There was an inspiring presence at this year's May Day dinner when a speaker read a letter from a soldier organizing  ICWP in the military.

 "Tonight we let the bosses know that in solidarity with our class brothers and sisters, we are still bringing them the fight.

"It is also tonight when we commemorate the accomplishments and advancements made by our party's brothers and sisters, who, through their struggles and sacrifices, have paved the way for us. There is no better way to pay homage to them than by continuing their struggle and paving the road for future generations. Many of you are already doing so by struggling with others in your workplace, in your campuses, inside the communities and even in your own homes.

"The working class thanks you for this. The work you do is ensuring the victory of the working class over capitalism in the future.

 "I am speaking to you tonight as a soldier doing work critical to our movement. I can tell you first hand, that this place is ripe for the picking.

"Although we may be somewhat removed from civilian life, we  face the same struggles you face with your bosses. We, like you, struggle from pay check to pay check to maintain afloat, dealing with cruel and harsh conditions we are forced to work under to put food on the table, working entire days with no overtime pay because we are on salary. A salary may sound good until you do the math and find out that some of us are paid at far below minimum wage.

"We understand your struggle because we come from working-class families. At some point, we may have studied beside you in the classroom, or even worked next to you in a factory or warehouse. We are your working-class brothers and sisters, and you should know that we have a common enemy.

 "Since we are away from the party, we don't instantly hear about the feats you're organizing in your jobs and campuses. We don't get instant news about what is going on with our international brothers and sisters. Many of us don't get the opportunity to write to express ourselves through the paper or get to sit down with others to discuss ideas.

"Do not fear though, there is a solution to the problem, and it's quite simple. The solution is to struggle with those capable of joining the armed forces. To introduce the ideas of the party into this place, we need more class-conscious brothers and sisters inside the bases doing the work.

 "The more time we waste overlooking this work, the more we hurt ourselves. We must rid ourselves of the mentality that someone else will take care of it, and we must start asking ourselves, 'What can I contribute?'

"Military brothers and sister are in need of your aid. Come to their aid and ensure that one day we step off the shoulders of giants in order to become giants ourselves."

In the midst of imperialist tensions that can quickly explode into world war, this greeting from our red soldier puts this type of work in the forefront. As capitalists are scrambling to control the Ukraine crisis, officials like Col. Martin Downie, spokesman for Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, are stating that the "Texas-based 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division –the unit designated to the NATO Reaction Force– could be deployed to the region to train with allies in the east."

While the bosses talk of "peace" and "training," they are preparing for war. This makes our responsibility of bringing communist ideas to soldiers even greater. Red soldiers, struggling

politically with other soldiers, can be a force in turning imperialist war into communist revolution. This soldier is an embodiment of ICWP's commitment to guarantee communist work inside the military. His question, "What can I contribute?" must be answered by more people joining ICWP and joining the bosses' army to destroy their capitalist system and fight for communist revolution.