Peace activists to meet at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor with appeal to Navy personnel--Refuse illegal orders Refuse to launch nuclear missiles

On June 11, local peace activists will greet and hand out leaflets to military personnel at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor during the morning commute into the base. The leaflet is an appeal to Navy personnel to resist orders to launch nuclear weapons. The appeal with supporting signatures is at www.gzcenter.org.

The Appeal to Navy Personnel specifically requests that members of the armed forces--

Resist illegal orders.

Refuse to kill innocent civilians.

Refuse the order to use nuclear weapons.

Peace activists are not requesting that military personnel leave the service, but instead that they serve honorably and in accordance to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and international law.

Ground Zero member Elizabeth Murray stated, “Peace activists in the Puget Sound region have handed out leaflets against nuclear weapons at the base since the 1970s. We have learned that we share a common concern with members of the armed forcesa concern that the use of nuclear wweapons would lead to unimaginable destruction to innocent populations and to our planet.”

“Our proximity to the largest number of deployed nuclear weapons in the U.S. puts us near a dangerous local and international threat,” stated Ground Zero member Glen Milner. “When citizens become aware of their role in the prospect of nuclear war, or the risk of a nuclear accident, the issue is no longer an abstraction. Our proximity to Bangor demands a deeper response.”

International decisions have ruled that the use of nuclear weapons is illegal, including decisions at the International Court of Justice in 1996; the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the 1949 Geneva Convention; and the 1977 Geneva Convention protocol. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will soon enter into legal force when 50 nations have signed and ratified it.

The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) makes it clear that military personnel have an obligation and a duty to only obey lawful orders and indeed have an obligation to disobey unlawful orders, including orders by the president that do not comply with the UCMJ. The moral and legal obligation is to the U.S. Constitution and not to those who might issue unlawful orders, especially if those orders are in direct violation of the Constitution and the UCMJ.

There are eight Trident submarines based at Naval Submarine Base-Bangor. The base is 20 miles from Seattle.

Each submarine was originally equipped for 24 Trident missiles. In 2015-2017 four missile tubes were deactivated on each submarine as a result of the New START Treaty. Currently, each Trident submarine deploys with 20 D-5 missiles and about 90 nuclear warheads (an average of 4-5 warheads per missile). The warheads are either the W76-1 100-kiloton or W88 455-kiloton warheads.

Because the submarines require maintenance between patrols, about five of the eight Bangor-based submarines are at sea at any given time. Of those submarines at sea, three of those are thought to be on “hard alert” in their designated patrol areas. These submarines are on hair-trigger alert, ready to launch on command.  In summary--about 270 nuclear warheads can be launched on 60 Trident missiles within about 15 minutes of receiving an order. These are just the Bangor-based submarines.

One Trident submarine carries the destructive force of over 1,300 Hiroshima bombs (the Hiroshima bomb was 15 kilotons).

Upcoming Ground Zero-related events:

* Numerous activities in collaboration with other peace organizations in the Puget Sound region.

* The annual Interfaith Peace Walk led by Bainbridge Island Nipponzan Myohoji Buddhist Temple takes place from July 26 to August 6. See http://nipponzan.org/wordpress.

* Ground Zero Peace Fleet! in Elliott Bay on July 30 (or possibly July 31.)

* From Hiroshima to Hope event at Green Lake on August 6 commemorating the victims of the Hiroshima bombing 74 years ago. See http://fromhiroshimatohope.org.

* The Annual Ground Zero Hiroshima/Nagasaki Commemoration on August 3 through 5 at Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action with a vigil and nonviolent civil resistance at entrance to Bangor.

* Ground Purification Ceremony for the Pacific Northwest Peace Pagoda at Ground Zero on August 24, 2019.

Contacts:Elizabeth Murray (360) 930-8697

Glen Milner (206) 365-7865

Leonard Eiger (425) 445-2190

Day of the event (206) 979-8319, (360) 930-8697

--------------

Leonard Eiger
Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action (Communications Co-Chair) www.gzcenter.org
Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action and NO To NEW TRIDENT are also on Facebook
Email: outreach@gzcenter.org