The right to vote is sacred in a democracy. The United States has struggled for generations with racist and sexist laws that prevent millions of people from having a say in their nation. And even as we have made progress over the years, there are now renewed efforts to suppress the vote and deny the results of free and fair elections. We cannot let those who wish to destroy our democracy win.

The fight for our Republic must be fought on multiple fronts by expanding access to the ballot box and ensuring election deniers and MAGA extremists are held accountable.

The mission of the Veterans Organizing Institute is to support the leadership development of progressive military veterans. Our vision is to develop a network of highly diverse, former service members, with sophisticated political analysis and practical organizing skills to play an important role in reshaping the long-term American political landscape.

By providing convening spaces, advanced training, and opportunities for hands-on issue campaign work, we believe we can cultivate long-term progressive veteran leaders who will play a crucial role in the historic tasks of (1) forging a viable path for a new American peace movement, and (2) embedding a deeper progressive peace and security analysis within an emerging social justice alignment in the United States.

Climate change is no longer a far-off future menace: it is here. All over the world, millions of people are being impacted by our planet’s rapid warming. As veterans, we’ve seen the crisis firsthand. We have fought in wars waged over fossil fuels, and we’ve served on the frontlines of hurricanes, wildfires, and heat waves. Everyone will be affected by these intertwined crises, but the impacts are not equal. Low-income communities of color continue to face the greatest threats from both climate change and pollution in our air and water. To protect our communities and our country, we must act now to prevent the most catastrophic outcomes of a warming planet.

Common Defense defines the open-ended, unauthorized, and interconnected U.S. military interventions that began after September 11th, 2001 as the “The Forever War.” While the largest troops deployments were in Afghanistan and Iraq, these counter-terror operations have spread to dozens of countries, including Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Niger, Pakistan, Philippines, Sudan, Tajikistan, and Yemen – and they continue to this day. Common Defense supports bringing the Forever Wars to a responsible and expedient conclusion.

Our commitment to ending Forever War extends to helping peace partners end war and occupation across the globe.