Refuse Illegal Orders” Billboard Campaign from Veterans for Peace

Upon joining the U.S. military, service members swear to uphold the U.S. Constitution and are bound by the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). The UCMJ is the foundation of military law in the United States. It applies to all branches of the Armed Forces and establishes definitions, jurisdiction, procedures, and punitive articles for maintaining discipline and justice. It states that all orders from superiors are assumed to be legal, but that this assumption “does not apply to a patently illegal order, such as one that directs the commission of a crime”.

 

Sign on in support and share with others.

Join with veterans and those who believe in peace and justice.

We are increasingly aware of horrendous acts of coldblooded murder on small fishing boats in the Caribbean and Pacific. More innocents were lost on the first day of the war on Iran when the Elementary School in Minab was bombed. Of the 156 civilians murdered, 120 were children. Calls from military personnel to Conscientious Objector organizations have increased dramatically over these atrocities.

 

Last November, Sen. Mark Kelly and 5 other lawmakers with military backgrounds expressed “serious concerns” over the fishing boat murders noting they could be considered war crimes.  They reminded troops “you can refuse illegal orders” and to “stand up for our laws – our Constitution.”  Their patriotism was questioned and they were threatened with harsh penalties.

 

In Spring 2025, Veterans for Peace began a national billboard campaign to inform and remind U.S. military service members of the right to refuse illegal orders. Over two dozen billboards have gone up around the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

 

Madison’s Chapter 25 of VFP responded with a campaign to place billboards locally. Our first went up on July 13 at Volk Field on Interstate 90/94.  On Aug 18 another one was placed near Ft McCoy on Hwy. SR21. Funds have been raised to keep these billboards in view of military personnel and the public through October. Our effort is to make them available through the general election and November. The added cost will be about $2,690.00.

 

Enthusiasm for the billboards and the conversations they create is leading VFP Madison to add another billboard at Truax Air National Guard Base in Madison. The cost is $625 / week.

 

We are also requesting individuals and groups sign on to this statement: “We, the undersigned individuals and organizations, support the obligation of U.S. military service members to refuse to comply with illegal, unlawful, criminal, unethical or immoral actions. “

Help us share our vioices.

To contribute to the “Resist Illegal Orders” campaign, donations can be sent Madison VFP, P.O. Box 1811, Madison, WI 53701

 

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SERVICE MEMBER SUPPORT – Duty and Conscience

https://www.veteransforpeace.org/take-action/service-member-support

REFUSE ILLEGAL ORDERS – Veterans For Peace has launched a campaign to remind our brothers and sisters, sons and daughter and grandchildren who have joined the military that they have the right and the responsibility to refuse illegal orders, and that we will support them when they do.

 

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“On a billboard just off the I-90/94 exit near Mauston, Uncle Sam is telling service members to disobey. The Madison chapter of Veterans for Peace is targeting their message —“I want YOU to REFUSE unlawful orders” — to soldiers training at Volk Field in Camp Douglas, more than an hour northwest of Madison.

Renting the billboard costs the Veterans for Peace chapter about $580 a week. “We’ll keep it up as long as we can afford to,” says chapter coordinator Brad Geyer. The first $4,000 is covered by a grant from the Howard Zinn Fund for Peace and Justice. Veterans for Peace is taking donations — only through checks, for now — for it to stay up as long as possible.

The message to disobey orders that rub at one’s conscience has popped up on dozens of billboards across the United States in recent months, sparked by a video last November from a half-dozen service member lawmakers, including Arizona’s Sen Mark Kelly. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the video as “reckless and seditious” as he attempted to cut Kelly’s pension and demote him (a move now blocked by a judge).

All service members are bound by the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which is silent on unlawful orders but does make it a punishable offense to disobey lawful orders. Air Force Major Jason Watson was arrested July 1 for protesting the Trump Administration at the U.S. Capitol and is now potentially facing charges, including contempt toward officials…”

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https://www.veteransforpeace.org/