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BRAGG BRIEFS is published in the
and the Constitution of the United Statese
GIl*s stationed at Fort
eStablishing responsible alternatives to the
BRAGG
active duty
Spirit of the Declaration of Independence
It is a free press published by
Bragg, North Carolina dedicated to
current military system
BRIEFS
T°s UNITED Against the War in Vietman
This assue is dedicated to the victims of the federal judiciary, especially
the Chicago Conspiracy 8 and the New York Black Panther 213 to those who
have been brought to trial for political ocrimes�, for the exercise of the
most basic of human rights,
welfare of their fellow men.
4
OFFMAN Quy |
/
2
a i!
}
owt ws
(renphrlonraahbrtcl ve Anite howercruction
*. ». or abridging the freedom of speech or the pressT or the right of
Speeept tn bi alt occur
the people peaceably to assembleT. . .T
Rivers Letter Influenced
Navy in Priest Case
The case of Roger Priest,who is
currently charged with violating
Article 14 of the UCMJ for publi-
Shing alleged oseditious� material
continues to be postponed. Last
month BRAGG BRIEFSexposed the comm-
and influence that was exerted to
reinstate certain charges that the
Navy had dropped apparently because
they felt they couldn't make them
Stick. New information indicates
that the powerful chairman of the
House Armed Services Committee,
Mendel Rivers, had something to
do with bringing charges against
Priest in the first place. It seems
that Roger printed a snort oParab-
le of Bobby Seale� that included
a Slap at Rivers in the June,1969
issue of OM. Rivers wrote a letter
dated June 6,1969, to Rear Admiral
Means Johnston at the Department
of the Navy suggesting the Priest
had committed a gross exaggeration
of free speech. If Priest is con-
Victed he faces 39 years in jail,
and the conviction will, in effect
repeal the First Amendment and
freedom of speech for G.I."s. As
a result, every G.I. publication
will be subject to the same re-
pression.
Anyone who follows Congression-
al Defense legislation knows that
Mendel Rivers is nothing but an
agent of the Pentagon in the House
of Representatives. His district
in South Carolina is so full of
defense installations that the city
of Charleston practically owes its
life to him. Roger Friest and the
publication of every other anti-
War G.[. newspaper represent a
threat to the Pentagon, and a thr-
(Continued on page 2)
and for their concern for the happiness and
Their experience has proven something essen-
of movement goals and strategies.
Donation Free to Servicemen
Hoffman Sentences Chicago
Conspiracy Eight
CHICAGO (LNS) = The cluttered defense table at the trial of the
Conspiracy Eight in Chicago was finally cleared of defendents on
February 15th, as the last of the men on trial for conspiring to
riot at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, along with defense
attorneys, were sentenced to prison terms for contempt of Julius J
Hoffman's court
Beginning with Dave Dellinger
and reading verbatim from the
trialTs transcript, the judge
scored DellingerTs shouted sup-
port of Bobby Seale when the Pan-
ther leader was shakled by the
judge. Hoffman ran through in-
Stance after instance when Del-
linger spoke out against the pol-
itical nature of the trial, the
lies, and the distortions.
When Hoffman was through, he
gave Dellinger a chance to speak.
Dave talked about the war against
Vietnam and about racism in this
country. The judge told him that
the trial was not about politics.
Dave told the judge that that is
exactly what the trial is about.
Judze Hoffman warned him not to
go on talking about things like
thats; but Dave kept on talking:
oYou want us to stay in our
place, Judge Hoffman, but we
won't. Just like black people
won*t stay in their place, or
poor people, or women won't Stay
in their place. First you wanted
us to be like good Germans and
Say nothing about the evils of
this decade. Now you want us to
act like good Jews and go quietly
to the slaughter. The record igs
an indictment of you, not us. If
you had any sense, Judge Hoffman,
you'd realize that this trial
will be the rallying point for a
whole new generation.�
Shouts of "Right ont" rang out.
"Sit down, Mr Dellinger. Mis-
ter Marshall, have that man sit
down,� the judge said.
Dave's daughter, Tasha, ap-
plauded her father. Judge Hoffman
looked at her, furious, and order-
ed her thrown oute Tasha gripped
the back of her seat as a burly
woman marshall pulled her to the
ground.
The courtroom exploded. Séveral
Conspiracy staff members hurled
themselves into the middle of the
melee to protect Tasha. Screams
and shouts rang out and the entire
room was on its feete Dave tore
himself from the marshalls and ran
up to Tasha, shouting, "That's my
daughter! They're hitting my daugh-
ter! Leave my daughter alone!"
Two staff members were arrested
and held onTa total of $35,000
bail - one charged with a felony
for oassaulting an officer.�
As Tasha was dragged from the
court, she shouted, oYou fucking
Hitler!" at Hoffman, while the
marshalls, spectators, reporters
(Continued on page 4)
March 1970
continued from page l
eat to the Pentagon is a threat
to Mendel Rivers, Prior to the
June issue of OM, the Navy had 25
spies sifting through Priest's tr-
ash and still didnTt feel that it
would be in the interest of pre-
serving free speech to press char-
ges. The June issue, however, prompP
ted River's letter and the charges
that followed. It seems, then, that
Mendel Rivers would rather repeal
the First Amendment and put a man
away for 39 years than let anyone
make. an ass of him. STOP THE TRIAL
SAVE ROGER PRIEST
My Lai
Repercussions
There is a new questionnaire
that is designed to study othe
Opinions of officers and enlisted
men concerning the treatment of
POW's and foreign nationals on the
battle field.�
Although most of these answers
were resolved by the 1954 Geneva
Conference, the Department of the
Army needs answers from G.I.°S.
The following are examples:
1. oIt is suspected that the
girl has vital military informati-
one May physical force be used to
get her to talk?"
2. *Should she ve killed if her
presence jeopardizes your mission?"
3. oIf an enemy soldier who is
carrying his gas mask is captured,
may his mask be taken from him?"
4, oMay a prisoner of war be
forced to clear a mine field which
he admits to having helped lay?"
5. oIf the prisoner is shot,
BRAGG BRIEFS
GITs United Goes
International
Ckinowa now has the first over-
seas chapter of G.I.~*s United.
The group was started by Cpl John
Dipple of the KHist M.I. Detachment
lst Special Forces Group, Okinowa
and formerly of Fort Bragg. there
are already other chapters of G.I1es
United at Fort Jackson, Fort Gordon
and of course Fort S5rageg
The Brass. immediat ely tried to
squelch the group orn January 25
when they staged crake. Pipat action.
Cpl. John Dipple, Mark Malone and
Sgt. Roger Kingsley began passing
out leaflets on the Fort Buckner
military instillation. The leaf-
lets stated reasons why Vice
President Agnew did not visit
Ckinowa on his far eastern tour.
The G.I.s were brought. in by the
M.P.s after handing out approximate
ly 85 leaflets. They were charged
with violations of Article 92 of
the UCMJ which is just a holding
action until they locate a more
specific offence and USARYIS Reg
210- 10 which deals with solicita-
tionsT After a brief questioning
by the 526th det. M.I. to deter-
mine if any breach of security
was involved,they were returned to
their unit. The interesting point
is that the post has never imple-
mented any regulations prohib-
iting on-post distribution.
Cpl. Dipple was reasSigned to a
different unit and a flagging ac
has been started to lift the MOS of causing
Kingsley and Malone since they
displayed opoor judgement."
By trying to squelch this latest
organization the Army has again
WRIGHTWTOWN, NEW JERSEY - On Feb
14th, a bomb exploded inside a
coffeehouse here that has been a
center of antiwar activity in-
volving soldiers at Ft Dix. Three
soldiers and a young woman were
injurede An Army spokesman denied
that the Army was involved in the
bombing or in any earlier incl-
dents at the coffeehouse and that
military police were investigat-
inge The coffeehouse is already
facing eviction this month as a
result of pressure put on their
landlord by the military and lo-
cal businessmene A week before
the bombing, an Army captain and
three sergeants entered the cof-
fee house and started to push peo-
ple around until the GI's there
threw them oute
When NeJo State Police Detec-
tives Bureau agents came to inves-
tigate the bombing, the kicked
all GI's and staff out of the
building and proceeded to rip
down posters, tear up Gl papers,
pull down boards that had been
nailed up to fill cracks in the
tion Wall, and tamper with the heater
it to malfunctione
FT LEWIS, WASH = On Jan 21, GI*s ;
from Ft Lewis and McChord AFB
put the brass and its Vietnam
~shown that they are afraid of people war on trial before an audience
getting together and telling the of 1,500 at the University of
truth. We support our brothers Washington. A jury of 12 active-
can Lt. X be court-martialled even
though he did not personally do
the shooting?"
Now who could Lt.X be? Its
obviously Lt. William Calley of
My Lai fame and the questionnaire
is obviously in response to the My
Lai incident and directed toward
preventing Similar incidents. But
the Army misses the whole point.
Atrocities are the natural by-pro-
duct of wars the only way to prev-
ent them is to end war as an inste-
rumant of foreign policy. The ent-
ire system is to blame, Calley is
only that system*Ts product and
naturally responds in ways consis-
tent with his SOOT HANGS
Gig
grown.
struggte against the brass, in
Okinowa. This new organization
Shows how the G.I. movement has
Now G.1I.*s are not afraid
to speak out in foreign countries
while on active duty.
RIGHT ON BROTHERS
" a u sasue " ""
You are either a victim or a
rebel
-Richard Wright, author
WHOLIKESTOBEVICTIMIZED?WHOLIKEST
duty soldiers found the military
guilty on charges of genocide,
crimes against humanity, and vio-
lations of soldiers rights.
Fifteen GI witnesses, most of
whom had been to Vietnam, told of
observing atrocities like the My
Lai massacre. They also told of
the full support given the NLF by
the peasants.
The jury of GI's found the Ar-
my guilty on all counts and sen-
tenced it to death,
Why Not Okinawa, Spiro?
OKINAWA = In his recent Asian
tour, Vice President Agnew bypass-
ed Okinawa = for good reasone He
probably didnTt want to face
crowds of angry Okinawans who do-
n*t think much of America's "de-
fending democracy� and supporting
oself - determination� in the Far
Faste After all, they've been
ruled by a US military dictator-
Ship for 25 yearse They're tired
of American bases = a total of
116 - occupying one-fourth of their
islande They don*t want B- 52's
jaded with nuclear weapons flying
out of Okinawa. They don*t want
nerve gas stored in their back-
yardse They don*t want to be treat-
ed as a owar prize�.
Mre Agnew didnTt stop here be-
cause Okinawa is an embarrassment
to the Nixon administration and
its policy of withdrawing troops
from Asia and reducing our defense
commitment in this part of the
worlde
Colonizing Okinawa = and
backing the Thieu=-Ky clique in
South Vietnam - makes.a farce of
the UeSe pledge to fight for ode-
mocracy� abroade Reversion won't
change the basic facts: réversion
won't bring the Americans homes
reversion won't give Okinawa back
to the Okinawans.
If the President and his envoy;
Mre Agnew, are serious about let-
ting Asians defend Asia, why nots
-remove all UeS. troops from
Okinawa
-remove all nuclear, biolog-
ical and chemical weapons from
Okinawa
-end all B- 52 flights from
Okinawa
-pledge true freedom and
self-determination for the Ryukus
Perhaps Mr Agnew couldn*t have
answered these questions. Perhaps
that is why he didn't stop in Ok-
inawao
March 1970
GI MOVEMENT
COLUMBIA, S.c. =- The operators oi
the UFO, a Ft Jackson coffeehouse
whicn was forced to close on Jan
151th, alledged in a federal suit
that they were arrested and the
coffeehouse padlocked as a result
of unconstitutional harrassment
by local, state, and military
authorities.
The suit,T filed by the American
Civil Liberties Union, asks the
court to declare unconstitutional
the South Carolina commonlaw of-
fense of omaintaining a public
nuisance", to dissolve a state
court injunction against operation
of the UFO, to restrain prosecu-
tion of the coffeehouse operators
and to forbid further harrassment.
The oUFO in exile" has opened on
the University of South Carolina
_"_""""_"""Se wee eee eee ee ee ee eee ee ee
FT JACKSON = Seven GI'*s here have
filed suit in a local district
court claiming that the Army has
viokated their first and fourth
Amendment rights in denying their
discharge as conscientious objec-
tors, whiel forcing them to serve
in the Army that is waging an im-
moral, unjust, and illegal war in
Vietnam.
In the suit the GI's charge
that the officers who conduct the
interviews are prejudiced against
their views and that the sincerity
of their claims orequires objec -
tive consideration not generally
Shared by persons in the milit-
ary." The cases will come up in
Columbia some time this month.
VIETNAM - The Army has withdrawn
court martial charges against SP5
Robert Lawrence who was reassign=
ed after revealing during a radio
broadcast that he was ordered to
Suppress unfavorable news, The Ar-
my telegramed Attorney Leonard
Boudin, Lawrence's cousel, notify-
ing him that the charges had been
dropped and that any further ac-
tion would have to taken by his
new command,
Lawrénce told an audience of
soldiers on Jan 3rd that the news
they were receiving was censored
and he hoped they would help do
something about it.
The latest G.I. protest against
censorship and distortion which
characterizes official news policy
relative to the war in Viet Nam is
being covered=-up by the Army brass
Just as the Song My massacare
was oinvestigated� so are charges
of deliberate screening of news
broadcasts, being dismissed on the
grounds that they arose othrough
misunderstanding on the part of
the young and inexperienced broad-
casters.�
In reality for example Sp/5
Robert Lawerence whose charge of
news suppression has brought about
the latest storm, was manager of
a radio station in Atlanta for
seven years before entering the
Army e
As Sp/4 Bob Hodieine, a report-
er for oStars and Stripes� and
former war correspondent for UPI
explained, oYou are on pretty
shakey ground when you canTt tell
the truth about the war for fear
they wouldn't fight if you dide�
BRAGG BRIEFS
EMPHIS, TENN = The prosecu-
sen has rested its case in the
trial for conspiracy to riot by
four black marines stationed at a
iiaval air base near Memphis.
"A tumultuous disturbance of
the peace...commited in such a
manner as to cause public terfor"�"�
is the military definition of a
riot. There has been no evidence
to substantiate this charge and
there nas been no evidence that
the black marines conspired to
riot.
The star prosecution witness
is Lance Corporal Herbert Lassi-
ter. This Lassiter turns out to
have a history of fighting with
blacks and whites. Government
Witnesses on cross examination
have testified that Lassiter's
reputation for veracity is not
good:
Oh! How strangely the forces
of justice work in this country,
when in a so-called race riot
where there has been a physical
confrontation between black and
white, four black marines are
Signaled out of the melee to face
criminal charges.
"" . . ee SE A A a
FORT HOOD = Bruce Petersen, victim
of the heaviest sentence ever given
out in the Army for possession of
marijuana (.006 gram) walked out of
Leavenworth military prison a free
man last Decembere
There were political overtones to.
the casee Petersen was actively
working with the Oleo Strut, Fort
Hood's GI coffeehouse, and was the
editor of the Fatigue Press, Fort
Hood's GI papere The Army went all
out to get him once it discovered
what he was doinge Three times, he
found little bags of weed in his
possessions on base,but was able
to dispose of the eviden�,�6ec
Eventually the plant worked, even
if only a microscopic trace of
marijuana, and Bruce was bustede
A general court Martial in Nove-
mber , sentenced him to 8 years
and a Dishonorable Dischargee
Page 3
NEWS
MONTREAL = ~fhe U.S. Army is at-
tempting to suppress figures con-
cerning desertion - both the a=
mount and reasons for it. A rece
ent Pentagon statement says there
are "576 American deserters in
Canada" and that in oonly 107
cases� was there evidence the de-
sertion was in protest of the war
in Vietnam. The American Deserters
Committee estimates there are 3
to 6 thousand deserters in Canada
and records show that in over 50%
of the cases men have left the
military and the U.S. after they
had received orders for Vietnam.
Paul Petri of the ADC says,
"the Pentagon believes that the
American people will accept any-
thing it says. Well we don't; in
this case, we know they~re wrong.
HANOI (LNS) = oI am now in the
Service of the Vietnamcse people
in their struggle against the
imperialist aggressor. You may
think I am a traitors; yes, a
traitor to the U.S. of Rockefel-
lers and Morgans and all the rest.
I have never been nor ever will
be a traitor to the American peo-
ple, for they are opposed to this
brutal war,"
oThis is a small portion of an
open letter from a black rebel
marine who has left the American
forces in Vietnam to fight for
the liberation of the Vietnamese
But last December, the Judge Advocate people with the National Libera-
General's office overturned the
court martial, affirming that Pet-
ersen had been the victim of ill-
egal search and seizure, that due
process of law had been violated
in trial procedure, and that when
~compared to sentences for similar
offences, 8 years was ocruel and
unustial� punishment.
It is written to his
former comrades-in-arms. Paul M.
Sweeney, the former marine, also
proposed that American soldiers
should stage a march on Saigon,
further stating that osoldiers
from the puppet army would pro-
bably join us.� He said Nixon
canTt fight alone!
tion Front.
~SOLDIER, YOU LOOK LIKE THE MAN WE en oes
WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE ON RADIO.
March 1970
-continued from page l
and staff exchanged punches and
~Shoutse Bill Kunstler made his way
up to the bench tears running over
his cheeks, and accused Judge
Hoffman of destroying his life and
everything it stood for. The judge
sat imperiously and kept asking
for order in the courtroome
As Dave was taken from the
court, he turned, raised his fist,
and said, oRight on, beautiful
people! Right on, black people,
poor people, young people. Right
on!" Just before he got to the
door, he turned, smiled, and said,
"Not to mention Latin Americans!"
several spectators and reporters
clapped, and were ejected from
the courte
Rennie Davis got 23 counts
(which amounted, he said, to 22
minutes of odisruption� in atrial
of 5% months), and he was sentenc-
ed 24 months in prison.
"I*ve heard enough about Bobby
Seale!� shouted a purple-faced
Hoffman at one point in Rennie's
statemente oDo you know what that
man called me~*"
"A racist, a facist and a pig,"
shouted Rennie.
"You know how many times he
called me that?" the judge asked.
oMany times," said Rennie, oand
not enough,� adding: oYou repre-
sent all that is old, ugly, re-
pressive and bigoted in this coun-
try, and the spirit at this /de-
fense/ table is going to destroy
youe�
Tom Hayden's contempt sentence
will keep him in prison for 14
months, on 1l citations - for
raising a fist in greeting to a
friend, for refusing to stand for
the judge, for mentioning, in ~-
front of the jury, how former At-
torney General Ramsey Clark was
barred from court as a defense
witness, mentioning also how Jus-
tice Department officials had
tried to convince Clark not to
testify.
Abbie Hoffman's contempt sen-
tence was surprizingly short, 8
months on 23 counts. The charges
came down for AbbieTs running
comic commentary, for his bitter
though sometimes laughing attacks
on the judge, for baring his body,
for donning judicial robes in
court, for refusing to stand, for
dancing, for making noise.
oThe only way you can win this
case, Julie, is by putting us in
jail for contempt. And we are in
contempt. Of this system, this
court - and of you, Schultz.
That*s how you win this fucking
case.�
The marshalls closed in on Ab-
bie as he voiced his support for
BRAGG BRIEFS
examination what I was wondering
about at a certain time. I've
never been on trial for my dreams
before. How can I have respect
for what you call the highest
court in the land when it puts me
on trial for my dreams? The people
are the highest court in the T
land!"
Judge Hoffman was tired, so Ab-
bie was the last defendant for
that afternoon. Jerry Rubin, John
Froines and Lee Weiner were saved
for the next morning, a Sunday.
Their sentences ranged from 24 to
25 monthse Hoffman then turned to
the defense attorneys William
Kunstler and Leonard Weinglass.
Attorney Kunstler gets over four
Hoffman cited Kunstler farcon-
tempt for asking questions ode-
Signed to delve into the substance
of a document� after being ordered
not tos; for referring to the chain-
ing and gagging of Bobby Seale as
a odisgrace� and a omedieval tor-
ture�; for defying a court order
to sit down after protesting that
Bobby*s chains and gag were remin-
iscent oof 300 years of slavery�;
for asking witness Mayor Daley
"83 questions which were objec-
tionable�; for accusing the judge
of prejudicing the jury against
the defendants and saying, "I'm
Sitting down under protest�; for
interupting Assistant U.S. Attor-
ney Shultz, who was arguing to
exclude Ramsey Clark as a defense
witness, and saying, "Mr Schultz
can't represent anything in its
proper perspective�, for calling
a ruling by the judge ooutrageous�
and adding that he was going to
osay my piece and you can hold me
in contempt right noweeeYou have
violated every sense of fair play
in this courtroom. This is not a
fair trial. If I have to lose my
license to practice law and go to
jail, I can think of no better
cause to go fore These men are
going to jail on a legal lynching,
and you are responsible for ite�
Kunstler got 4 years and 23
dayse Weinglass got 20 months.
Kunstler remarked, oI may not be
the greatest lawyer in the world,
but I think that I am, with my
colleague Leonard Weinglass, the
most privileged - being punished
for what we believe ine� Wein-
glass said that the court for the
past five months had provided him.
with the orichest, warmest associ-
ations in my life.� He praised
the people who oslept on the floor
of my house and made do with only
March 1970
A a Yn -
~ Ss Be
Teo.
ee we
RFs 3,
+ (OL CARO
ooe
Dn SRR
hs, é No
ease.
$20 a week� to work for the de-~
fense o
Hoffman gave Len an admonish-
ing glances your conduct in court,
the judge said, must have caused
the people you worked with to
lose respect for yous
Ann Froines, the wife of John
Froines, jumped up and shouted,
"There*s no man in this courtroom
I respect more than Len Weinglass�
and she walked out. Immediately,
Mickey Leaner, of the Conspiracy
legal staff, a young black woman,
got to her feet and exclaimed,
oJudge Hoffman, you are a racist
and a facist and a pigo�
The trial was over except for
the verdict. The following note
was written by Abbie Hoffman, and
signed by Tom Hayden, Rennie
Davis and Dave Dellinger, as they
waited to be shipped to the jails
"All goes well! They can never
hurt us, no matter what they doo
For what they have jailed on this
most infamous of Valentine's Days
is not men, but an idea. The
dream of freedom is in prison now,
but there are no prisons in the
land strong enough to hold itec.
for its time has come. Seize the
time!"
5 guilty on crossing state lines
to incite riots; no conspiracy
On Friday, February 20th, Jul-
ius J Hoffman sentenced the five
members of the Conspiracy 8 cor-
victed of crossing state lines
with the intent of inciting riots
during the 1968 Democratic Nation-
\
. About Laos " We
BRAGG BRIEFS
thing as oa police riot", urged
the Chicago Grand Jury to prepare
indictments against several of the
Chicago police. These men have
Since been tried and acquitted.
Incidentally, Clark was not allow-
ed to testify for the defense in
the Conspiracy trial.
It was the Nixon administra-~
tion, including Attorney General
John Kiitehell, who first gave ser-
Lous consideration to prosecuting
any of the demonstrators. They
picked eight men whose ideology
was most inconsistent with their
Own, and the trail began.
Panther 21 conspiracy trial opens
in New York ; Judge Murtagh
determined to stop Panther Party
The Chicage trial is not an i-
Solated casee As the Conspiracy 8
trial closes, the Panther 21 trial
begins in New York. The Panthers
under charges have already spent
10 months in prison without trial.
They were held in different pri-
sons making it impossible for the
defendents and their lawyers to
meet together. Judge Murtagh has
has forced the Panthers to sit on
the opposite side of the court-
room from their attorneys. The de-=
fense was denied court transcripts
for the lst week of the trial,
making it impossible for them to
respond to specific points made
by the prosecutione Bail has been
set at $100,000 for 11 of the de-
fendentse The, trial is obviously
an attempt to stop the Panther
Party as a political force in
this countrye_
What now?
It is clear that rights for the
American people have become mean-
ingless abstractions, existing
only where they are not exercised.
It is clear that the courts will
be used as a tool to give the so-
called establishment an aura of
legality and credibility: the
courts have made intelligent, calm
discussion of the issues impos-
Sible. When the courts have not-
hing to do with legality, the only
recourse the people have is to
write their own lawe
DonTtT Mention Ax: ing 7-3.
Haven't Told Him
Much About That�
y AN }
¥,
ome ) Page 5
| U.S. Aggression
into Laos
|
| PLAIN OF JARS, LAOS (LNS) = The
jp UeSe Central Intelligence Agency
| has evacuated the entire civilian
population from here in the last
| Few dayse Anticipating a Pathet
| Lao offensive to liberate the
Plain of Jars, the CIA piled nea
| ly 20,000 people = mostly women
| and children - into oAir America"
| planes and shipped them to reset-
|
tlement camps along the Nam Ngum
River, about 25 miles north of
Vientiane.
The Plain of Jars, about 100
miles northeast of Vientiane, was
under firm Pathet Lao control un-
til last summer, when massive Am-
erican bombing permitted the CIA's
clandestine army to capture the
area for the Laotian government.
Since then, the dry season has
started, simplifying the logis-
tical problems of the ground-
bound guerillas, and the local
Pathet Lao have been reinforced
by about 10,000 newly arrived
North Vietnamese troops.
The liberation forces have al~=
ready started nibbling toward the
Plain of Jars and have seized Pho
Nok Kok hill and several other
small government outposts.e Most
observers here believe that the
Pathet Lao can capture the Plain
if they undertake a sustained
drive, but the Americans are de-
termined to make the prize not
worth winning.
Bombing has already destriyed
most communities in the Plain and
had forced this latest group of
refugees to live in caves and
tunnels for the past year.
Since last summer, when Amer-
ican bombing of Laos escalated to
about 20,000 sorties per month,
the Plain of Jars has been virs #
tually a free-strike zone. Flying
over the region, one looks downg'
at a landscape reminiscent of c®
tral Vietnams closely spaced bom!
craters, filled with sparkling &
water, streching off into the ho
-izone On the ground, one walks
tenderly. The deadly debris of
war lies hidden in the grass as
an unintentional booby trap.
Most feared is the CBU (Cluster
Bomb Unit), better known as the
fragmentation bomb - a murderouss
device that the U.S Air Force :
spews freely over Southeast Asia
As the refugees piled into the
waiting airplanes, an unexploded
CBU lay only 30 yards away. 8
The refugees - ragged and forT,
\
lorn = are no newcomers tO ware 4
Bobby Sealee The judge told him
to shut upe
"No, I will not shut up. I'm
not an automaton like youe ~The
best friend the Negro: people ev-
er had;* huh? How many black peo-
ple in the Standard Club? How
many shares in that war munitions
company you own?� Siders the ~implications for ojus-
The judge ordered him into his tice� in America.
seat. _o ) ve o fs! ily ai hs The story began back in '68 | v/a . hi:
"I can talk from here, too.� ~
during the Johnson administration.
Abbie said to a marsnall. oWhere Then-Attorney General Ramsey Clark,
decorum is repression, the only
2cO1 whose position on the events sur-
dignity that free men have is to rounding the convention was sim-
speak oute When I was a witness,
ilar to that taken in the Walker
the prosecution asked me on cross- Report which viewed the whole
ve
al Convention (John Froines and ue
Lee Weiner were acquitted) to 5
years in prison and $5,000 fines.
The 5s month trial is over. For
the most part, it has been a kind
Of humorous horror, though the em-
phasis must certainly be on the
horror, especially when one con-
@ more than 10 years and at various:
times have been ruled by leftists,
rightists and neutralistse But
their own loyalty is clearly to
the revolution, since all the
able-bodied men are enlisted in
the Pathet Lao.
Now the refugees are gone, and
the Plain of Jars is up for grabs
I �"� They have been fought over for
-
m
OF
~
Pap
As for conforming outwardly,
| and living your life inwardly, I
, do not think much of that.
-Henry David Thoreau
oPROWL CAR 39 THINKS HE JUST SEEN oSienna
A SUSPECTED BLACK PANTHER CARRYINT WHAT Onuty
HE IMAGINES COULD BE A CONCEALED LETHAL WEAPON!� 18 5¢
March 1970,
ITs United Circulate
Labor. Petition
The following petition is being
rculated on Ft Bragg and nation
de by GeIes United;
We, the undersigned active duty
rvice men, recognizing our right
Americans to equitable wage and
ving conditions, do hereby pet-
ion the Congress, the Department
Defense and appropriate instal-
tion commanders for:
1) A forty hour work week while
garrison and not on alert or
ring an emergency situation;
2) A Federal minimum wage and
imination of wage increases «=:
sed on rank and time in service
3) A maximum of eight hour work
ift for kitchen police and simi-
r details.
Servicemen are guaranteed the
ght to petition the Congress by
e First Amendment to the Consti-
tione However, certain lifers at
rt Bragg do not seem to realize
is fact.
Two members of GI's UNITED were
tting signatures in the basic
aining area on February 15th,
en several sergeants started
rrassing them and the soldiers
Oo were signing the petition.
ey got very excited and tried to
ag down a passing MP jeep. Fin-
ly, they called the MP*s who
nt a jeep, but when they arrived
ey didn*t disturb the petition-
Se
Not knowing what to do, the MPs
lied headquarters who in turn
lled JAG. Approximately half an
ur later, a squad car with an MP
id a JAG lawyer pulled upe The MP
ked to see the petition, but
en returned it and asked for the
nes of the two petitioners. They
en left.
The two petitioners collected
2r 100 signatures that afternoon
i by the end of the week, GI's
ITED had collected over 500 sig-
tures. The drive will continue
til there are over 2,000 signa-
res, then the petitions will be
ad carried to Congress by GI's.
People ask me who my heroes
~e, I have only one = Adolph
.tler
Marshall Ky, dictator
.CISTFACISTFACISTFACISTFACISTPIG
cartoon by Fred Wright
oDo you want a wage increase or would
you rather be a patriotic American?�
Restraining Orders
stop court-martials
At the present time, there are
four individuals at Ft Bragg who
nave stopped the Army from court-
martialing them.
If a soldier exhausts his ad-
ministrative remedies when filing
for discharge and is unable to se-
cure release, he can file suit in
the federal courts to contest the
legality of his detention in the
military. During the time his case
is being reviewed he can obtain
restraining orders stopping any
court-martial from proceding.
In Feb 1969, the first such re-
straining order was issued against
the Bragg officials and as yet the
courtemartial of the individual
involved has not taken place.
Since that first restraining
Order at Bragg, there have been
three other such orders issued.
These four individuals have been
successful in preventing their
court-martials and hopefully they
are helping to end the power of
the Army to court-martial anyone.
Perhaps the army should have lim-
ited power to punish by restrain-
ing or fining a soldier. However,
they should not have-the power to
imprison especially now when court
martials are political trials.
If a person has commited a
crime serious enough to be put in
jail then he should be tried by
the court of his country and this
does not include the military
courts. Most people who have been
Write Onll!
David Wachter and Richard Yahr,
two very active members of GI's
UNITED have been honorably dis-
charged from the Army. With early
outs for school, they are now on
campus, confident that GI's UNI-
TED will continue the work they
helped start. Right on brothers;
free the campus.
OURFOUNDINGFATHERSOURFOUNDINGFATH
He can think.
Page 6
under the control of the military
realize its difficult, if not im-
possible, to receive a fair trial,
by courtemartial.
Roger Friest faces 59 years in
jail for writing a GI paper. If
Roger can be tried for UCMJ char-
ges amounting to 39 years in jail,
then he should be tried by the
courts of tnis land - the federal
courts. How can the brass be obe-e
jective when Roger's charges re-
sult from his opposition to the
military and its goals?
A conscientious objector won't
receive a fair trial if he refuses
to train in the methods of killing
and has to appear before brass who
have supported war and killing for
years. A person canTt receive fair
treatment if ne*s known as a pol-
itical dissenter trying to change
the very system that will pass
sentence upon him.
A recent example of the brassT*
fear for security is the case of
Lt Calley. No matter whether or
not a person feels he's guilty,
its difficult for anyone to feel
that Calley will receive a fair
trial, especially when the brass
know our Commander-in-Chief said
Calley would be punished if he is
found guilty. Perhaps a civilian
court would expose more individ-
uals that might be involved even
if. it is higher ranking brass. "
We must act now to end a sys-=
tem which denies a fair trial. If
the brass must ocover their own
asses", then let them find some
other way than being able to im-
prison people. Its possible they
may pass legislation. ending this
kangaroo court system. However,
until it is passed we must work
together to stop the UCMJ. Four
guys at Bragg have stopped the
UCMJ, So now we need hundreds of
others who will face future court- -
martials to get restraining orders
stopping their tastes of justice
military style.
More on Haircuts
In compliance with an articleT
appearing in last months issue of
Bragg Briefs regarding the ohair-
cut letter�" and certain commande.
ersT failure to comply with the
provisions of that letter, a 2nd
ohaircut letter� was sent out
from XVIII Airborne Corps Head-
quarters stating that the Com-"
manding General odesires the
strictest possible compliance
with the Jaeininal? letter as
well as the intent of the new
haicut policy.�
General, yourtank is a mighty vehicle.
It smashes down forests and crushes a 100 men.
But it has one defects
It needs a driver.
General, your bomber is powerful.
It flies faster than a storm and carries
more than an elephante
But it has one defects:
It needs a mechanice
General, a man is very useful.
He can fly, and he can kill.
But it has one defect:
~ Bertolt Brecht
BOYCOTT TABLE GRAPES
March 1970
The men huddled by a fire, the
Side-teef stewirg in tne pot, the
children listening to words their
hearts donot understand. The baby
nas a cold. Here take the blanket-
It was my motherTs = take it for
the baby. This is the thing to
bomt. This is the begirning, from
the I to the we,
If you,who own the things that
people must have,could understand
this, you might survive. If you
could know that Paine, Marx, Jef-
ferson, and Lenin were results,
rot causes, you might preserve
yourselves. But this you cannot
know, for the quality of owning
freezes you forever into the oI",
and cuts you off forever from the
"wer a
- John Steinbeck
$6 HE SESE HE HEHE HE HE HE HE SE SE SE SE He SE Se 96 36 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 36 4 3e ae ae
Bragg Briefs is published by:
Gele*s UNITED Against the War in
Vietnam
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 clube Every
one is welcome.
Letters to the editors are en-
couragede
WEE TE HE Te TE He Te Be ESE SE AE HE EE Ee SE HE He te He te SE EE 5 Se ee ee
EDITORIAL BOARD
Ft Bragg GI's: David H O*Brien-
USATCI, John I B Vail II-USATCI,
James Seiler-SAAFC, William A
Carothers-12th Spt, James Parish-
50th Sig, Hal Noyes-JFK Center,
Dennis W Halliday-USATCI, Leslie
H Fenton- 7th SFG, Glenn Gaskill-
12th Spt, Jerry Rhodes-6th SFG,
Al Zubenko-USATCI, Albert Singer-
USATCI.
Foreign Correspondent: John
Dippel-441st MI Detachment, Ist
SFG, Okinawa.
Civilians: Gary A Orvitz-Quaker
House, Nicholas Gough-pen nameT
$e Ye HE IE HE IE SESE SE SE HE Se HE HE FE SEE HE EE EE FE HE He FE EEE HEH HE He
LI i gh gar ae ON
Je ee see See OO
4/2 pages 3 6. 04D L00
full page: sy es e: 5$7500
circulation 10,000
GLASSIFIED ADS
eee eee eee mene waren
Become an ordained minister $2.00
donation appreciatede World Life
Church, Box 717=X, Ceres, Calif.
0
LIMITED SUPPLY. Unbound copies of
Volume #2 of Bragg Briefs, in-
cludes six exciting issues, soon
to be a collectorTs item. Send
$4 298 to PeQ. Box 437 Spring
Lake, North Carolina 28390 along
with your address and a copy of
this ade Support the struggle to
end capitalist rule!?!
Full opportunity forT full dev-
elopment is the inalienable right
Of all. He who denies it is a ty~
rants; he who does not demand it
is a cowards; he who is indiffer-
ent to it is dead. The earth for
all the people! That is the de-
mand o
-Eugene Debs, 1904
BRAGG BRIEFS
Tell it like it is, general
Lte Gene Albert Oe Connors,
commanding general of the Thrid
Army, recently addressed the
Braxton Bragg chapter of the
Association of U.S. Armys (AUSA)
quarterly dinner meeting held at
Fort Bragge The general explained
to his audience he was going to
"tell the Army story like it is".
He described the Army as onot a
parochial, self centered and self
serving organization".
The general failed to mention
Major Rowe, a former POW, who is
presently touring the United States
in uniform, giving speeches sup-
porting the war.and attaching such
antiwar critics as Senator McGovern
from SxD. and Senator Fulbright from
Arkansas» The army has a regulation
prohibiting such activity, but only
enforces it against GI*s who wear
their uniforms in antiwar demon-
strationse General, is not this
parochial, self centered, and self
serving? The general continued
saying othe army did not make the
war in Vietman or the draft laws".
General Connor didn't mention that
the army had advocated intovention
in Vietnam ever since 1954 or that
in 1962, report by the then army
chief of Staff, General Maxwell
Taylor, encouraged President Kennedy
to increase our troop strenght in
Vietname The prsent Army Chief
of Staff, William Westmoreland, is
even more visible, constantly giving
speeches in support of the ware
Though it is true that congress
passed the draft laws, Connor did
not state how the Pentagon in-
fluences legislation. WHen ever
there is an important vote in con-
gress » like the ABM system, Pent-
agan lobbyists areoout button hola@-
ing congressman and Senator, Pent-
agon lobbyists also conaact friendly
businessmen telling them to call
their congressional representatives
Such capitalists as the grape growers
can not refuse such a requests
especially after the army increase
purchasing ther grapes by 300%.
The increase in the grape buying
was primarily aimed at breaking a
strike against the vineyards. With
an increasingly effective strike
and boycott, the farm workers are
developing into a strong antiwar
union and are becoming a potent
political force in American pol-
itics.
Although Congress passes the
laws, on all matters pertaining
to defense the Pentagon is the
major influence. Be it through
reports, lobbyists, contracts to
businessmen, public relations man-
ipulation, or defense spending in
congressional districts, it is
the Pentagon that has prevailed
for the last twenty-five years.
Don't try to pass the buck, gen-
eral, tell it like it really is.
oI can't see the
it it makes the world a better place to live in.�
objection to spraving people with napalm
BLESSED ARE THE MEEK: FOR THEY
SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH.
al ¢
. ,
i
Failings of Racial Seminar
somebody has been trying to
something about the racial prob]
in the Army today. They started
eliminating the block which re-
quested race on information shee
which was later changede They
tried again by allowing Afro-ha
cutse Again an attempt was mac
and probably the best one = racic
seminarse Everyone knows that t
best way to relieve tension and
to get things out in the open i
to talk about ite But let the
black man talk, He is the one wv
knows his probleme
At one seminar headed by a
white colonel, containing seven
other white officers and two ble
ones ona panel, the colonel cal
ed upon one black man in the ai
ience who stated that he couldr
see going to Viet Nam to die ir
the white mans ware He wasn't
called upon for the rest of the se
inare At still another, a diffe
ent colonel sat on a stage and
gave his view of why everythings
was amisse Both colonels are pt
bably still saying I can't unde
stand those colored peoples Wr
can understand how a black man
feels fighting for what his cour
ry says is right in Viet Nam,
while his brother is being shot
at in the ghetto for voicing h;3
rights?
The Brass shouldn't moderate
these seminars, they shouldn't
even be sitting on a discussion
boarde No one wants to know
how they feel about the situa-
tione Putt a black man in
charge, put the black man up
front, let the white brass sit
in the rear and fight their way
through the crowd to be heard.
_ These individuals couldn't be
�,�in to understand the black man
problem because when the roits
break out they court-martial blac
soldiers who refuse to invade t
ghetto and fight their brothers
Rather then thinking about the
length of Afro hair cuts they
better start thinking about why
the majority of stockade prisoner
are angry blacks. If they want -
know what the problemis then lo
(if they have the courage) for th
real answers e »« ask Hewy Newto
ask Bobby Seal, ask the black
youth who is forced to exist in
the ghetto creatai by a white rul-
ing classe
Freedom is the word, and whe
you hear how it sounds to a man
who has been trying to grasp it
for a century, maybe then you c
begin to understand the word sou
March 1970
"hey That Live By The Sword...
Ws are committing a crime for
*hich we will be judged. We are
-ondeming ourselves to death for
~fe are the judge, the jury, the
~efendent and the executioner.
here is no defense.
From Vietnam to the Congo,
rom the Dominican Republic to
he Middle East the interests of
number of corporations linked to
che military determine how many
ill die. The combined assets of
~ede Steel, Metropolitan Life, AT
-T, General Motors and Standard
31 are less than one -hird that
if the United States Defense Dept.
uur institution for saving the
~Tree world" is the worlds largest
organization. Over 50% of the
ross national product. is devoted
-o sc called defense. It is time
inspect exactly what we're
~efending with some three thou-
and military bases around the
~orld. A complex of this size has
monstrous effect on the political
Spirations of our nation.
We control for 6% of the world
opulation 60% of this planets
vatural resources. In the words
resident Eiserhower
oNow let us assume we lost
lina. If Indo-China goes the tin
md tungsten we so greatly value
ould osase~coming.
We are after the cheapest way
Oo prevent the occurrence of some
hing terrible, the loss of our
wility to get what we want from
Outn-East Asia.� ree
~The billions of dollars spent
m defense contracts have led us
o the point where war or armed
enflict are necessary to eccre
sic stability. Consider that
S00 retired service officers
© include 261 generals and
i-g rank officers are employed
y a number of the corporations
hat receive these contracts.
The fact that General
ynamics has had 187 retired
Fficers,27 generals and admirals
nd the former Secretary of the
cmy on its payroll is nota
nique coincidenze.
Our terribly efficient oinstru-
ent of death" allows regimes sub-
2rvient to our gluttonous econ-
nic demands to remain in power
Ll over the world, Brazil, Peru,
enezuala, Thailand, South Korea,
apan, and anarea which is refer-
ed to as South Vietnam are a few
f thesee
FREE ELECTION ?!?
of
The Myth that our actions
trive to give the oppresed their
ree choice of government ras
2en exposed. In 1956 ,the year
1 Which by Geneva Agreement,
ietnam was to have free electiors
ne United States decided that
1is was not possible due to
1e odisturbed state of the
ountry." What is convzZeniently
nitted from that aproach is the
act that the Geneva Agreement
wo years previous had en-
iséd@ned such a state and had
rovided for an international
ommission to take necessary
teps in providing an at-
osphere in which a free elec-
ion could be held.
indo-
BRAGG BRIEFS
In 1956 80% of the people
beneath the 17th parallel were
in favor of Ho Chi Mihn. Free
elections would have to wait until
a more convieniént time. Tens of
thousands of American deaths later
and such a time has still not
come.
The paranoia of a world wide
~Communist PlotY unleashing it-
self upon us at H hour has been
found to be low on communists
and high on Wall Street.
It 1s ¢asy for some to dis-
missmurder when you classify it
s onecessary to National Defenge "
and ~Survival of the Free World"for
monsters wilil always be made for
charming Prince Valient= to slay.
Especially if the local «rmorer
has anything to say abdut it.
This pen is much to humble to
expect that all ssid here will
taken on faith. The evidence comes
in black white and red,and
found not in glossy covered bocks
pictures depicting right or
be
with 4
left wing symbols but in plain
coverec bindings. The Geneva
BRAGG BRIEFS
P.O. Box 437
Spring Lake, N.C.
28390
a flea
vecause
Selling it.
You don*t murder people on the
other side of the world and send
your sons as sacrifice to the. God
of Economics and live in peace and
hacmony, oeu pay and were paying.
We will change our nationTs
methods of achieving econmic
stability or we will watch as
those methods are accepted as a
means of solution on lower levels
of our society. In areas of rac«,
education,industry and every day
confrontation.
The killing does not end in a
far-away land. To justify murdey
is to do just that, the naming of
the victims and the tolling of the
vell is left to whom.
Ii, you don*t want to watch
don*t turn on TV, donTt go to
dvllege, stay off the streets...
and lock your doors,
SUBSCRIBE
Since there is a tremendous
Shortage of truth in literature
for GI's, students, and con-
merned civilians in the Fay-
etteville - Fort Bragg - Spring
jbake area, Bragg Briefs has un-
furled its banner for the purpose
pt establishing responsible alter-
natives to the current military
~system by publishing the news of
Kruth, the events of a new *awaken-
tingT in order to expose the oppres-
tiveness of the present system and
yto provide a public forum for the
yopinions of its readers.
Por those who would like to re-
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' f
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T
a
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39viso0d sn
4713A3S0048 0 NITINVSS
be =, yy 4
em) bot
CS go BR,
ooen AED
5 \ soap
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