

torye Of course they shouldn't
have received any sentence at all

for defending themselves, but it is

a victory when you consider what
they could have gotten�.

In a similar case now pending
at Fort Knox, Kye one man has al-
ready been sentenced to two and a
half years at hard labor. It is
very possible that the differance
between this and the Memphis ver-

dicts was a direct result of organ-
ized protests that poured into the

FORT GORDON, GAeeoe The four Gele*s
who in January of this year formed
the "oGele War Crimes Commission�"� at
Fort Gordon, have been tried separ-
ately in special court-martials.
The verdicts handed down by the
four different judges were typical
of military justicee Three contra-
dictory verdicts were reached on
the disloyalty chargese Only one
of the four was convicted, two were
aquitted and the charge in one case
was ruled ounconstitutionly vague".
The government did better on the
second charge in which they achived
two convictionse The fact that
they convicted the wrong persons is
of course, irrel@vante P.F.C.
Johnsons, who openly admits distrib-
uting the leaflets in his company
area was aquitted because of lack
of evidence, while Pvte Czaplyski
and PFC Horner were convicted in
spite of the fact that the only

Labor Unrest on Ft Bragg;
Army Out to Break Unions

air station after the case became

On Tuesday Dave O'Brien was re- Y PHONE ee Ser
M I'M GOING To INSIST known to the vast publice

stricted to his company area by Is BEING WHAT THE PHONE COMPANY�

his CO pending investigation of - - sf 4
the charges against him. After an TAPPED Do You KEDUCE MY.BILL TO |

leaflets found on base were found
three miles away in Johnson*s com-
pany areae

Distribution Suits Filed

Plans are being made to file

article appeared in the local pa-
per and a vist to JAG by Bill,
Dave was taken off restriction

2

/ INTEND PARTY LINE RATES-.

To Do

Since March 3rd, barbers at Ft
Bragg have been on strike. The
Strike began soon after Cicero

Suits aginst the Army for on-post
distribution of GI free press

newspapers at Ft Bliss, Texas and
Grissom Air Force Base, Indiana

_ The trials only served to publi-
clize the activities of the commis-
Sion which now has nation-wide sup-

Fowler took over the management port, thanks to the Brass!!

and the petitions were returned
with no further action taken.

Off

After spending 10 months in
basic training and 6 months on
restriction, Pvt. Dennis Halliday
was taken off restriction by his
commander. Denny was taken off
restriction after he wrote a let-
ter to Gen. Tolson regarding his
restriction and oppression. He
is now awaiting a decision from
the Federal District Courts on
whetner or not he will be awarded

a Writ of Hebeas Corpus, based

upon his belief as a conscientious

objector. If all goes well, Fvt.

Halliday may soon ve released from

political bondage.

Pvt. Halliday is a member of
GeI.*s UNITED and an editor on
"BRAGG BRIEFS" while a subvject of
military repression. He was only

allowed leave at Christmas and one

pass to see his attorneys. WOW!

Seizure

On Monday, March 9th, Rich
Castelli, another GI*s United
member was petitioning in the
training center when two MI ag-
ents approached him and confis-
cated his petition. They gave him
a receipt but no explanation of
how to get his petition returned.

The same day that the peti-
tions were returned to Bill and
David, two MI agents visited Rich
in his company and returned his
petition. They apologized for
troubling him.

Order

On March 2lst Mike Weintraub
was given a written order by his
CO not to circulate the petition:
1) During normal duty hours, 2)
While in complete or part of a
duty uniform, 3) Without written
approval of the installation com-
mandere After Mike visited JAG
the CO wrote a new order saying
the petition could not be circu-
lated during duty hours. The
other two points are not neces-
sary for circulating a petition.

ABOUT
is

Returned :
On March 25 Sp/4 William Carothers
a GIs United member was transferred
out of his unit the 612th Qm Co
where he was a parachute rigger
to the 546th Trans Co to be trained
as a truck driver. This was done
even though Sp/4 Carothers has
slightly over one month left in the
Army.After a visit to the 12th
Support Brigade IG he found out that
the order had come from Col WMurley,
the Brigade Commander. Col Murley
felt that Sp/* Carothers was a pot-
ential threat as he got nearer his
ETS day because of his affiliation
with GIs United. Col Murley refused
to put his thoughts in writing and
the next day Sp/4 Carothers was rete
urned to the %12th.

Transfer

Congratulations to the 30lst
ASA Battalion for solving an-
other of its "problems" in the
usual mannere It seems they solve
all their problems with transferse

Sp/4 Charles Arnold, 2 member
of GI's UNITED, who attempted to
point out the racist attitude in
his battalion along with organiz-
ing dissident GI's, is now of the
5th Evace Hospitale The offical
reason for the transfer and the
loss of his security clearence
was not given.

This type of repression wil]
Jast only as long as you allow
ite The fact is, it is nearly im-
possible to have your security
clearence taken awaye

es 5 gee
Anothér Viet
Casualty

of the shopse The new regime be-
gan by raising haircut prices
from 90¢ to $13 while lowering
the barbers cut on each haircut
from 65¢ to 60¢- The barbers*
response to the exploitative
measures was not long in cominge

It seems though ~that there
are few soldiers getting shaggy
around the earse Why? Because on
military pay either a soldier
gets his haircut on post or does
not get one at all since he canTt
afford a haircut off poste Regu-
lations eliminate the second al-~
ternative thereby forcing the GI
to assist in breaking the strike
by getting haircuts from the scab
barbers brought in by Fowler.

The Army has never felt any a-
version to strikebreaking and
through post resulations and a
policy of obenign neglect" it has
provided valuable assistance to
the concessionaire in his attempt
to destroy Local 844 of the Bar-
bers Union on Ft Bragg

LTC Wattendorf, the PX officer;

claims the Army is not taking any
sides, that it only odesires to
see labor peacee� But it 1S easy

to see just where the Army standse

It condones Fowler's use of oyel-
low dog" contracts, but does not
allow the union to distribute
leaflets on post explaining its
position. Fowler can hire strike
breakers and scabs, but the union
can't picket in front of the bar-
ber shops or anywhere else on
post for that matter.

For soldiers who can't get off
post there is little way for them
to know there is a strike going
one. Anybody see an article in
the Pararlide or Veritas about
the strike?

The Army claims that the dis-
pute is between Fowler and the
union, and that the Army is not
involved. It is involved in this
strike in the same way that it is
involved in the California table
srane boycott and the recent mail
strikee

for the publications Gigline and
Aerospacede A similar suit has
already been heard in the feder-
al courts by Bragg Briefs; it
will soon be heard by the appeal
courtse The legal work for all
three cases is being handled, in
large part, by the GI Civil Lib-
erties Defense Committee in New
York. The suits, as the Bragg
Briefs suit, will seek a declar-
atory judgment from the courts
that GIs have the right to dis-
tribute their literature on posts
and, further, will ask that the
courts enjoin the Army from util-
izing unconstitutional post or
Army regulations which deny dis-
tribution rights.

Petitioning Drive

Succeeds on Bragg

GI*s UNITED has been coldect-
ing signatures on a labor peti-
tion for six weekse We now have
over 1,000 signatures, which we
plan to take to Congress in May.

We have had many hassels over
these past few weeks. ~The Brass
knows this is a legal petition,
but they have been arresting
people and seizing petitions so
other people would be afraid to
Sign theme

We will not be intimidated!
The petitions will fo to Congress
and we will have change in the
Army! Oppression does not stop
determination, and we are deter-
mined to end our servitude as
second class citizense No form of
oppression should stop a person
who has grievences because it is
not simply your risht but our
duty to petition change.

FIRST AMENDMENT
Congress shall make no laws eeeoc
eee abricsing the freedom of sp-
eech, or of the press; or of the
rient of the people peaceably to
assemble, and to Petition The
Government for a redress of srie-
vanceSe

Tony Auth/LNS

Hf anyone asks, tell them we wonr!TT

MULDRAUGH, KYoee Local officials
have defied a federal court judge
and resumed their efforts to close
down a Gel. coffee house in this

tiny town at the sates of Ft Knoxe

Since February 24, two young
people have been in jail because

they were challenring the legality

of the new attack. G.eJe*s have
started a boycott of the Local
merchants in protest against the
continued harrasmente

The officials went ahead with
eviction proceedings on opublic
nuisance" basic. Gel. supporters
have circulated a petition dew
manding an end to harrasment and
the firings of the police chief.
All merchants refusins to sign
are being boycotted. Another pe-

tition azainst the stockade systen

is also being circulated.

FT DIX, NEW JERSEY..ePVT Carlos
Rodriquez, the last of the Ft Dix
38 to be tried by general court-
martial has been sentenced to
four years at hard labor, a bad
conduct discharge, and partial
forfeiture of pay on charges of
arsone PVT Rodriquez was acquit-
ted on another charge of ricte
His four year sentence is the
lonrest of any of the 38. The
trial lasted five days; the jury
was out 70 minutes. Rodriquez*
attorney .said they will appeal to

the next higher military author- ,

itye

FORT BLISS, TPEXAS«ss On his
visit to Ft. Bliss, General West-
moreland had an unscheduled con-
frontation with anti-war senti-
mentSe Some 100 citizens turned
out for the demonstratione Nearly
80 were Fort Bliss Gele'se

GeileTsS For Peace planned and
executed a peaceful, legal pick-
eting of his appearence before
the local chapter of the Asso-
ciation of the United States Army
on January 15- The picketers
carried signs protesting ostock-
ade brutality", stating "Peace is
Patriotic� and "GIFP Welcomes
General Westmoreland".

Of course, the General care-
fully restrained from commenting
on the demonstration as much as
possible although he was forced
to acknowledge theme Their pres-
ence that evening forced him to
amend his planned entrance to the
Hilton Inn to avoid the demonstra-
tors themselves.

FLAC FREES SPRING:

On Saturday, April 4th the
Fayetteville Liberation Arts
Committee (FLAC) is sponsering
a second free concert to FREE
SPRING. The festival is happen-
ing in Rowan Park right here in
Fayetteville from 1 till 5 in
the afternoon. Rowan Park is on
Woodside Ave. between W. Rowan
Dr. ard Hay St. At FREE SPRING
#2 there will be a couple of rock
bands and a theatre performance
by the Fayetteville Theatre Asso-
Clation.

This series of ccncerts is
gponsered in the interests of the
G.I. and the youth community ef
Payetteville. FLAC, a group of
Gel.*s and other youth, hopes to
become a forum for both the G.I.
ard youth to speak out! We have
beer, silenced long enough. We
have beer patient long enough.

So come April 4th and help
FREE SPRING!

it*s Free,

Page

View Image 4

April 1970

BRAGG BRIEFS Page 4

An Introduction to GIlTs UNITED:

THE FIVE POINT PROGRAM

The GI Movement .

The Gel. Movement has grown in two years from
a few dissenters to a strong political force in-
volving thousands of G.I."s supporting over six-
ty Gel. newspaperse Our struggle began in oppo-
Sition to the Vietnam war, but has become a
struggle against the established systeme All of
us have come to realize in the struggle that the
Vietnam war is not an accident but the direct
outcome of the goals and policies of the United
States» Politically conscious G.I.'*s must cre-
ate a political movement because change will
come only when action by the people makes it pos-
Sible.e The situation of G.I.'s makes us a part
of the natural leadership of this rising move-

What is Imperialism?

Change can come only through the direct po-
litical action of the people because the estab-
lishment gives all power over the system to those
who built it and profit from it - the imperial-
ist ruling class.

The society of the U.S. is a monopoly capit-
alist imperialism. The social order is founded
on a very small number of very large corpora-
tionse The managers and owners of these corpor-
ations form an elite class dictatorshipe The
goals and policies of our society are just vari-
ations on those necessary for the businessmen,

who control the economy, culture, and government
of the United States...

oe Py a8 %,'.° eee." 8 08 ¢,'o. @ 6 ste ,
ose 4 Sf ate ROY ee 0¢ eee se G Se
aie 9�, *0 ~ / T ed . * * Ose T vA T .
ie eee ons. . y 7,9 4
oe of Xx AC oh 8 OOg a ¢ Or� ope G+,
weeiinTd, . @ * oe oof we Ce .9 eee p
; ~ 4, T - oe e*s ee
,

" "_""_"_" " - eed "-"-

a EOLA LOOT OD OFDM

a et

ing militarism and get us involved in Vietnam and
many other conflicts. At every turn the govern-
ment has served the interests of capitalists and
hurt the interests of the people.

The war in Vietnam, in connection with the
black movement, has resulted in an uprising of
the people which grows stronger every day. The
veneer of liberal legality is stripped away and
the class nature of the government is exposed.

We see our rulers go to ever more repressive

measures,T attempting to smash the popular drive
for peac® and ecomomic and political democracy.

Why Vietnam?

The government must try to put down the move-
ment because the survial of capitalism depends
on imperialism. Where the peace movement and the
Civil rights movement realized that war and rac-
ism were not accidents but policies of the ruling
class they became one movement demanding one
thing - POWER TO THE PEOPLE!

The war in Vietnam and Laos is being fought to
protect the imperialists. It was easy for them
to start this war without popular consent because
of the militarism and the oarms race� which has
been the foundation of their profits since the
Second World War.

The UeS.e got involved in Vietnam after W.W.II

Their goals are to make their businesses ever
larger, richer, and more powerful. Their policy
is to attain this goal by exploiting the people
of the world in every way and in any degree pos-
Sible - what they call minimizing cost and max-
imizing profitse

The name for this policy is imperialism. At
home this struggle for capitalist survival takes
such forms as exploitation of wage earners, rac-
ism and male supremacy, militarism, thought con-
trol, political repression, cheating consumers,
waste of natural resources, and pollutione A-
broad imperialism means gobbling up natural re-
sources and investments, exploiting "cheap for-
eign labor", fighting for control of foreign
markets, and forever waging war to protect in-
vestments from other capitalist countries and
the countries being robbed.

To do all this the imperialists must control
the people of the world. They do so by setting
up puppet governments=- dictatorships abroad and
phony democrocies at home.

Politics in*capitalist society takes a lot of
moneys The rich thus control the political sys- .
teme Besides controling the politicians they
control the media for political education -
schools, newspapers, radio and television. To
fool the. people they use the jingoism of super-
patriotism, racism,, and red - baiting. But the
laws that get passed are the laws the ruling
class wants.

In the last twenty years this has become clearT

as we have seen the government cheat thepoor,
undercut the blacks, waste money on ever increas-~

et Ph gy a wats
es a ir AP Ot a
""_""

gaa a Oe AO MILLIE Wr a a

by supporting the colonial ambitions of France.
The UeSe has stayed in Vietnam since the French
defeat because of the U.-S. imperialist's neo-
colonial ambitionse Military intervention war
begen in order to sabatoge the democratic process
in Vietname The ruling class knew, as Eisenhower
admitted in a speech in 19§6, that the vast ma-
jority of the people in southern Vietnam would
vote to be reunited with the Democratic Republic
of Vietnam under Ho Chi Minh. Besides removing
an area from imperialist exploitation this would
also be a major political defeat since the capit-
alist ideology says no people would ever democra-
tically elect a communist government.

The Vietnamese freedom fighters are waging a
war of national liberation,like other third world
countires Vietnam is under-developed because of
imperialisme Much of the wealth that could be
invested goes into the bank accounts of the im-
perialistse Moreover, these countries are de-
liberately kept weak and divided so that the
wealth will continue to go to the imperialists.

All the people of the world including us cit-
izens of the capitalist countries are victums of
the imperialist system. Today the wars of liber-
ation are the cutting edge against the systeme
We Gele*s are in a better position than anyone
else in the U.S. to resist and weaken imperial-
ism as we are its major tool of conqueste We

Page

View Image 5

April 1970

must learn to see through their leis, we must
unite to bring them down. The war is being ;
fought to protect the economic interests of the
capitalists. But every gain for them is a loss
for use They tell us we're fighting to protect
the freedom of the Vietnamese, but we support
dictators. They tell us its a war for human dig-
nity and yet it is based on and breeds blatant
racism. Would My Lai have happened if instead of
being "little Slanty-eyed gooks� the people of
Vietnam were white Europeans? Racisim is a dead-
ly enemy of our interests. The white supremecy
used to make us hate the Vietnamese and keep us
divided is also used to keep us divided at home

Racism

The war in Vietnam is a racist ware But then,
the U-eS.- is a racist country. Racism, as we know
it, is a product of a class society with a profit
economye It was created and sustained by those

who profit from cheap labor and a divided people -

the capitlists. Racial prejudice and discrimina-
tion are profitable because they lower wages, di-
vides the people, divert our attention and allow

members of the dominant race to feel superior evan

when they are bad off.

Racism is a result of imperialism. The Indians

and spanish-speaking peoples are national minor-
ities because white people stole their lands.
Blacks are a national minority because whites
Stole them just like any other onatural resource"
of Africa.

Racism continues because of the established
Systeme It is difficult even under the best con-
ditions for individuals to destroy pre judices
they acquired as children. But it is impossible
to destroy them in a class society which is based
on the acceptance of inequality, which is racist
in its basic structure, which breeds the fear
and frustrations on which racism feeds, and
which offers petty rewards to the people of the

dominant groups for giving in to the rest of th
pressures. |

The movement for social, economic, and polit-
ical power for the national minorities is the
most advanced part of the progressive movements.
The minorities are in the same situation as other
third-world peoples in Asia, Africa, and South
Americae Neo-colonialism and racism are their
enemies. The end of racism can come only with
black power, brown power, yellow power, and red
powere Equality and human dignity will exist

only when all peoples can meet as real equals.
This means that the national minorities must

have the same control over their economies, soc-
ieties, politics, and cultures that white people,
aS a group, have over theirs.

Because the leading elements in the black
struggle have reached these conclusions they have

come out against the imperialists. Like the Viet-

namese they too are fighting the battles for

white Americans freedom and receiving the bulk of

the repressione None of us shall be free until
we unite against the racism that keeps us dis-
united in the face of our common enemv.

Democracy in the Army

The Armed Forces of the U.S- have only one
purpose - the protection of established business
interests and the accumulation of new markets and
investment opportunitiese The form of the U.S.
Army is derived not from military necessity but

from socio-economic necessity. The army is a cor-

rupt, authoritarian caste system because our soce
iety is one too. No other form of organization
could hold men in line for purposes that have
nothing positive to contribute to their lives.
Unquestioning obedience to osuperiors� is neces-
Sary only because a soldier who questioned what
our army is doing would not be a good tool of
imperialism.

Our leaders know this is true. After W.W. II
democratic forms of army organization were im-
Dosed on Japan and Germanye The U.S. imperial-
ists kept theirs organized along the old Prussian
linese We wonder why?

We want the U.eS. to be a truly democratic and
peace-loving country. If world imperialism where
ended no country would need a large armye But if
we have an army then we would want it to be a

BRAGG BRIEFS

KINSTON, N. C. seme ie

democratic one. An arm$ that exists solely to
answer the real needs of the people would be able
to function without authoritarian control and the
absurd regimentation found in our armiese Such
an army would be under the careful control of the.
people as a whole where recruitment is truly
voluntary and where a soldier can quit at will.
Further, in such an army enlisted men would have
a strong control over the selection of officers
and NCO*s and the regulation of day to day life.
Finally, in such an army the political and social
rights of soldiers would be strictly protected.

If we are going to do political work, to devel-
op ourselves and our movement we must defend our
human and democratic rightse While the constitu-.
tion as a whole serves only to underwrite the
power of the ruling class, the Bill of Rights it
contains has traditionally served as a basis for
defense of the rights of dissenters.

We must therefore resist any attempt to take
away the rights allowed use Further we must
fight for our oconstitutional rights" to freedom
of the press, speech, and assemblye Since pol-
itical involvement by the people around our own
issues is a deep threat to imperialism, our
struggle for our rights in the army is a direct
attack on imperialism itself.

Part of this struggle is to unite in defense
of those caught up in the repressive apparatus
of the army and the civilian government.

Free All Political Prisoners

This is particularly important for GeI.~s
since every dissenting GeI. is a political pris-
onere Either drafted or recruited under threat
of the draft, into an army ~he can't quit, the
soldier is a prisoner of the statee We must
fight political oppression both to protect move=
ment people and to fight for our own rightse

GITs UNITED

Gel.*s United at Fort Bragg is an organization
of active duty G.I.*s who are part of the world
wide progressive movement. We are in total op-=
position to the war in Vietnam and the imperial-
ist system in its entirety.e We have united to do
political education and political action in the
army to help bring imperialism to an end.

Page

View Image 6

April 1970

(continued from page 1)

gain = probably cost the good ol'
US of A several thousand bucks.
And this same man has the unmiti-
gated, hypocritical gall to call
his troops opoor soldiers� when
their gig lines aren't straight!
Case Noe 2: A certain supply
sergeant decided that his home
needed new walls, so he ordered
some nice mahogony paneling on
the pretense of refurbishing an
office where he workse When the
sheets arrived, he proceeded to
liberate the wood and falsify the
paperwork covering its shipvmente
You can drop by this guy*s house
anytime, and he'll proudly show
you his attractive living room
and then, with a chuckle, tell
you how he managed the redecora-
tinge He doesn't even bother to
hide it! That seems like a zo0o0d
cue for a moment*s digression to
talk about the oldtimers in the
military - mostly big brass - who
place a high premium on a man'*s
ability to steal (that is, if the
man is an E7 or above; don't try
it if youfre below that if you
value your arse). How many tales
have you heard since you donned
OD about this or that marvelous
NCO who could come up with the
ungodliest assortment of merchan-
dise in the middle of a desert
when nobody else could even get a
pencil to fill out a requisition?
The hellof it is, these guys real-
ly exist - and they're revered!
Then there*s the one about the
light colonel in a local unit who
belongs to several civic and soc-
ial clubs (non-military) in Fay-
etteville. lian, those organiza-
tions have got it made, for they
have the men and resources of an
entire military unit at their
~disposal just for the asking. And
don*t think they donTt aske
These instances we've cited
aren't as isolated as you might
thinke How about the cases of the
gun=-smuggling general and the em-
bezzling sergeant major and the
green beret gangsters that have
been in the news lately, or the
higher-ups who allegedly who
allegedly tried to whitewash the
My Lai affair? Keep your eyes op-
en in your own unit and see what
chicanery you can spots; yov pro-
bably won't get eyestrain from
looking too harde
Let*s consider just one aspect
of this topic: money (not to men-
tion those morals and ethics of-
ficers and NCOs are supposed to
hold so dear). How much did you
shell out to the good uncle in
taxes this year? A sizable sum,
risht? Okay, now take a look at

BRAGG BRIEFS

the obvious monetary waste in
your unit: see where your wallet
went?

The military hiecrarchy's mis-
use of covernment funds occurs on

the job as well as in their per-
sonal lifee Have you ever known a

ranking man who, in order to sat-
isfy a personal whim, icnored a
rule or rezulation even thourh he
knew that doing so was wrons? You
can run right up the chain of

command with a list of examples
on that one, .
oBy nowy, we hope we've made at

least a toehold case for the fact
that higher ranking military
types show much more disrespect
and contempt, both in quantity
and quality, for their sovern-
ment than younger, more ideal-
istic troops whose main goal is
to reform and improve the systeme
What the younger troops, by and
larze, are doing is constructive
and prorressive, wheras what such
bigots as we've described are do-
ing is catabolistic as helle So,
what can you, the individual GI,
do to make your vosition more
tenable? For a start, you can a-
void emulating your elders and
keep an eye out for the type of
activities we've been discussing.
Do a little detective work, fer-=
ret out the evidence, get the
facts down cold, then hang the
SOB*se A casual, well-documented
note to the IG (preferably a civ-
ilian representative thereof)
would do for a starte Now, let us
guess what your thinking: "Sure,
I'm really going to turn them in
to the IG and get my ass ina
jame� Well, you don*t have to set:
in a jam if you use a little dis-
cretion and subterfugee (1) Hang
onto the lethal information until
youfre about to ETS, then drop it
by the IG while you're clearing
poste (2) Write your congressman
or, better yet, find a guy from
Arkansas and get him to write
Fulbright. (3) If you can*t wait
to see the fur fly and you aren't
short enoush to try the first
suggestion, get a buddy who is
short to drop in the complaint or
contact GI*s UNITED (we'll be
glad to help). (4) Write an an-
onymous letter to the guilty par-
ty and threaten to spill the
beans; that should be good for a
few clandestine sweat beads on
his brows

At any rate, don't let them
get by with ite The guys mention=
ed in our examples certainly are
not going to, and if they guess
who they are, they'd better start
Sweating, because this is a pub-
lic notice that their number is
UPe

Whatever you do, man, when you
sev the goods, cause a hassle!
Just think of all the ulcers that
will invade those brass stomachs
when the bigwigs learn that every
GI at Bragg is making like a
snoope Needless to say, this ep-
istle isn*t aimed at honest of-
ficers and NCO*s, but there are
enough dishonest ones to make
things on the American system
and budgete Okay, soldier, you're
sworn to uphold the Constitution,
So set to ite Just think how much
easier it will be to breath down
below if you car clean the scum
off the ton of the barrele

Page 6

Military Court of Appeals Rules

Against Priest: Trial Date Set

On March 13th, the US Court of
Military Appeals upheld the right
of a commanding officer to over-
rule a decision of a military
judgee The decision centered on
whether or not the Commandant of
the Nava]. District of Washington
applied improper influence on the
court-martial judge in the case
of anti-war sailor Roger Priest
who faces court-martial because
of statements he made in his ser-
vicemen*s newsletter "OM".

The court-martial proceedings
were stopped on December 8th when
Priest appealed to the highest
military court to prevent prose-
cution on two charges which had
been dismissed by military judge
CPT Be Raymond Perkins but were
later reinstated after the con-
vening authority, Rear Adm George
P Koch, ordered the judge to re-
consider his decisione Priest's
lawyers charged that the admiralT
action was a ogross usurpation of
the authority of the military
judge, an unpardonable interfer-
ence in the course of the pro-
ceedings and a denial of due pro-
cess of law." They asked that the
two charges alleging that Priest
solicited servicemen to desert
and commit sedition be again
droppede Though the court's de-
cision refuted the defense law-
yer*s position, it did acknow-
ledge that ocertain anomalies in
military practice exist in com-
parison with the procedures in .
the Federal civilian courts, but,�
says the court, " a difference of
procedure is not tantamount to a
due process defecte"

Priest, the first serviceman to
face court-martial for statements
made in an anti-war newsletter, |
will now stand trial in Washington
on April 14th.

In a final pre-trial hearing on
March 20th Judge Perkins denied

all motions by the defense, includ-

ing a request that correspondence
between I.Mendel Rivers and the
Pentagon be subpcened, letters
which plainly indicate that the
House Armed Services Chairman ap-
plied improper influence on the
Navy in the casee

Priest is also charged with mak-

ing statements advising and urging
insubordination, disloyalty, and
refusal of duty by members of the
Armed Forces and making statements
disloyal to the United Statese He
faces a maximum punishment of 39
years in prisone

©1967 Mi MGHTS OeseevED

ze. ele. eit):

Page

View Image 7

April 1970

General Fouls Water

The Commanding General of Fort
Ord is being sued by the state of
Californiae This was brought a-
bout by his ignoring the cease "
and - desist order which was lev-
ied against him for continued
dumping of undisinfected sewage
into the Monterey Baye It is not

the State of California's anti-
pollution program or that he was
so busy trying to save this coun-
try from destruction that he was
completely ignorant of the fact
that he was polluting our natural

water WaAYSe

AS,

Brass Smashes M*A*S*H

That citadel of enlightment and
truth, the Ft. Bragg Paraglide, -
commented last issue on the ban-
ning of M*A*SH* by the Army and
AirForce Motion Picture Service.

M*A*SH* stars Elliott Gould,
Donald Southerland and Tom Sker-
ritt as three battle surgeons
drafted during the Korean War.
According to the Paraglide, a
group of 25 officers critics bann-
ed it from distribution on mil:-
tary installations. It is the
first ban since 1963.

The Reasons

"The Surgeons clowning in
the movie would destroy a GI's
confidence in combat medical
treatment. "The Paraglide
article continues, "Although
M*A*SH* protrays the surgeons
as competent professionals in
the operating room, it witting-
ly characterizes them as estab-
lishment pranksters with no
respect for military discipline
voth in and out of the bloody
operating room.�

7 what all this really means is
that the brass is upset over the
disrespect shown the Army machine.
Even the bumbling Paraglide unwit-
tingly admits it.

It is also interesting that the
panel that eensored M*A*SH* was
made up entirely of officers.

Because a few officers objected
to the irreverence portrayed agali-

qa first rate motion

nst the Armys
| =een off post.

picture can only be
And speaking of Army
the bress is so concerned about

a GI's confidence in medical
treatment why donTt they do
something about a certain Army
doctor at Womack Army lHicspital
who told wounded Vietnam veturnee
complaining of chest poins:

mien does it hurt? When you

~+e

Fuck?

Hospitals, 1f

BRAGG BRIEFS

Pollution and Profit

We have been hearing a great
deal lately about the problems of
the oenviroment� - air and water
pollution. Most of our rivers and
lakes have water which is so full
of industrial filth and sewage
that the fish and other life in
them are dying, and our air is so
full of pollutants from automo-
biles and factory smoke that it
is estimated that within a few
years some people in large cities
(mainly infants, the sick and
elderly) will begin to die from
breathing Ite

We know how to stop this kind
of thing - filter the air and
purify all water before returning
it to the rivers and lakes. It is
even possible to build a virtu-
ally smog-free car enginee But
these things are not being done.
Why?

The filters and other devices
needed to purify man-made wastes
cost money. The businessmen whose
factories and cars pollute the
environment won't install these
devices because it is not profit-
able for them to do soe Because
doing these things might cut into
their exhorbitant profits or
weaken their competitive position
in the market, the businessmen do
not do them, and all of us suffer
from irritated eyes and noseSs»
higher cancer rates, and fewer
places to swim or fish in clean
watere The profit makers put
their selfish interests above the
common good of all the peoplee

One might suggest passing laws
to force the companies to clean
the air and water they uS@�,�e This
would probably work, if the laws
could be passed and enforcede
But can they be? The businessmen
who refuse to act responsibly to-
ward our environment are the same
ones who control the legislatures.
Their money is necessary for a
senator or congressman to pay for
his election costs - naturally he
is going to defer to their inter-
ests. The companies also in-
fluence legislation by means of

the powerful lobbies they main-
tain in Washington and in the
state capitolse

Even if the necessary laws
could be passed, there is very
little hope of their being effec-
tively enforced. The record of
American business is one of con-
stant contempt for the laws (such
as those concerning price-fixing
and monopoly) designed to regulate
theme And when caught, how are
they punished by the courts? They

are given absurdly small fines
which they can pay easily and us-

ually a slap on the wrist and a
warning not to break the law againe
This is understandable, because
the same politicians who serve

the businessmen also appoint the
judges:

The only conclusion that can
be drawn from the above evidence
~is that the ae gdria and des-
truction of ou® natural environ-
ment will continuee It will con-
tinue until the American people
rise up and force the preedy
corporations and corrupt poli-
ticians to act for the common
TOO e

Page 7
Unpopular War, USA

Yes, we are in an unpopular War
Since we can't understand what
we are fighting for

No more of this fighting we can

lives. are at stake
We realize this so called war on
communism isnTt real
Since our capitalists gain
wealth while we fight and
natural resources and raw ma-
terials they steal
We demand the fighting to cease
Before more deaths and injuries
increase
Our people, we want brought back
home where they belong
Because we need them to help the
struggle here along
A struggle for freedom and peace
Which our system does not preach
Now, Every war will be unpopular
to people as me
Until our home in American is
truly Free

B.C.

War to be Outlawed in Massachusetts
A bill has been introduced in

the Massachusettes legislature
that, if passed, would make com-
pliance with orders for Vietnam
illegal. In preliminary votes,
the bill has passed with flying
colors. It is designed to force
a decision by the Supreme Court
on the legality of the war.

oGive us this day our
daily illusion . . .�

Bragg Briefs is published by:

GI's United Against the War in
Viennam

Post Office Box #437

Spring Lake, North Carolina 28390

Meetings of GI*s United are held
every Tuesday evening at 7:00 at
the oQuaker House" 324 Ray Avenue
across from the USO club. Everyone
is welcome.

Letters to the editors are en-
couraged.

Fe Te HEE SEE FETE SE EEE HHH HHH HN AK HK KHHAA AH

EDITORIAL BOARD

Ft Bragg Gits: John 1.3 Vail-
USATCI, James Seiler=SAAFC, William
Carothersel2th Spt, a
: _ Hal Noyes-JrK Center,
Dennis W. Halliday-USATCI, Leslie
H Fenton-7th SFG, Al Zubenko-
VSATCI, cerry Rhodes-6th SFG, Mike
Weintraub-6th SFG, Albert Singer-
USATCI, Burley Coleman-USATCI,
James Klima: .*-USAIMA, Charles
Arnolde12th .

. *
ivj lianss

i &

iH OBrien
wood

~ i
Pot ee xy
. ~@ g9+- :
ba

Stat c AligT: OC

Page

View Image 8

ical power comes out of the barrel of a

aution, sir, i
Ft Jackson nm Public Nuise
the pigs unite, y
ism is not menu is
do we spea we shit
nightmare d ever b
scious in A
tion The bom ice St heroic w y io N Sine ec
Fidel set the example, follow it Resist These capitalists generally act harmoniously, and in concert,
to fleece the people Mah frens, an fullow Amuricans Amerikans Cold turkey Panther 21 trial Free
Smash imperialism Conscientious objector I would not be a capitalist; I }

a litical pr Ss

wuld be a n3; youmcannot be both at the same me Ku Klux Klan Racism running rainpant sexism Ah
F pemat 1c tion @§Th u i� 620, kno Nare ish i@esc of the country Justice Department Silly
T Wha ow far Ie Eg) d agse@les and more hell For every porkchop there

a mean hasn e

r
is a frying pan doy America "tT Dadeeeororress, who built the world's largest shopping
center? -Richard Nixon We Snhold these tr Peto bempe li-timkent that all men are created Democratic
Beer is the curse of any revolution Pre High Sch@lers Deman@�"�iy of Rights Jesus Christ Coke,
after Coke, after Coke, after. Cokg# after Coke Je@us Christ Pol [t@mmon By any means necessary Laff
Minimidimaxi Commodities Wd Ave Capitalism # ridiculous The Mmany is obscene Napalm My Lai
Yippie Out now Violence peace Do it In t streets FTA Brage@briefs Loses Suit in District
Court I wanna hold you and I wanna hola you u I wanna hold you down implicity Boycott Scat
Ca Richard Milstone Nixon Btop the ABMs; stop the USA Trust your impulses OK

If fyou tC we sol ~your pa f thy geg@lem comparison of geMgrals, police, and big
j ; ngul the eed oO ime H@w ¥ will a m& turn his head? Be

me Btadard 2) at woult 12: Nam: cele btion Democratic
tfonooves JO Pewai 72 SMaves the comgvoitat ~FeWA iRan*®"revolutio Venceramos. -$$

Communications Draft Coup Dtetat Keep on truciinT Black Truth is the whole WW Up against
the wall The Fpirit of the people is greater thanf#the man's technology Dare to strugMle, dare to win
Politics is wa@ without bloodshed, war is politics With bloodshed Seize the time One Man witha bit of
courage makeg#a majority Smash Wow The policeman is not htere to¥ereate disor--
More than o organization has died der, but to preserve disorWer SDS Ha
settling tagfttics Love it or : Down with Trots Vote �"�® the streets
leave it -More than 100,000 Repression Yip, Yip, Wippie Rat
i ada Insurrectg War is a racket Neo-@olonialism

thuch alwayd preced
ud

of

Working class You ale either a
1 f arms ca a rebel laves are
W in the EST expected fo sing as
m white 7 W s"work Johr@ Brown Z
folks Ad dogs I : I can hire one-hagf the 7
Progress Ive Ban the working class toffkill the
bomb Bae business other =- Jay Goul Damn
means big wars Help | ea Culture Togethgr We
Draft cagd burning et can build a new forld on
With trufh, justice, 3 % MG Ce the ashes of theffold We
and libewmty for all You can jail a wvolution-
Woe said hat? Yip, a ary, but you camft jail a
Yipphe Blasting Redg Stronger

(7 Vv We . Mm ination
Cy OC 4 Hie j Ie rm Country
RTent b@autilv opie» , o8 Bg ruling

Woodstock re you kidding iubert Huffphrey Id
es@rtion Any We Americans hayge no commis-
iMgeand appl ecom God #�"� police the
Ne: bad M: AWOL Don*t pay war
Ho C&i Min e big @ni : calke | [t is Juite obvious
Crisis Love Yeaur brother | that less w@have the female
Free press Th rincipls | sex on our sg@#e, we cannot hope
of self defense i&XX{an Ay ro accomplig#m any object we p

ican tradition tha�"�be pve in vi saith Luther 1830
Lexineton and Concor" Lorcy cg Cosmetics Trash

is alive and well in f MmPipPMsSs is a hot gun Strike
Army Unset Every bode WF NOW Wiggy lMlolotov
ret stoned Easy Rider Bek tail Unity Liberty

Ppavs the bill? L @is submission to the law -Ft
m The best things tn : Dix gto Nonsense ,
rt 1
ur
st

Cc
. oer ip the fab ~a
| ae 15¢ ha ve QO: at j
r histo#fy o a ] b

struggle Religion is the opium of suckers Rhetoric, again
the masses Yipvie Penis An un-

Whatever the adversity § yw 1 ple are slaves
tect our mimeographs aye hy. SR , NER t to slavery at
#1

equipment and materials ime What if?
of life -Comrade Kim I1 Sung Crazy Zodiac seize the

have a rig 10uUS ings ti What if there was a war
Dialecti the :

Let me-s é ; ar: 5

Together Pa g onl

table ea oT Ba: Hi | :?

people ja i ight

nname is ) | eres

terested ye ard 1 ws g Dr OW! . ? think
much of that . The poor nave no laws; the laws are made by the rich for the rich otrusgle To
what end Beastiality Bring me your poor, your huddled masses LSD DAR-dann arrogant reactionaries
Jelly Slapstick Our will to live must no longer supercede our will to fight Private enterprise is
private greed 50? As revolution ave beru m�"� is natural to expegt at other revolutions will fol-
low Brass lives high while GI's j mY for ser The revolutionary varty must

be the servant of the people Who s! ah Gent L. Ducks are beautiful ani-
mals The only law of human nature ist fRéat q . plo i @All we are saving is sive

class war a chance Child Zarf (a cup) Rhetoric makes 2 7tood backrround Thank you GI*s UNITED

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Bragg Briefs, April 1970

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