Sessions Overview
Saturday, Aug 8, 2026
Session 1 – 11:00 am – 12:15 pm
Save our VA (SOVA)/ Labor Working Group
Presenters: GREG MILLER, OSCAR ARBULU, DAN SHEA, JOSH SHURLEY
VFP members across the nation use the VA and want to continue to have a strong VA. Our workshop will link fighting the attacks on services to veterans with fighting the attacks on VA workers. Our nonviolent organizing around the VA expands VFP’s work with veteran and Labor coalition partners.
Topics Covered
•Overview of current threats to the VA
•Enlisting new Members of Congress in saving the VA for veterans and all
Americans
•Tracking the effects of the new Electronic Health Record
• Health care unions’ role in VA struggle and healing from war
• Labor, veteran, civil society groups coalition in fight for VA and against ICE
and fascism
• People Over Pentagon campaign
• Educating about Labor and war.
Resisting Illegal Orders/MFSO
Presenter: JAMES BRANUM
Discussion of current climate in the military and forms of individual and collective resistance, with group brainstorming about how VFP can expand outreach to servicemembers, share our message more broadly in the military, and offer political, legal and moral support to GIs involved in and interested in opposing current wars and oppressive military policies.This workshop will explore ways to strengthen and expand VFP’s efforts to reach out to military personnel questioning US wars or challenging abusive personnel policies; that it will develop organizing strategies to support GI dissent and resistance.
Session 2 – 1:00 – 2:15 pm
Resisting the US/Israeli War on Iran, Palestine and Lebanon
Presenters: ANN WRIGHT, GWENDOLYN CATES, JOHNNY ODOM
Moderator: GERRY CONDON
Purpose of Session
To provide Veterans For Peace members with information, analysis and action proposals that will inform our ongoing organizing for peace in the West Asia (Middle East). Experts and Activists on the US/Israeli war on Iran, Palestine and Lebanon will provide updates on the status of the Iran war and analysis on prospects for peace in the West Asia (Middle East). They will also discuss current and possible actions that would be most effective for the antiwar movement at this time, including the role of veterans.
Topics Covered
Brief history of US intervention in Iran leading up to the current war. What is the result of the war and the prospects for peace negotiations. How can we continue to center the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the displacement of Palestinians from the West Bank. What is the significance of Iran’s insistence that Israel must end its attacks on Lebanon (and Gaza) if there is to be a durable peace agreement – and peace.
The Impact of Machine War on Civilian and Military Personnel
Presenters: Toby Blome, Elke Schwarz, Noam Perry, and Chris Cole
The purpose of this session is to identify consequences of machine war and to explore ways to encourage military personnel to reverse this movement. We will discuss weapons in the vanguard of machine war and U.S.-Israeli AI target and weapon selection.
Session 3 – 2:45 – 4:00 pm
Latin America and “Donroe Doctrine:” Resisting US intervention in Cuba, Venezuela and throughout the hemisphere
Presenters: DAN KOVALIK, JODIE EVANS AND GERRY CONDON
Moderator: JOSH SHURLEY
Purpose of Session
The Monroe Doctrine that treats all of Latin America and the Caribbean as “our backyard,” and reserves the right to intervene on behalf of US corporate interests is now on steroids under the “Donroe Doctrine” being aggressively pursued by the Trump administration. On January 3 the US attacked Venezuela and kidnapped President Maduro and his wife, “First Combatant” Cilia Flores. Now Trump and Rubio have tightened the US blockade in Cuba, blocking all oil imports, while threatening to military overthrow the Cuban government. This panel will feature speaker who are experts and front-line peace and solidarity activists.
The purpose of this workshop will be to inform VFP members about the alarming full court press of US intervention throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, and to discuss current and potential actions for effective resistance and solidarity.
Engaging the Climate Crisis Amidst Endless War and Rising Fascism
Presenters: James (Jim) Rine (moderator), Ann Wright, Crystal Kim, and Vince Dijanich
Given the conflicts in Gaza, Palestine, Ukraine, Iran, etc., it is difficult for peace and justice activists, the public, and even climate-action-proponents to prioritize the growing climate crisis. Today’s carbon emissions will continue to damage our planet for the lifetimes of our children, grandchildren, and beyond. This panel will outline the environmental effects of ongoing conflicts and compare them with the routine damage inflicted by DoD operations on the environment and impacted communities. We will discuss the status of global climate crisis, U.S. population’s recent decreased climate awareness, and actions to address the current lack of awareness by the public of the extent of the climate crisis. We will continue outreach to environmental departments at colleges and universities, stressing the need to point out to their students the links between militarism and the climate crisis.
Sunday, Aug 9, 2026
Session 4 – 8:30 – 9:30 am
The US vs Asia
Presenters: Col. Ann Wright, Rachel Clark and Sara Flounders
This workshop will examine how all the nations around China are being pushed by the US into preparing for a joint war on China, how that impacts each nation, the internal dynamics within each nation, and their relationships to the other Asian nations. We represent the VFP China Working Group, the VFP Korea Peace Campaign, and Rachel Clark’s work on Japan. The US is playing all the nations of Asia against each other to destroy all and leave the US standing as the lone power in Asia.
Veterans exposing media lies about war/research on the media and war and media literacy
Presenters: Robin Anderson, Katerina Canyon, and Spencer Graves
This session will help participants be more effective in talking with others about the gap between the portrayal of major issues in the leading for-profit media, and. their experiences and the media they find credible, build a team that can collaborate in improving their individual communications skills and also create additional resources to make those efforts easier and more effective, able to identify media war frames, themes, language, and sources, identify alternatives to war and ways to talk about them.