GI Rights Network The GI Rights Network is coalition of nonprofit , nongovernmental organizations that provide free and confidential information to United States military servicemembers , veterans , and their families . Most of the work of the Network is done through the GI Rights Hotline , but the Network also provides email counseling and live in - person counseling in some locales . The Network also maintains a website with easy access to information about discharges , military regulations , GI rights , and other organizations ; all information is available in both English and Spanish . GI Rights Hotline . The Network provides non - directive counseling to callers , with a particular focus on discharges and filing grievances . Counselors do not provide legal advice , but can assist callers in finding lawyers in their area who can give them appropriate advice . Calls to the official national Hotline number 877 - 447 - 4487 are routed to different " nodes " of the network based on the area code of the caller . Hotline counselors come from a variety of backgrounds and include veterans , mental health workers and attorneys , but most counselors are not attorneys and do not provide legal advice . History . The Network began in 1994 as a coalition of several organizations committed to peace and non - violence activism . The Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors served as the agent for the coalition for several years by managing the coalition ' s website , administering the national toll free phone number , and providing funding for a national coordinator for the Network . In the fall of 2006 , the Network members selected an " Advisory Council " to move the Network from an unincorporated association to a democratically operated corporation . The Network was incorporated in California in 2008 . The Network member organizations adopted bylaws and elected a board of directors in 2009 . In the news . In Harper ' s Magazine March 2005 Kathy Dobie ' s cover story " AWOL in America " cites the GI Rights Network as " a national referral and counseling service for military personnel , " and uses its counselors as sources for the story . " On August 23 , 2004 , I interviewed Robert Dove , a burly , bearded Quaker , in the Boston offices of the American Friends Service Committee , one of the groups involved with the hot line . Dove told me of getting frantic calls from the parents of recruits , and of recruits who are so appalled by basic training that they “ can ’ t eat , they literally vomit every time they put a spoon to their mouths , they ’ re having nightmares and wetting their beds . ” In a Chicago Public Radio Interview " Going AWOL – A Hotline that Helps GIs Consider Their Options , " ( 12 - 12 - 06 ) GI Rights counselor , Steve Woolford , explains the reasons why many servicemen and women go AWOL form military service . In her second place Hearst Journalism Award Winning features piece " Sincere Disapproval " author Leah Lohse references the GI Rights Network for its expertise in dealing with conscientious objection . The story gives a view into the beliefs and struggles of one particular conscientious objector . A USA Today story on 4 / 1 / 2009 , " Army investigating unfit soldiers sent to war , " cited The GI Rights Hotline for assisting servicemembers who were being deployed with disabilities and other medical problems . [ Army Sgt . Jesse ] Raymo said he and others had exhausted their efforts to complain to supervisors and felt their only recourse was working with the GI Rights Hotline to draft a petition outlining their claims of mistreatment to send to members of Congress . He said more than 200 signatures have been gathered , most of them from civilians , and another petition signing event is being planned . Current Network Membership . Current members and associate members of the Network include ( this list includes groups who do not get " routed " calls from the Network but do provide other essential services to the Network as a whole ) :