On May 31, 2008, eighteen IVAW members came together at the Seattle Town Hall along with 800 supporters for Northwest Winter Soldier. Three panels were held during the event: Veterans, Solidarity, and GI Resistance. Members from as far as Eugene, OR, Walla Walla WA, and Idaho travelled to Seattle for the event, which was followed by an energetic march with IVAW members leading supporters into the streets to demand an end to the occupations. Read more for video and coverage of Northwest Winter Soldier.

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On Thursday, May 15th, for the first time since the Iraq war began, boots-on-the-ground veterans will testify, under oath, before Congress about the effects of the occupation. Members of Iraq Veterans Against the War will present their testimony to the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Why May 15th matters: House and Senate voting on war funding

This testimony comes at a critical time – on the same day as IVAW members will be describing the true costs of the war, Congress is likely to vote on the next appropriations bill to extend funding for the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan into 2009.

What you can do: connect the dots

Congress has heard from the Generals, and they've heard from the politicians, but before they vote to continue the occupation of Iraq, tell them that they need to hear from the eyewitnesses who have seen the results first hand.

Call your congressional representatives right now and tell them to listen to Thursday's testimony before they vote. More information is available on the Winter Soldier on the Hill page.

House contact information and Senate contact information.

The Christian Science Monitor's interviewed IVAW members at Winter Soldier for an audio slideshow. Vincent Emanuele, a former Marine who served in Iraq from 2004 to 2005, commented on why he testified:

"This is not about being unpatriotic. I think this is about being as patriotic as you can possibly be. Being honest and saying, 'Hey, listen, our government has been doing some bad things in a Middle Eastern country,' and that's ok to admit that. Because if we don't admit that, and don't learn from that, we're going to continue down this very same path."

View the full slideshow

On April 8, 2008, IVAW's first regional Winter Soldier event was held at the University of Florida, Gainesville. Six testifiers spoke before an audience of over 200, and two new members joined IVAW at the event. Read more for video and coverage of the Gainesville, Florida Winter Soldier.

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Dozens of members of IVAW participated in a 25-mile march in Philadelphia from March 1-2, starting at the Constitution Center and ending at Valley Forge. In spirit, Valley Forge is the first Winter Soldier event. "230 years ago, a group of soldiers gathered at Valley Forge to stand up against oppression on behalf of their people. And we aim to do the same here today," said Steve Mortillo, president of the Philadelphia chapter of IVAW and former Calvary Scout in Iraq.

Read the Philadelphia Daily News' coverage of the Valley Forge March

The Sunday Times Magazine, March 1, 2008 The veterans are not against the military and seek not to indict it – instead they seek to shine a light on the bigger picture: that the Abu Ghraib prison regime and the Haditha massacre of innocent Iraqis are not isolated incidents perpetrated by “bad seeds” as the military suggests, but evidence of an endemic problem. They will say they were tasked to do terrible things and point the finger up the chain of command, which ignores, diminishes or covers up routine abuse and atrocities.

Some see it as their responsibility to speak out – like Jason Washburn, a US marine who did three tours in Iraq; Logan Laituri, a US Army forward observer in Iraq; and Perry O’Brien, an army medic deployed to Afghanistan in 2003. They believe that, as veterans, they are the most credible sources of information. They say they were put in immoral and often illegal positions. They will speak about what they saw, and what they were asked to do.

Read the article from the London Sunday Times