Java & GIs

O ne of the greatest achievements of the Vietnam anti-war movement was its creation of a GI coffeehouse and counseling network. The first coffeehouse was opened outside Ft. Jackson, South Carolina in late 1967, two-and-a half years after U.S. troops invaded Vietnam. Within weeks, hundreds of GIs had visited during their off duty hours. Over the next year, similar projects sprang up outside 20 other major U.S. bases. 

These projects embodied the “countercultural” spirit of the times. Sex, psychedelic drugs, and rock and roll coexisted with a strong anti-war message. Civilian activists, mostly recruited from the anti-war movement, worked in tandem with active duty GIs, some of whom had just returned from Vietnam. At some projects, the soldiers played a leading role in setting political goals, providing counseling, and putting out anti-war newspapers. 

Today, anti-war organizers are again discussing how active duty GIs can play a more active part in the struggle against the war. A Stars and Stripes newspaper poll of soldiers fighting in Iraq reported in March 2006 that 72 percent of them wanted to be withdrawn within a year, while 29 percent favored immediate withdrawal. 

Organizers from Citizen Soldier, a GI-veterans rights advocacy group, recently met with anti-war veterans and GIs in Fayetteville, North Carolina, home to Ft. Bragg, where 40,000 combat troops are stationed. They discussed the prospects for establishing a coffeehouse and counseling project near the base—the largest in the eastern U.S. Their hope is that a successful pilot project at Bragg could stimulate the creation of similar efforts at other key posts. 

Both the U.S. military and U.S. society have changed since the Vietnam era. Foremost is the transformation of a conscript-driven military to one that is entirely composed of “volunteers.” This has made the armed forces much less representative of U.S. society as a whole. One of the primary reasons why advocates of an “all volunteer” military wanted to junk the draft was their belief that it fueled much of the anti-war opposition— especially among young people. 

The transition to a volunteer force has had two other significant consequences. One, women were integrated into most military jobs, except for the infantry and armor. Today, every sixth soldier is female, except in the Marine Corps. Second, the shrinkage of active duty force levels, which became necessary once competitive wages were being paid, has meant that reservists and Guard troops must shoulder a much greater combat burden. Today, one out of three GIs in Iraq is a reservist. These soldiers are older, have family obligations, and are less accustomed to the rigors of military life. 

These demographic changes are central to any discussion of how a coffeehouse project could attract the participation of GIs. During Vietnam, the average low ranking soldier was paid less than $300 a month. They lived in austere barracks and ate their meals in dingy chow halls. These conditions made an off-base coffeehouse seem attractive as a refuge from the tedium of the “green machine” and its grinding routines. 

Today, half of all soldiers are married and many have children. Their relatively good pay and benefits allow them to buy expensive cars and vans and many choose Applebee’s and Mickey D’s over the mess hall. To counter serious problems with recruitment and retention, the Pentagon now offers a series of bonuses ranging from $10,000 to $40,000, payable over the life of an enlistment hitch. Elite “Delta Force” troops can get up to $100,000 if they’ll sign for another tour. (A note to those who believe that recruiting shortfalls may force a reinstitution of the draft: the Pentagon has shown that it will spend whatever it takes to induce— bribe?—low income youth to fill its combat slots.)