My name is Justin C. Cliburn, and I am a specialist in the Oklahoma Army National Guard. I served in Balad and Baghdad in 2005 and 2006, returning in December of last year. I have been a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War since April 2007.

I attended the IVAW national convention in St. Louis in August. There, I told members that they can have all the success they want in DC, Philly, New York, LA, and Seattle; it's not going to mean anything until they win the "heartland." They told me to put my money where my mouth is, and I am now the South Central Regional Coordinator for Iraq Veterans Against the War. Since September, we have started chapters in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and Austin, Texas. We'll have a Lawton/Fort Sill chapter by the end of the month and will set our sights on Fort Hood and Fort Bliss, Texas after that. At this time last year, eight chapters existed nationally; today, there are over thirty. IVAW is growing, nationally and in the region and we're coming to a hometown near you.

I'm not here to change minds, though; I don't have nearly enough time for that. Instead, I appeal to the veterans to come out of the woodwork because the best way to honor the veterans is to listen to what they have to say and to encourage them to say how they feel. The best way you as a veteran can honor those who came before and those who will come after you is to speak out against what you feel to be wrong. The sentiment is there; the passion is there. I've seen and heard it; we're only missing the will to organize and speak out.

So, in closing, I say this to the veterans: I have participated in IVAW activities in St. Louis, Washington DC, New Orleans, and Lawton, Oklahoma. I have been quoted in newspapers all across the world. I am still alive and well. My rank is safe; my honor is intact. You CAN speak out legally; you CAN be an engaged American citizen. Utilize the freedoms you protect. Even so, IVAW membership is completely confidential; no one in your chain of command will ever know you are a member. I urge you to log on to www.ivaw.org for more information.

All it takes for evil to flourish in the world is for good men to sit around and do nothing; let's do something.