Tod Ensign

Tod Ensign is director of Citizen Soldier, a GI/veterans advocacy group established in 1969. He is also author of America's Military Today: The Challenge of Militarism (New Press, 2004). He can be reached at citizensoldier1[AT]aol.com or (212) 679-2250.

G.I. Joe: Lessons for the Coffeehouse Movement

Tod Ensign (center) with Different Drummer staff and family members at an antiwar rally in Syracuse in 2007.

During the Vietnam War, the 20 or so G.I. projects, which operated outside every important Army and Marine base, played an essential role in fomenting antiwar opposition among rank-and-file soldiers. This movement, along with the heroic resistance of the Vietnamese, arguably forced the United States to withdraw from Vietnam. As the recent military invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq soured, it became obvious that U.S. troops were going to be deployed in those countries for years to come. Drawing on our Vietnam War experience, Citizen Soldier decided to look into reviving a G.I.

Sir! No Sir!

GIs Just Say No

Sir! No Sir!
Directed by David Zeiger
2006, Displaced Films
Running time: 84 minutes.

One of the greatest achievements of the anti-Vietnam War movement was the creation of a GI coffeehouse and counseling network. The first coffeehouse opened outside Ft. Jackson, SC, in late 1967, two-and-a-half years after U.S. troops were sent to Vietnam in large numbers. Within weeks, hundreds of GIs had visited during their off- duty hours. Over the next year, similar projects sprang up outside a dozen other major U.S. bases.