We Are Not Your Soldiers began October 2024 with a visit to a totally on-line class at a college in Queens. Joy Damiani presented to the students, sharing her experiences in the Army in Iraq and responding to their questions.

We next went to a private NYC college where Air Force veteran Joe Urgo spoke about his experiences in Vietnam and showed a video of the Vietnam Winter Soldiers hearings which he helped organize. This is one of the heartfelt notes we received following the visit. You can read others here.

Thank you, We Are Not Your Soldiers, for the powerful and meaningful presentation to our class. I was previously unaware of the effects and trauma individuals face while entering the military and the immediate desensitization the military puts young people through to operate more violent tactics. The video sharing of the horrible things soldiers were encouraged to do to incite violence and create a dangerous mob mentality was genuinely terrifying. The thoughtful words spoken and understanding of the work We Are Not Your Soldiers put into ending war and helping those in the military to rethink their reasoning for joining truly inspired me to take action. I look forward to staying updated with the organization and helping however possible!

We finished October by speaking to three classes at a college in Brooklyn NY. Rebecca Ouellette, a veteran of the National Guard and a new We Are Not Your Soldiers presenter, shared her story with the students and engaged in a lot of discussion with them.