In this special episode, we talk with three veterans about how the military and the class system (in the U.S. and around the world) go hand in hand. How does the military market itself to the poor and marginalized (and why is that marketing so effective)? How does our broken economy ensure a constant stream of recruits who will be sent to fight endless imperialist wars just so they can pay for college or finally be accepted as a worthy citizen? What happens to these recruits when they're serving and when they leave (if they leave)? Why is it that so many features of military life and America's self-perpetuating war machine translate to an accepted status quo in which women, LGBTQ folks, and non-white recruits are subjected to vicious harassment, violent assault, or worse? In this important conversation, we're joined by Triste Ordex, Marine Corps vet and national organizer for Vets for the People; Amber Mathwig, a former 10-year Navy Master-at-Arms and organizer with About Face: Veterans Against the War; and Clarke, a Navy veteran, organizer with the Democratic Socialists of America, and commercial diver. 

 

Additional links/info below...

• Triste's Twitter page, Instagram, and Linktree  
• Amber's Twitter page
• Fundraiser: Amber’s Legal Fund for Justice 
• Clarke's Twitter page and past Working People appearance 
• Vets for the People website, Facebook page, and Twitter page
• Vets for the People: #ShutDownFortHood 
• Vets for the People: It's Our Time 
• About Face: Veterans Against the War website, Facebook page, and Twitter page
• Gina Harkins, Military.com, "New Recruiting Ad Tells Gen Z to Ditch the Digital World and Join the Marines" 
• Brittany Ramos DeBarros website and Twitter page
• Johnny Diaz, Maria Cramer, Christina Morales, The New York Times, "What to Know about the Death of Vanessa Guillen"
• Rose L. Thayer, Stars & Stripes, "Why is Fort Hood the Army’s Most Crime-Ridden Post?"
• Subcommittee on Military Personnel Hearing: “Military Criminal Investigative Organization Reform Recommendations from the Fort Hood Independent Review Committee”
• Thomas J. Brennan, The War Horse, "Senior Marine Corps Counsel Ridicules Sexual Assault Survivor at Court-Martial Hearing"
• Carl Andrew Castro, Sara Kintzle, Ashley C. Schuyler, Carrie L. Lucas, & Christopher H. Warner, Current Psychiatry Reports, "Sexual Assault in the Military"
• National Veterans Foundation, "The Ugly Face of Veteran Poverty in the United States"
• Nick Martin, The New Republic, "The Military Views Poor Kids as Fodder for Its Forever Wars"

 

Permanent links below...

• Working People Patreon page
• Leave us a voicemail and we might play it on the show!
• Labor Radio / Podcast Network website, Facebook page, and Twitter page
• In These Times website, Facebook page, and Twitter page
• The Real News Network website, YouTube channel, podcast feeds, Facebook page, and Twitter page

 

Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org)

• Jules Taylor, "Working People Theme Song"
• Jules Taylor and Jon Light, "Halfway Home"