On Jan. 4, the 4th Battalion, 9th
Infantry Regiment at Fort Lewis, Wash. was placed on “lockdown” after
the unit’s officers failed to account for hundreds of thousands of
dollars worth of equipment. The lockdown was collective punishment, during which soldiers were not allowed to leave their barracks, or even allowed
to contact their families.
Members
of March Forward! in 4/9 Infantry immediately began organizing against
the lockdown, issuing this statement and petition, circulating it online and passing out hundreds of flyers on base.
After
just one day of heavy media pressure, online petitioning, phone calls to
the commanders and organizing on base, the commanders at 4/9 Infantry
caved in and lifted the lockdown.
The following is the statement released by March Forward! after the campaign’s successful conclusion:
Yesterday evening the command at 4/9
Infantry bowed to public pressure and the action of soldiers within the
unit, and ended their
inhumane lockdown of Charlie Company. After six long days, soldiers were
finally reunited with their families.
There is no denying that the public pressure generated to
“Free 4/9 Infantry” was a top factor in the ending of the lockdown.
Commanders claimed the lockdown would continue until they found the equipment
lost by the officers, but it was ended with no progress in their
investigation. Soldiers inside the base are telling us that the command was in a frenzy
all day discussing the scandal, and the command posted warnings all over the
barracks ordering soldiers not to talk to the press.
The lifting of the lockdown proves that soldiers have the
ability to collectively organize and advocate for their own interests and
well-being, and actually win victories against their chain of command. March
Forward! members in 4/9 Infantry were able to spring into action and launch a
national campaign exposing their treatment.
Dozens of soldiers in 4/9 heroically distributed hundreds of
flyers on base calling for an end to the lockdown, circulated a petition,
leaked information to the media and spread the word across the entire country.
Soldiers reported dozens chanting “Free 4/9!” in the company motorpool.
Thousands of supporters responded by calling the Brigade and
Battalion headquarters, sending them emails, calling the press and signing the
online petition, making widespread public support impossible for the command at
Ft. Lewis to ignore.
After just one day of the “Free 4/9” campaign, which
included actions inside the unit, public support and pressure from outside, and
intense media work, the command was forced to meet our demand and end the
lockdown.
This is a major victory for the soldiers in 4/9 Infantry,
and all service members in the U.S. military, because it demonstrates the
collective power we have and charts the way forward. With enlisted troops and
recently-discharged veterans facing such deep problems—a complete failure in
mental health care, constant deployment to unpopular wars for empire, disproportionate
unemployment and homelessness—it is only the kind of united action displayed
by 4/9 Infantry that can resolve any of these problems in our favor.
It’s obvious to all of us that our chain of command cares
nothing about our lives—from the company commanders, to the Pentagon generals,
to the millionaire politicians—but we have the power to fight back when troops
and veterans organize together. That’s what March Forward! is doing.
But our work is far from over. 4/9 Infantry is still denyed
the right to the ACAP process, which we also exposed in the “Free 4/9”
campaign, and conditions for all
active-duty troops and veterans continue to plummet. Let’s continue to
fight!
