A Black Veteran Speaks Out, BY MONIQUE CODE

CALL:(415) 241-6493 TODAY AND TUESDAY, FEB. 22
TO GET ON THE SPEAKERS LIST AT THE BOARD OF
EDUCATION MEETING!

SPEAK AGAINST MILITARY RECRUITMENT IN SCHOOLS!

Please join with peace activists to speak out at the
S.F. Board of Education meeting on Feb. 22nd, 7 p.m,
at 555 Franklin St., 2nd floor (near Golden Gate).

A Black Veteran Speaks Out
BY MONIQUE CODE

Of all people, me? Speak out against
joining the military? Yes, indeed! Miracles do
happen, right? Well, I wasn't always this
way. I ask myself constantly what took me so
long, because so many people ask me what
was it like, why did I do it, and why speak
out now? Well, in these perilous times, it's
time for all of us to come clean and
address the behind-the-scenes of this
hidden world that no civilian knows about
unless they sign their name on the dotted line.

I served in the military for eight years.
I went into, of all branches, the Navy. You
figure, after the last boat ride Afrikan
people were forced to take, what in the world
would possess me to join the Navy? Well,
I had a better chance at travel and I hate
DIRT! Yeah, the Navy has planes like the Air
Force. I still don't like planes.

I need to make a few things very clear:

When you take the oath once all your
physicals are done, the SECOND TIME you take
the oath is when it counts. NOT the first
time. For those of you in high school, when
you sign up, you have at least two or three
opportunities to come out of there. Seize
the time!

Secondly, the Montgomery GI bill does NOT
pay for all of your college education. It
does help you, but it doesn't cover the
entire bill. You are still coming out of your
pockets and living on other scholarships
and loans in order to pay for your education.
Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) is
the only way your education is paid for in
full. In return for that, you must give back
time. In other words, after four years of
education, you must commit to at least
four to six years of active service time.
If you do not complete school, you must
pay all of that money back. Yes, all of it! If
you fail a class, you have to pay that money
back as well. For those of you who want
an education through the military, do your
research!

Thirdly, the military tells you that you can
be all that you can be. Not true! You will be
all THE GOVERNMENT wants you to be.
What do they want you to be, you ask? They
want you to be dependent and complacent.
They want you to remain quiet about
issues that affect you. In English, protesting
is OUT! It took the Armed Forces until
1994 to allow Black women to wear braids!
Yes, 1994!

It's not just a job; it's an adventure, huh?
It's a job to manipulate you into thinking
that civilian life is worthless. In exchange
for three meals a day and free room and
board (depending on where you are stationed),
you get free clothing too. Damn,
sounds like jail, right?

The recruiters have to fulfill a quota
each month in order for the military to thrive.
They tell you anything to get you in.
They will say anything to you to keep you in. If
you're a young, naïve high school kid
thinking this is the way to go because school
can get paid for, think again. When you
go to boot camp, the best mind games are
played there. They break you down into
what you were and mold you into somebody
else. Profanity is almost normal
language in the military. That's a fact!
Most importantly, to all you veterans
out there: if you are not aged 55 and over, you
served in the military, and you have a
necessary skill that they might need in this war,
get this quick! The potential to call you is
still there! I just found this out from a non-
profit organization called Black Veterans
for Social Justice. I can verify this
information, too!

Am I proud that I served in the military?
Am I bragging about being a veteran? The
answer is a unanimous NO to both of
those questions. I am informing you of this so
that you are better informed about this
hidden world that no one wants to discuss
openly.

Keep this in mind: most military personnel,
once they are in the service full-time,
really do not know what's really going
on out here. When I left for Desert Storm in
1990, they fed us the pro-Amerikkkan
BS that goes with being a service person. They
also did not involve themselves in the
real politics of what was happening. They told
us: "You are here to serve your country
fighting this war." They never talked to us
about chemical warfare or none of the
things that are of concern with this upcoming
rich man's war.

Interestingly enough, I was watching
a press conference with that puppet Colin
Powerless. If he is not a puppet, I have
no idea what he is. He spoke and claimed that
the purpose of the war was to rid Iraq
of oppression and fear in the lives of Iraqi
people. Um, excuse me, Mr. Powell, what
about the war on your own people right
here in Amerikkka? Any solutions how to
stop the oppression here? Maybe he should
ask Massa Bush so he can pull some more
strings to make him dance some more.
As an Afrikan woman, I don't applaud the
decision for anyone to go in. I really had a
hard time fighting their mentality because
I didn't know any better. Once I began to
rebuild what I had lost and become
conscious, I became a threat to them and
dangerous in the process. I was almost
dismissed off a vessel because I was waking
up the lost minds of my brothers and
sistas who wanted to wake up like me. I
couldn't see the politics, but I was able to
relate it to our history and all the trials and
tribulations we endured as a people.

Today, I shout what Chairman Fred Hampton
said: "Everything is political." I thank so
much those who politicized me to where
I can have the strength to talk about this on
an open platform. It took a lot of discussion
and venting to get this out, but I don't
want to see anyone of you make the
mistake that I did and think that Amerikkka has
such a fine military. It doesn't.

I challenge all my Black veterans out
there to speak out. We must save our people by
any means necessary. You want to join
an Army? Join the People's Army and help
fight the war and terrorism on Afrikan
people on a daily basis!
Power to the People!