Soldier of Conscience — Interview With Charlie Anderson, IVAW Member

CRAWFORD Hospital Corpsman Second Class retired Charlie Anderson was scared during his first demonstration against the war in Iraq two years ago this Oct. 3 in Washington, D.C.

“It started in Arlington National Cemetery, and we walked to the White House, and I was so scared. I didn’t want to talk. I didn’t want to say anything,” he told the Iconoclast. “I had PTSD. I was going through treatment. I was on limited duty.”

By that time, Anderson’s PTSD, known as post-traumatic stress disorder, was preventing him from performing his duties running a supply department. The constant personnel changes “was really hard on me psychologically,” he said.

“Instead of saying, ‘C’mon guys, let’s go.’ I’d be saying, ‘Hey guys, I’ll catch you later when you get back,'” Anderson said. “I really considered myself a leader. I still do. I clearly was a leader. I am a leader.”

Right out of high school in July 1996, the Indiana native joined the U.S. Navy. He enlisted for a number of reasons, but two of the bigger ones were job training and “standing up for freedom and democracy.”

“Having in my mind at the time, I didn’t understand what any of that really meant. But those were the principle reasons that led me to a recruiter,” he said.

Eight years later, his mother, who is active in Military Families Speak Out, forwarded her son an e-mail from Iraq Veterans Against the War co-founder Michael Hoffman. IVAW formed at the Veterans for Peace convention in Boston, Mass. right before the 2004 Democratic National Convention.

Hoffman’s e-mail spoke of the IVAW members’ experiences in the Iraq war and their efforts to put an end to U.S. occupation.

“I was almost crying when I read it because it was like somebody had just taken all these ideas that were in my head and put them on paper,” Anderson said.

In a reply e-mail, Anderson thanked Hoffman for his work, but Hoffman wouldn’t let Anderson off the hook that easily and encouraged him to join the organization.

Even though Anderson was on active duty at the time, he found that he could still participate in anti-war demonstrations. He had to only follow some of the U.S. military’s rules:

“As long as I was not in uniform on government property or revealing classified information or claiming to speak for the United States military, then a soldier on active duty does have the right to free speech. You can protest all you want. You can even speak at the protest as long as you don’t do the things I just named.”

Since being discharged from the Navy in March 2005, Anderson has continued speaking out against the occupation of Iraq and advocating for veterans health benefits across the United States. His efforts have also led him to help create a program to provide body armor to active soldiers, known as Bake Sales for Body Armor: <www.bakesalesforbodyarmor.org>). And he ended up joining IVAW and sitting on its steering committing.

Last month, Anderson stayed at Camp Casey III, participating in several actions designed to provide information to high school students thinking about joining the military. He also spoke with the Iconoclast’s Nathan Diebenow about his own military experiences and his thoughts on the changes needed to make the military a more effective and democratic fighting force.