Skip to main content

ATTENTION: This site is no longer active but remains as an archive.

Iraq Veterans Against the War has become About Face: Veterans Against the War. About Face can be found at aboutfaceveterans.org

Iraq Veterans Against the War

Join IVAW

Donate to IVAW

  • About
    • Founding of IVAW
    • Mission, Values, and Vision
    • War in Afghanistan
    • Why We Are against the Wars
    • Resolutions
    • IVAW Timeline
    • Board of Directors
    • Advisory Committee
    • Staff
  • Events
  • Campaigns
    • Operation Recovery
    • Winter Soldier
      • Breakdown of the Military
      • Civilian Testimony
      • Corporate Pillaging
      • Cost of War at Home
      • Crisis in Veterans Healthcare
      • Future of GI Resistance
      • Gender and Sexuality
      • Legacy of GI Resistance
      • Racism and War
      • Response to DoD
      • Rules of Engagement
      • Press Coverage
      • Press Releases
    • Right to Heal
  • Members
  • Resources
    • AWOL
    • Active Duty
    • Conscientious Objector
    • Depleted Uranium
    • History of Resistance
    • IRR Reactivation
    • Lariam
    • PTSD
    • Profiles of Resisters
    • Resources for Veterans
    • Stop Loss
    • Women's Resources
    • Mesothelioma
  • Press
  • Contact
    • Press
    • Speaker Request

Time to ramble on

published by Jose Vasquez on 10/26/12 3:13pm
Posted to: 
Staff

Everyone,

It's been my honor to serve as IVAW's Executive Director for the last three plus years. My reasons for stepping back from the ED position are simple. First, I'm a parent now and my priorities have shifted to making sure my son has a better life than the one I had as a kid. That means making more money while working less hours so I can be home to help raise him.

Second, I've always tried to push myself to always move forward in life. I've learned a lot on staff at IVAW but there is much more for me to learn. The opportunity I have at North Star Fund will allow me to learn how philanthropy works while also providing the job security my family needs right now. In addition, many of you know I've been pursuing a PhD in Cultural Anthropology since 2003. I want to make more progress toward that goal but despite my best efforts can't while working full time at IVAW.

Lastly, I think any good leader realizes that in order for more leaders to come up through the ranks he or she needs to step aside at some point. I fully intend to continue to be a member of the organization I love and will fill whatever volunteer role makes the most sense for me to take, including on the board if you'll have me.

My journey with the organziation began when I met Alex Ryabov, IVAW co-founder, at an event in NYC. At the time I was already undergoing a process seeking conscientious objector status in the Army Reserve and was following folks like Camilo Mejia, Pablo Paredes, and Kevin Benderman online and through Democracy Now!. Soon after meeting Alex and learning IVAW welcomed all post-9/11 servicemembers and veterans I signed up in 2005. Then I had the pleasure of meeting Garett Reppenhagen fresh from his deployment in Iraq and being blown away by the stories he had to share.

Anita (Cole) Foster is responsible for my first visit to the Philly office in the basement of the AFSC building on Cherry Street. I distinctily remember Amadee crouched over a computer surrounded by boxes and Lovella sitting on the floor with a laptop and cell phone to her ear. Pretty humble beginnings for a national organization. Anita had roped me into attending a advisory board meeting, the decision making body before we had our own board of directors, that included members of VVAW and VFP. I soon found myself involved in both local organizing as a chapter president and national organizing on the board. I was elected to the inaugural board in 2006.

To date my proudest moment in IVAW, if you can call it a "moment," is Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan. We put our blood, sweat, and tears into that event and the series of regional Winter Soldiers that followed. Although we faced internal and external adversity during and after that time I think many people from all walks of life pulled together to make something really special happen.

I want to thank all the folks who have ever worked on staff at IVAW. It can be at once the most rewarding and thankless job you can have. I think what keeps all the staff going is the members and the important insights they bring to this movement. Plus whenever a group of IVAW members gets together the sparks tend to fly, creating the chance to recharge your batteries.

I also deeply appreciate all the allies, donors, and supporters who have given much to keep this little engine that could running over the years. My special thanks to our brothers and sisters in the military and veterans community for bearing the burden of these wars with us.

IVAW has provided a real community for me and helped me grow as a person of conscience in a sometimes unconscoinable world. I am proud to be in the struggle for peace and justice with all of you.

In solidarity,

Jose

Matt Howard's picture

Demanding the Right to Heal

Three days ago I saw the aftermath of explosives that tore through a crowd of unsuspecting bystanders, shrapnel leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. I read how children lost their lives, others lost limbs and a...
Matt Howard's picture

Telling Our Stories

IVAW Members are speaking out about their experiences in the military. They are shedding light on the stigma around mental health care, the economic factors that motivated their enlistment and the questionable methods of...
IVAW Admin's picture

Honor Veterans' Right to Heal this Veterans Day

Tell Chicago VA to improve Veteran care Since April, Iraq Veterans Against the War has been working with National Nurses United to improve the quality of care at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in Chicago. We are still...
Amadee Braxton's picture

Honor Veterans' Right to Heal this Veterans Day

Tell Chicago VA to improve Veteran care Since April, Iraq Veterans Against the War has been working with National Nurses United to improve the quality of care at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in Chicago. We are still...
Jose Vasquez's picture

Time to ramble on

Everyone, It's been my honor to serve as IVAW's Executive Director for the last three plus years. My reasons for stepping back from the ED position are simple. First, I'm a parent now and my priorities have shifted to making...

Remembering Joshua Casteel

IVAW mourns the loss of our brother Joshua Casteel, 32, of Cedar Rapids, IA. Joshua was diagnosed in early November 2011 with stage IV lung cancer (adenocarcinoma), that was also present in his liver, spine and adrenals. He...

Pages

  • « First
  • ‹ Prev
  • …
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • …
  • Next ›
  • Last »

Supporter Newsletter!

Donations

Make a single donation or become an IVAW sustainer by making your donation a recurring one. Please consider making your generous gift right now.
Donate Online Today!

Speaker Request

Please be advised that we get many speaker requests, but regret that we are sometimes unable to fill them.
Speaker Request

Joining IVAW

Iraq Veterans Against the War is open to Active Duty, National Guard and Reservists who have served since 09/11/2001.
Join IVAW

Navigation

  • About
  • Events
  • Campaigns
  • Committees
  • Chapters
  • Members
  • Resources
  • Contact