IVAW Board bios
A TAH fan who is still in IVAW sent me the applications for the IVAW Board candidates and I culled them for the things which interest my readers most about the potential Board;
Nathan Lewis claims service in Iraq in 2003 but also admits to only two and a half years on active duty. He’s not forthcoming on why his service was cut short and I won’t speculate. He was arrested at Fort Benning with Liam Madden and Adam Kokesh for trying to recruit on the military installation for IVAW.
Michael Prysner served in Iraq. Begins his application with “The United States is an imperialist country; it is an Empire. We can have no illusions about this, if we really want to end these wars, and prevent future wars.
The politicians in the White House and Congress, and the generals in the Pentagon, have only one goal in mind: to represent the interests of the banks, oil giants, and the Military-Industrial Complex; to plunder, conquer, and colonize for the super-rich. As members of the U.S. military, our job is to be the foot soldiers Exxon, the armed thugs for Halliburton, and the muscle for Boeing.”
Co-founder of March Forward, veteran wing of ANSWER. IVAW wasn’t radical enough for him well, until now when he sees an opportunity to insinuated himself and his socialist buddies into the IVAW ranks.
Sara Beining claims a year in Iraq as an Intelligence analyst. “I am currently unemployed and a full time college student and mother….” A supporter of Matthis Chiroux’ flag burning theater. She says she wants to unify the organization again…yet makes noise about divisive issues.
Adrienne Kinne: “I served in the US Army and Army Reserves from 1994-2004 as an Arabic linguist in military intelligence, to include a two-year stateside mobilization following September 11th in direct support of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.”
“Other organizations in which you have membership: AFGE (union), VFP, ISO, Vermont Workers Center, Vermont Progressive Party”
Kinne is a Matthis supporter. She also defended keeping Carl Webb in IVAW. She’s probably the most radical socialist on the Board. I’ve seen some of her emails explaining her stance on many issues related to IVAW and she alsways takes the most extreme position she can find. Judging from those emails, she supports killing our troops in theater and tearing down the current structure of government in the US and replacing it with a Stalinist/Maoist type of government.
Eddie Falcon: “I served four years as a C 130 Loadmaster in the Chair Force. When I wasn’t complaining about my hotel room or my rental car on stateside duties, I was deployed about 8 months out of the year in the Iraq and Afghanistan theaters.”
“Other organizations in which you have membership: Dialogues Against Militarism, Vets 4 Peace, Student Veterans of America, Students Against War, Copwatch, Food Not Bombs, and Unconventional Action in the Bay.”
Here’s a video of Eddie Falcon and Robin Long (another Board candidate) burning an American flag “in solidarity with Matthis Chiroux”;
Jeremy Stainthorp Berggren: “Military Service (Branch, Rank, Time in Service): USMC, E-4, 6 years reserve two IRR (promoted to E-5 in IRR from points but isn’t that shit silly? Good thing I didn’t find out until my contract was up because I might’ve re-upped!)
Duty Stations/Deployments: Marietta, GA”
Whew! Tough duty in Marrietta.
Robynn L. Murray: An actual Iraq veteran who stood on the stage with Matthis while he burned the flag in Lafayette Park.
Matthew Dobbs: “Military Service (Branch, Rank, Time in Service): Army, E-4 Specialist, OCT2001 – APR2007
Duty Stations/Deployments: Basic- Fort Benning AIT- Fort Gordon 1st Duty Station- Fort Drum, NY HHC 2nd BN 22nd Infantry
Deployment- Kandahar, Afghanistan Deh Rahwod, Afghanistan JUL2003 – JUN2004
2nd Duty Station- Fort Sill, OK C CO 2nd 2nd Field Artillery”
Several former and current members of IVAW have written to me in the last day or so to tell me that Dobbs is a decent guy. I don’t know him, but I guess he’s the guy to support.
Robin Long: I know from experience that Long didn’t deploy – he absconded to Canada, got booted, returned, incarcerated and then released. In his words “I spent a year in prison not for desertion but for calling President Bush a liar and a war monger .At least that was the only evidence the prosecution presented.” I don’t know how much evidence it takes to lock up a deserter, but it seems fairly easy when they broadcast from Canada while they’re supposed to be in Iraq.
Jeff Key: “Duty Stations/Deployments: 4th LAR, H&S Co. Camp Pendleton. Iraq 4/03- 6/03. Med Evacd for surgery after non combat injury. Honorably discharged after coming out of the closet publically [sic] on CNN and speaking out in opposition to the war.”
Geoff Millard: Millard still claims that he left the service as a sergeant despite the fact that we proved he did not.
“Military Service (Branch, Rank, Time in Service): NY ANG SGT/E5 1998-2007
Duty Stations/Deployments: Iraq Oct 04- Oct 05”
When Millard came back from Iraq, and the Army wouldn’t give him a medical discharge for his high school wrestling injury, he became a deserter and started hanging out with Cindy Sheehan and Medea Benjamin.
John Christopher Capps-Schubert (Chris Capps-Schubert): “I am an Iraq veteran, a deserter from the US Army”. Capps helped Andre Shepherd abscond from the Army in Germany and hangs out with radical communist Darnell Stephen Summers, accised cop killer hiding out in Germany
Joyce Wagner: “Duty Stations/Deployments: Pendleton/NAS Pensacola/Johnstown OIF II and OIF III: Al Asad, Al Taqqadum, Camp Korean Village”
T.J. Buonomo went to the Air Force Academy, commissioned in the Army, and got booted after OBC – he calls that five years of military service. To his credit, he resigned from the IVAW board when the organization voted to let Carl Webb stay. I spent a few hours talking with him one day and he’s a decent enough guy, but obviously, my logic didn’t help him much.
Zack Baddorf: “Duty Stations/Deployments: Yokota Air Base, Japan; USS Peleliu, Persian Gulf deployment aboard USS Peleliu for six months in 2006”
I remember a video I watched starring this nimnil once. He claimed that the Air Force named Bagram Air Base to conceal it’s real purpose – they should have been honest and named it Bagram Air FORCE Base.
Garett Reppenhagen: An actual veteran, but he should have been on the ball enough to spot fake vet Rick Duncan since they spent a lot of time together in Colorado. He testified at Winter Soldier and iI think he was a board member before.
Logan Mehl-Laituri: “Military Service (Branch, Rank, Time in Service): Army, E-5/SGT, 6.25 yrs
Duty Stations/Deployments: Ft. Sill, OK and Ft. Benning, GA (initial training, Aug. 2000-Feb.2001); Ft. Bragg, NC (Mar. 2001-Dec.2002); Schofield Barracks, HI (Jan. 2003-Nov.2006); OIF2 (Jan. 2004-Feb.2005)”
Like I said before, I get the sense that Logan probably one of the few members of IVAW that really does oppose the war for moral reasons.
So most of them have been in Iraq (10 total) and three of the total are deserters. I get the sense that so many candidates are actual veterans for a reason and that reason probably has something to do with TAH. I noticed that Matthis isn’t on the list and that’s probably because of the deal the Board worked out with him a few months ago but I noticed he couldn’t help but put some more flag burners on the list.
Out of the 17 candidates, 5 have either burned a flag themselves, was with Matthis when he burned the flag or publicly supported Matthis burning the flag. There may be more, but those are the people I know about. There are rumors that Bobby Whittenburg burned a flag this last weekend, too, and I don’t know who was there to support him. As soon as someone can get me some pictures, we’ll know.
I have their complete bios – if anyone wants them, email me.
Category: Antiwar crowd, Iraq Veterans Against the War
I watched the video of Robynn Murray linked in yesterday’s post. It’s really amusing how she has almost nothing negative to say about her time in the army, or her service in Iraq. She talks about how empowering it was to be an authoritative woman in a place where women are marginalized, and how uplifting it was to see other women recognize her as such, and then seemingly as an afterthought, throws in something about “not yet having achieved equality in the military.” She also talks about building schools and doing other civic projects in her time in Iraq, and about how the children were overjoyed to see her, even going so far as to hold her non-weapon hand while she was on a mission, then ends that tidbit with a non-sequitur about all the awful things Iraqi children saw. Really forcing the anti-war narrative there Robynn.
Very well done, Jonn!
garryowen
It’s my understanding that Bobby Whittenberg left IVAW.
Correct me if I’m wrong, wasn’t Kinne also the MI Linguist who almost got some 3ID Tankers charged with Murder in Spain for the Journalists killed in the Hotel Baghdad fratricide in April 03?
I’m not aware of the tankers, but she was a whistleblower over a hotel with journalists in it and NSA monitoring of NGO phone calls.
Matthis is not on the list because he still has a year left on the board before he can be revoted on.
Casey from who I have spoken with Bobby is still an active memember of ivaw
I thought he had left. Oh well, no big deal. Real cast of winners running for the board.
Jonn,
I’d like to thank you for your candor and honesty about Garett Reppenhagen. That alone shows that those you attack deserve it and you recognize the wheat from the chaff. He is one of the few real Vets in IVAW who have actually been there, done it, and did it while hating it instead of going AWOL. In addition to being the real deal, he is smart enough to know that real change and progress for Vets begins with actually engaging the establishment hence his work for Veteran Green Jobs. He truly cares about Vets as does his family. His mother allowed me to rent a room from her for a few months when I got out of the Army and was figuring out which direction to take in life. The entire Reppenhagen family has always been willing to take in Vets and offer the comforts of home away from home.
Maybe with Garett on board, IVAW can get back on track to helping Vets and transition solely to that since Iraq is winding down. I hope he is able to cool the fires of the hardcore Socialists. As far as I know, despite his disagreement with the war, he is very proud to be an American unlike many IVAW members ( of which I am no longer one).
Every single member of IVAW is 100% responsible for the burning of that flag. The fact they allow any one of their members to burn the flag on numerous occasions make every member of IVAW complicit in the act. I detest every one of them.
One of the reasons I left: They will drag your reputation down with them.
Cavscout1983, nicely said. Reppenhagen is a proud American troop, a 19D, and the son of Vietnam Veteran who served over 20 years.
Correction to Jonn’s post on Reppenhagen. We all spent time with Duncan, even veteran groups (MOAA, TREA, Legion, CVA, and VFW) met with Duncan on numerous occasions. Nobody questioned him because he played the “head injury” card due to his combat service but said very little about his service as a whole. But nobody “spent alot of time” with Duncan. This guy would just show up at the end of an event, put in a few words, then roll. Even at some of those Warrior Poetry Reading things, Duncan would show up right as he was about to read then leave immediately after he was done. Reppenhagen always doubted Duncan and I believe he was one of the people who spoke with the CVA board about him.
Actually, as soon as I read what he had said I started questioning his stories, as can be proven by looking at my post from March 30 of last year, prior to him being outted. And I contacted the American Legion in Colorado at that time and no one had ever heard of him, so not sure who he met with. I also talked to the VFW and they didn’t know about him either.
My point TSO, was that Jonn is trying to tie Reppenhagen with “Duncan” because he has nothing on Reppenhagen. You can do the same with many veteran groups that also associated with “Duncan”.
I once saw “Duncan” at the Disabled American Veterans office on La Salle St. in Colorado Springs, does that mean that every member of the DAV is now associated with that phony vet? Seems alittle Glen Beckish here.
I don’t know, ASH, because I’m a member of DAV; does that mean every member of DAV is associated with a staunch conservative?
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