if enough of us did this sort of thing we'd have a country that had a modicum of truth and morality about it;

Joy Metzler is a recently separated Air Force veteran who left the service citing U.S. funding and partnership of the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. She started speaking out while active duty, becoming a member of Veterans For Peace and continuing her advocacy through joining VFP’s 40 day fast in NYC.

A year ago, I was still writing my conscientious objector package to separate from the U.S. Air Force, because I was horrified by the atrocities being committed with U.S. tax dollars and military manhours. Today, I am reflecting on my completion of a 40-day fast, Veterans & Allies Fast for Gaza. I ended my fast by being arrested (along with 28 other veterans as well as our allies) for shutting down 2nd Avenue in front of the NYC Israeli Consulate.

I was granted conscientious objector status as a 2d Lt and approved to separate on April 25, 2025. This happened around a week before Mike Ferner, a former VFP executive director, approached the organization with an idea that he and another veteran – Phillip Tottenham – had hatched. They were proposing going on a fast outside the U.S. Mission to the UN to protest the U.S.-Israeli-manufactured famine that Palestinians in Gaza were suffering under. It was as natural as breathing to respond to his email that day and say, “I’m in.”............more.......