Report Back from "On the Road to Ground the Drones" Walk

by Bob Palmer

As many of you know, I just returned from participating in the "On the Road to Ground the Drones" walk from Chicago to Battle Creek, MI organized by Voices for Creative Nonviolence. About 50 people participated in some part of the 160 mile walk over 12 days, with a dozen or so of us walking the whole way.

We started on June 3 at Boeing corporate headquarters in Chicago, where the manufacture of drones and conventional war planes are managed and designed. We finished on June 14, with about 100 people holding an action at the Michigan Air National Guard Facility at the Battle Creek Airport, site of a new drone command center. Along the way, we talked to lots of people, made presentations to local groups and reached out to local media.

There are many reasons to be opposed and/or concerned about the use of armed drones--from their use in assassinations that violate international law to how they create more ill will towards the United States in the communities where they often kill innocent bystanders. Many educational resources are available at the Drone Warfare Awareness and Resistance Resources page on the Voices for Creative Nonviolence website.

Perhaps most broadly, when the only risk of killing and injuring people is on "the other side," it provides yet another rationale for the United States to first look to pursuing military means to resolve our conflicts instead of pursuing nonviolent strategies that are only sustainable way to secure peace for the long-term. I'm reminded of this as President Obama seems to be evaluating whether to use armed drone strikes in Iraq to address a conflict that primarily seems to be caused by sectarianism that all our years of war making have made worse (see Democracy Now: "As Obama Considers Drone Strikes in Iraq, Could U.S. Military Action Worsen Sectarian Conflict?").

Aside from raising awareness about drone warfare, the walk was also a good experience for conversing with others about all sorts of stuff and experiencing the world in a slow and focused way that is often absent in modern life. We walked along Chicago's Lakefront path, industrial areas in East Chicago, downtown Gary, the Indiana Dunes, upscale vacation communities on Lake Michigan, small towns along the Red Arrow Highway in Michigan and many sorts of other places. A few of us even squeezed in a visit to Bells' Brewery in Kalamazoo:) Thankfully, it only rained heavily one day!

Here's an article from the Friends Committee on National Legislation from late last year that provides a good background on issues related to drones and several links to more resources: "U.S. Drone Policy: Morally Indefensible" by Matt Southworth

Read more about the work of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, including press coverage of the walk.

I've posted some photos of the walk on Flickr.

Thanks for reading!

Bob

PS: Like Voices for Creative Non-Violence on Facebook

PPS: Like Voices for Creative Non-Violence UK on Facebook, too. (Lots more walk photos here!)

June 3-14 - Join Voices for Creative Nonviolence - On the Road to Ground the Drones!

Voices for Creative Nonviolence is making preparations to set off on a 160-mile protest walk from Chicago to Michigan Air National Guard Base in Battle Creek between June 3 and 14, 2014. Read the full description here, and contact VCNV to get involved:

If you're willing and able to walk . . . email info@vcnv.org - with the word "walker"

To be an overnight host . . . email info@vcnv.org - with the word "host"

To help organize events . . . email info@vcnv.org - with the word "events"

To provide food . . . email info@vcnv.org - with the word "food"

To design and make signs . . . email info@vcnv.org - with the word "signs"

To help with outreach . . . email info@vcnv.org - with the word "outreach"

More updates to follow!

Trip reports

"We started on June 3 at Boeing corporate headquarters in Chicago, where the manufacture of drones and conventional war planes are managed and designed. We finished on June 14, with about 100 people holding an action at the Michigan Air National Guard Facility at the Battle Creek Airport, site of a new drone command center. Along the way, we talked to lots of people, made presentations to local groups and reached out to local media . . . ." (See Report Back from "On the Road to Ground the Drones" Walk by Bob Palmer)

"Over the last 8 days, I have walked 121 miles with a group of peace activists from around the country. On Saturday, we are closing in on the Battle Creek Air National Guard base where the operation of drones is imminent. Please join me and other peace advocates . . . . " (See On the Road to Ground the Drones: Peace Walkers Reach Battle Creek Air National Guard Base this Sunday, 6/15 by Jessica )

Other related posts

Protestors came out in force from Battle Creek, Kalamazoo, and neighboring states to protest the newly approved mission of Battle Creek Air Force Base: directing targeted killings using MQ-9 Reaper drones. As reported on WWMT local news, "The Battle Creek Air National Guard Base hasn't even started its new mission and already protestors are lining up to oppose it."

(See April Days of Action Against Drones in BATTLE CREEK)





Voices for Creative Nonviolence organized a walk of about 190 miles from the Rock Island Arsenal (where drone and bomb parts are made and stored) to the Iowa Air National Guard Facility at Des Moines Airport, planned site of a new drone command center, between June 8 and June 24, 2013.

(See Summer Days: Covering Ground to Ground the Drones in Iowa with VCNV )

Joining events on the same day in places as diverse as Iowa and California, there will be a demonstration in Philadelphiaon Friday, March 14 from 4p.m.- 5p.m. We will demand that, in his capacity as the head of the PA Air National Guard, Governor Corbett pull the plug on the Drone War Command Center planned for Horsham Air National Guard base outside the city.

(See Stop the Drone War Command Center at Horsham Air Guard Station, in Horsham, Montgomery County, PA )

MAAD: Midwest Action Against Drones - Sept 28-29, 2013

Join others from across the Midwest for a protest in Chicago September 28-29, 2013, to oppose drone warfare and surveillance.

Midwest Action Against Drones (MAAD)
Action and Conference
Saturday/Sunday September 28/29, 2013

Join the event on Facebook.

Contact Kait McIntyre kait.mcintyre@gmail.com to add your group to list of endorsers.

For more information, see full Midwest Action Against Drones (MAAD) website.

A project of the Anti-War Committee of Chicago.


Related posts:

There's been a lot of talk in recent weeks and months about the problem of gun trafficking in Illinois, and how we will never meet our goal of stopping the violence in our communities if we can't stop the flow of guns. Maybe it's time for us to eat our own dog food . . . .

(See What If Illinois Became a "War-Profiteer-Free Zone" ? )

What if we had a massive region in the heart of the country pushing back against the war-crazed conventional wisdom of "more weapons," "more consumption," and "more destruction of the environment"?

(See Another Modest Proposal: A Green, Demilitarized Midwest! )

 Do we really want the American heartland serving as the brain-trust for the U.S. global project of drone surveillance and killing?

Here is a round-up of research, development, and training activity connected to drones at Midwest colleges and universities. I've indicated those schools that are land-grant universities. There appears to be a high concentration of drone work at land-grant universities.

(See Do We Have a Drone Problem at Midwest Colleges and Universities? )