Money. It's always the same old story, how much we need, how much is owed, where to pull it from, where to keep it. Last fall, the government shutdown was all anyone could talk about regarding money, including here in the army. When the whispers of "shutdown" began to arise, it was rumored that soldiers would be losing a paycheck, although we would continue to work. This did not go over very well in the ranks. In fact, some of the most patriotic, flag saluting of my brothers and sisters in arms suddenly transformed before my eyes into strikecalling, fist-raising comrades.
One of the first times I saw a fellow soldier turn radical, we were waiting to be released for the day, and a few of us were sitting around discussing current events. A fellow soldier started talking about the possibility of us not getting paid because of the shutdown. He said that if he did not get paid he had no idea how he would feed his children or pay bills during that period. At the height of his speech he stood up out of his chair and declared, "If I don't get paid, I will not work! I'm ready to go on strike…" as he turned to look around the room and said, "Are you with me?" I must admit, I was pretty stunned to see this person who is all (as we say) "Hooah Hooah" about the Army and about the US in general, call for such a radical act. I told him I was "ready when you are." The others all agreed. That was the end of that discussion, for we were let go for the day a few minutes later. As you may or may not know, we did not end up losing a paycheck, which quieted soldiers down for the most part. But discussions were still happening, which is good, because they can have unexpected consequences, as my second experience demonstrates.
Again, I was standing around talking with a group of soldiers about the effects of the shutdown, when someone brought up about people being kicked out of their homes on federal land and how Park Rangers had been sent an email from the President himself saying that they should make it as difficult as possible for people to go to the parks.
People started talking about how evil Obama is. Others said it was Congress, not Obama. Somebody made a joke about how the opposite of progress is Congress.
As people laughed, a soldier all of a sudden said, "We need to do what the Egyptians are doing. It's time we start a revolution." Immediately the laughter stopped. There was a very brief silence. It was broken by the words, "Yea, seriously!"
Another chimed in saying, "If their army did it, why can't we?" You could sense the intensity. Many of these soldiers never imagined them selves agreeing with, let alone even discussing, such a thing. But here they were engaging in the types of conversations necessary to achieve a working class revolution.
Lacking in all this though, was organization with the International Communist Workers' Party and understanding the goal of communism, which could have taken these discussions farther than just words. The Armed Forces is made up of working class people that cannot be ignored. One way you can make sure this happens is by joining the ranks of the military under the leadership of ICWP and helping your class brothers and sisters see revolutionary red through discussion and by distributing Red Flag.

--Red Soldier

Red Flag Responds:

As the soldier is probably aware, events in Egypt have made it clear that the recent role of the Army was to support the officers in making a coup against the equally fascist Muslim Brotherhood. Communists aim to organize soldiers against their officers to ally with workers to make revolution.

XALTIAGUIS, GUERRERO—In August of last year, 102 women joined the community patrols to defend against violence against the communities, and they will be armed. They are different ages, some are married and others are single, some have children and others don't, but all of them want security for their families. The community patrols in Guerrero were established more than 15 years ago, after several community leaders had been assassinated.
They have to defend themselves not only against drug traffickers but also against the abuses of the army, which has been used by the bosses to protect the investments they have in the different states of Mexico.
The security of the communities is an ancient practice, which the government now wants to control, fearing that they are losing control. Therefore they want it to be subordinate to the municipal police. The members of this security are elected from among the community members themselves.
They are known by and know they must respond to the same community members, and they are not paid. That's why the government has attacked them, because they are not subservient to the rich.
While it is admirable that the women in Guerrero are concerned about the wellbeing of the community, there won't be security as long as capitalism exists, while the millionaire businessmen see the workers as labor power which they can take advantage of, making them work for a wage as they do in the large coffee plantations in Guerrero.
There will not be peace as long as the ideas of the community or villages are influenced by worldwide imperialism of the big companies, which seek in these communities the supplies for their products to sell on the international market, as a way for them to get rich.

Drug Dealers and Government: Birds of a Feather
A different form of security from that of Guerrero has emerged in the self defense groups in Michoacán which have made an alliance with the government. On February 8, the self defense groups, the army and the federal police entered Apatzingan together to defend the property and investments of the companies in the municipalities of the area. The fight between the drug dealers and the government in Michoacán is a fight between bosses. The Knights Templar represent a part of the bosses who do business selling iron ore to China. On the other side, the government of Peña Nieto, together with the use of the self-defense groups is trying to guarantee that these businesses work exclusively with US companies.
To achieve this objective, the government will invest 338 million pesos, (US $26 million) in the infrastructure of Michoacán, to expand the highway system to better move products. Two years ago, this investment was 18 million pesos (US $1.4 million).

Men and Women Members of the Self Defense Groups: Join the Fight for Communism
But for the working class, the change begins in these parts of the big puzzle; the communities. These have also been dragged down by a heap of wrong ideas based in patriarchy. The men have been considered as those who should give orders to the women and the women have been subjected to physical and sexual abuses by their same partners. This has been considered normal. We have to transform ourselves into carriers of anti-sexist ideas, since men and women can learn to do work that is not considered only especially for one sex, like taking care of children, washing dishes, or heavy labor.
But only by eliminating the system of compensation based on money will we eliminate sexism. Being anti-sexist is only one step. We have to eliminate the difference between work in the factories and work that is done in the homes of the working class, which serves to reproduce the labor force for future bosses.
Even more important is that the communities be transformed into honeycombs of communist ideas. Weapons with bullets are not enough. We need the most powerful weapons, which are the ideas of a completely new world. We need a world in which the woman is on the same level to propose decisions that benefit the whole working class. A world in which sexism will be considered betrayal of the working class, where no woman or man will be considered as superior or as more intelligent. We all have similar brains that can be ready to be filled with the best constructive attitudes that benefit society and nature. But all of this will be possible when we workers take power and eliminate any form of ownership over nature. Nature is for all living things. Women and men of the working class, join ICWP.

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