Before Enlisting is group of people diverse in age, gender, experience, race and background. What we share is a deep concern regarding predatory recruiter tactics, opposition to war and armed conflicts, and a commitment to trying to make sure young people understand the realities of joining the military before they enlist. Read our stories below.
Eddie Falcón served for four years in the USAF as an active duty enlisted aircrew member. He was stationed in Little Rock Air Force Base. He completed four short overseas tours, two in Iraq and two in Afghanistan, as well as performed medical evacuations in Hurricane Katrina. Eddie is a California native and moved back to his home state after separation from the military in 2005. He resides in Bay Area where he received a Masters degree in Spanish and has worked in high school education since 2012. He is currently a board member of Warrior Writers, facilitates writing workshops for veterans and civilians, and organizes events for these writers to share their work in public. He also gives presentations to high school classrooms about the realities of military service.
Rosa del Duca is a writer, musician and conscientious objector. She grew up a tomboy in rural Montana, where she joined the Army National Guard when she was seventeen. During her long contract, she became not only a conscientious objector, but a feminist and unlikely rebel. That tumultuous time is the focus of her memoir, Breaking Cadence: One Woman's War Against the War, and her companion podcast, Breaking Cadence: Insights From a Modern-Day Conscientious Objector. She is interested in speaking to young people about recruiters, military culture, alternatives for paying for college, and standing up against Unjust Wars.
Shiloh Emelein (they/them) is a queer, trans, non-binary creature living with their fluffy cats on Ohlone Land (also known as the Bay Area, California). Their world view and moral compass were turned upside down while deployed with their Marine Helicopter Support Unit in Al Anbar Province, Iraq and then Kuwait City, Kuwait from 2006-2007. They joined Before Enlisting in 2019 with the hope in action to repair the harms they contributed to within the Military Industrial Complex. They are thrilled to have the chance to care for their community in a light of collective liberation and collective healing by way of teaching students the truth about what joining the US Military is really like.
Siri Margerin came into this world the child of a military parent, and grew up through the civil rights movement and the war in Vietnam. She went to art school, worked as a farm laborer, factory worker, waitress and bartender before settling into her professional career in Animation Production. By 2001, thanks to a triple wammy of a wake up call: the death of a beloved childhood friend of her sons' at the hands of the police, the dot-com bust, and 9/11, she was kicked back into the world of activism and organizing. She organizes against the idea that violence and war are the best tools to be used to build a just and secure world, particularly for our youth. She is the Bay Area coordinator of the GI Rights Hotline, providing telephone counseling to servicemembers in difficult times. She is on the board of About Face Veterans Against the War. She has also worked extensively with BAY-Peace (Better Alternatives for Youth) and Before Enlisting to provide youth with honest information, alternatives to violence and war, and critical resources. Another world is possible.
Roberta Stern has been committed to social justice issues for most of her life. As a psychotherapist for 40 years, she has seen firsthand the affect of social injustices on peoples' lives. She was an early member of Therapists for Peace and Justice which formed after 9/11 and continues today. She has been working with the Before Enlisting program for 10 years and is committed to helping high school students be fully informed about this life or death decision before deciding to enlist.
Sandy Thacker has been a high school and middle school teacher, a documentary photographer, and a house builder. She now teaches carpentry to elementary school kids. There are so many wonderful opportunities for young people after graduation. She joined Before Enlisting to encourage high school students to get the facts about joining the military and to look at all of the alternatives before making a decision that will affect the rest of their lives.