After six years apart due to the COVID-19 pandemic, military veterans and peace activists from around the world will gather in-person once again for the Veterans For Peace National Convention, held July 24–27, 2025, at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV).
The hybrid event also offers virtual access for attendees worldwide.
Veterans For Peace, a national organization of former service members committed to ending war and militarism, will host workshops, speakers, and strategy sessions focused on peacebuilding, climate justice, and veterans’ advocacy—including issues like demilitarizing police, returning deported veterans, confronting mass deportation, and ending U.S. involvement in Gaza and Ukraine.
“This convention is not just a reunion—it’s a call to action,”said Michael McPhearson, Executive Director of Veterans For Peace. “Veterans understand the true cost of war. We’re coming together to demand peace and justice at home and abroad.”
Highlights include:
- Speaker Highlights: Juan Bettancourt is a recently discharged Senior Airman in the United States Air Force. He belongs to a growing cohort of public and anonymous conscientious objectors who refuse to stay silent in the face of the heinous acts of violence and destruction inflicted upon the people of Gaza by the Israeli army. He is joined by fellow conscientious objector Joy Metzler, a 2023 USAF Academy graduate. She started speaking out while on active duty and has continued to work to end the genocide in Gaza, having a leading role in the Veterans & Allies Fast For Gaza.
- Mike Prysner is an internationally renowned Iraq War veteran activist. His testimony at the 2007 Winter Soldier hearings was critical, and he has continued to advocate for a better, more peaceful world through educational media projects.
- Japanese Peace Activist Leon Cloder is an expert in sustainable energy supply and demand, environmental pollution, growing poverty and inequality, and the uneven gap between food supply and demand.
- Workshops and panels on U.S. foreign policy, VA funding, climate impacts of militarism, border and immigration policies, and local organizing
- Events celebrating the organization’s 40th anniversary
Veterans For Peace has over 3,000 members and 150 chapters across the U.S. and internationally. The convention is open to the public with registration available at https://www.vfpconvention.
About Veterans For Peace: Founded in 1985, Veterans For Peace is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization composed of military veterans and allies working to build a culture of peace, expose the true costs of war, and heal the wounds of militarism.
