Courage to Resist facts for kids
Courage to Resist (CTR) was a group that started in the San Francisco, California area. It was formed in the early 2000s during the Iraq War, which began in 2003. CTR's main goal was to support members of the U.S. military who refused to fight in wars. They helped these individuals, sometimes even with money for legal costs. Famous people they supported include Chelsea Manning and Reality Winner.
Later, around 2018, CTR also started encouraging soldiers to speak out against military actions at detention camps and other operations involving immigrants. Their main sayings were “Supporting the troops who refuse to fight!” and "Towards a World Without War!" They aimed to help anyone who faced trouble for following their conscience and opposing wars or military actions they believed were wrong. Courage to Resist officially ended its operations on December 18, 2024.
Contents
How Courage to Resist Started
The Iraq War began with many questions about whether Iraq had "weapons of mass destruction." Many people around the world protested against this war. Between January and April 2003, about 36 million people took part in nearly 3,000 protests globally. The biggest protests happened on February 15, 2003.
Some U.S. military members also resisted the war. On April 1, 2003, Stephen E. Funk, a Marine Corps Reservist, publicly announced he would not participate in the war. He did this outside the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in California. Civilians and veterans who agreed with him stepped forward to offer support. As more soldiers refused orders and faced military trials, a larger group was needed to help them. Courage to Resist was created to fill this important need.
Jeff Paterson's Role
One of the first people to support Stephen Funk was Jeff Paterson. Jeff was a former Marine himself. He was the first soldier to publicly refuse orders during the first Iraq War in 1990. Jeff had been a Marine for five years and was about to leave the military. However, his discharge was canceled, and he was ordered to go to the Persian Gulf.
On August 7, 1990, as his unit was getting on a plane in Hawaii, he sat down on the ground and refused to move. A week later, he held a press conference. He said he would not be used in America’s actions for oil in the Middle East. Jeff Paterson was a founding member of CTR and served as its Project Director for many years.
Opposing the Iraq War
Courage to Resist supported many soldiers who spoke out against the Iraq War. These included Army Staff Sergeants Camilo Mejia and Kevin Benderman, Navy Petty Officer Pablo Paredes, and Army medic Agustin Aguayo. They also helped Private First Class Robin Long and Army First Lieutenant Ehren Watada.
CTR helped by raising money for public support and legal defense for these individuals. They also organized rallies near military bases where soldiers were facing trials. They held events at military recruiting stations and took part in national days of action to oppose the war and support those who resisted.
Opposing the War in Afghanistan
CTR also supported early public resisters to the War in Afghanistan (2001–present). These included soldiers like Victor Agosto and Travis Bishop.
Supporting Israeli War Resisters
Members of Courage to Resist traveled to Israel and Palestine. They met with former Israeli soldiers to hear about their experiences. In 2008, CTR helped create a statement signed by 26 U.S. military soldiers and veterans. This statement supported Israeli Shministim, who are 12th graders refusing military service. In 2018, CTR supported Tamar Ze’evi, a 15-year-old who spent 115 days in jail for refusing to join the Israeli army.
Helping Chelsea Manning
.jpg)
In April 2010, a video was released by WikiLeaks. It showed a U.S. helicopter attack in Baghdad that killed eleven unarmed Iraqi civilians, including two Reuters employees. Two children were also seriously hurt. This video quickly spread online and through the news.
On May 27, 2010, Chelsea Manning was arrested. She was accused of sharing secret information and "aiding the enemy." Within days of her arrest, CTR joined others to defend her and help raise money for her legal defense. On August 21, 2013, she was sentenced to 35 years in prison. This was a very long sentence for someone who shared information with the public, and many people criticized it.
Throughout her trial and the 7 years Manning spent in Leavenworth prison, CTR defended her. They also provided financial support through the Chelsea Manning Support Network. Manning's lead lawyer, David Coombs, said that CTR was directly responsible for her early release. Manning herself thanked Courage to Resist on the NBC Today show for their efforts.
Counter-Recruiting Efforts
Courage to Resist also worked to counter U.S. military recruiting. This included efforts to stop the military from influencing and recruiting young people. CTR organized protests and vigils outside military recruiting centers. One time, they even caused a Marine recruiting center to close for several hours. They used materials from campaigns like Stop Recruiting Kids.
Supporting Reality Winner
Reality Winner, who used to work for the U.S. Air Force, was arrested on June 3, 2017. She was accused of sharing a secret report about Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections with the news website The Intercept. After her arrest, CTR started a campaign asking for the charges against her to be dropped.
CTR helped form the Stand With Reality support group. This group said that the charge against Winner was too harsh for what she was accused of doing. They believed it was meant to scare others from sharing information important to the public. On August 23, 2018, Winner was sentenced to 5 years in prison. Since her conviction, CTR has joined others in asking for Winner to be pardoned or for her sentence to be shortened.
Focus on Immigrants
Courage to Resist's more recent work involved opposing the use of U.S. military members in immigrant detention camps and at U.S. borders. CTR created materials encouraging soldiers to refuse orders they believed were "illegal" regarding immigration. They supported soldiers who publicly spoke out. For example, they supported U.S. Army Captain Brittany DeBarros. She used social media to share her opposition to military deployments related to immigrants. She said she did not promise to defend illegal wars or immigrant concentration camps.
End of Courage to Resist
On December 18, 2024, Jeff Paterson, a co-founder and the longtime Director of Courage to Resist, announced that the organization was ending. He posted this message on the Courage to Resist website:
"After 20 years of organizing to 'Support the troops who refuse to fight!,' the Courage to Resist Organizing Collective is formally coming to an end. We hope that our supporters will continue to support military war resisters by contributing to these critically important organizations, as we will continue to do individually:
- Military Law Task Force of the National Lawyers Guild
- GI Rights Hotline
- About Face: Veterans Against The War (formerly IVAW)
- Center on Conscience and War
"As an organization, we no longer have the energy or resources to seriously carry out our mission. We do not want to take resources away from others who will continue this work. Over the last few months, Courage to Resist has given most of our remaining money to the organizations listed above. We plan to keep our website online for a long time as a reference."
See also
- Iraq Veterans Against the War
- Concerned Officers Movement
- GI's Against Fascism
- GI Coffeehouses
- Movement for a Democratic Military
- Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War
- Presidio mutiny
- Sir! No Sir!, a documentary about the anti-war movement within the ranks of the United States Armed Forces
- Vietnam Veterans Against the War
- List of anti-war organizations
- List of peace activists
- War Resisters League
- Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors
