What is G.I. Justice?

Civil Rights for soldiers and veterans

While the civil rights movement was fighting for the dignity of people of color, America’s veterans were being ridiculed, harassed, and assaulted as they returned from a war they didn’t choose to a nation that didn’t want them. In 1972, the first federal statute protecting veterans was passed, called the Vietnam Veterans Readjustment and Assistance Act, or VEVRAA for short. In the time since, it and other laws protecting our heroes from harassment, bias, and discrimination remain largely unknown, basically unenforced, and clearly ineffective. Despite recent attention on the high rate of military suicide, nondiscrimination protections for soldiers and veterans continue to be plagued by widespread inattention, incomplete solutions, and poor enforcement.   

In 1996, the 105th Congress made suicide a national priority after public health experts insisted that “suicide is not solely the result of illness or inner conditions.” Experts advised that suicide prevention measures include efforts to “eliminate conditions… of discrimination and prejudice” which can give rise to spiraling feelings of hopelessness. Supporting our troops means leveraging everything in our power to recognize and affirm the value, dignity, and importance of our soldiers and veterans. #GIJustice is a resource for every citizen interested in advocacy to strengthen and expand the laws that protect our military communities from bias, harassment, and discrimination.

Who am I?

I am Logan M. Isaac, I served in the United States Army as a forward observer in the 82nd Airborne and 25th Infantry (Light) divisions from 2000 to 2006. For service in combat as an artillery forward observer attached to 1-14th Infantry Regiment, I recieved the Army Commendation Medal, Valorous Unit Award, Meritorious Unit Award, and Combat Action Badge. I was promoted to my final rank of Sergeant shortly after coming home.

After I was discharged, I began used the GI Bill to earn degrees from Hawaii Pacific University (BA, 2010), Duke University (MTS, 2013), and the University of St Andrews (M.Litt, 2015). After spending several years as a professor at Methodist and Duke Universities in North Carolina, I was pushed out for blowing the whistle on anti-military harassment, bias, and discrimination in higher education. The questions I started asking about how military personnel were being treated in academia and the Church inspired me to create #GIJustice. I’m now a writer and researcher with over 20 publications under my belt, either as author, contributor, or consultant.