Winter Soldier: US Army Medic Perry O'Brien on Civilian Cadavers in Afghanistan

Former US Army Medic Perry O'Brienserved a tour in Afghanistan before returning home and filing to be discharged as a conscientious objector. He describes how the corpses of dead civilians were used as medical teaching tools in Afghanistan without the consent of the dead. He says this shows how war is inherently dehumanizing and hopes Winter Soldierwill change the conversation in America about the morality of war and the orders that soldiers are asked to follow.

In 1776, Thomas Paine wrote: "These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman."

Iraq Veterans Against the War argues that well-publicised incidents of U.S. brutality like the Abu Ghraib prison scandal and the massacre of an entire family of Iraqis in the town of Haditha are not the isolated incidents perpetrated by "a few bad apples", as many politicians and military leaders have claimed. They are part of a pattern, the group says, of "an increasingly bloody occupation."

From March 14th to 16th, Pacifica Radio will suspend regular programming to broadcast the historic Winter Soldier gathering in Washington, DC. The three day live broadcast will be co-hosted by Aaron Glantz and former Army medic and KPFA Morning Show host Aimee Allison. A live web-stream of the broadcast will be available through the War Comes Home  website, as well as at KPFA.org.