Winter SoldierWinter Soldier

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Project teaser: 

Unsatisfied with media coverage of the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, an anti-war veterans group hold four days of first-person testimony and broadcast it live via satellite, radio and online. Membership jumps 25% in the weeks that follow. 

Winter Soldier TestimonyWinter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan was an event organized by Iraq Veterans Against the War that broke through the media's over-simplified coverage with first person accounts of the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan from both soldiers and civilians. Action Mill members Jethro Heiko and Nick Jehlen served as strategic advisors on the Winter Soldier organizing committee and managed the website and online live broadcast of all 30 hours of testimony. 

This four-day event brought together veterans from across the country to testify about their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan - and present video and photographic evidence. These panels covered everything from the history of the GI resistance movement to the fight for veterans' health benefits and support.

Winter Soldier TestimonyThe event was watched live in locations around the world (including military bases), radio stations and local public access channels carried the event, and testimony is archived online for future use. A book of testimony has been released, a documentary film is in the works, and IVAW members continue to organize local Winter Soldier events around the country.

In addition to working on the Winter Soldier event, the Action Mill led a series of workshops to help IVAW develop their strategy, and designed and ran their website from 2006-2009.