Tod Ensign

Early life and education Ensign was born in Michigan, the second child of Winfield Scott Ensign and Gretchen McKinstry Ensign. He graduated from Michigan State University in 1963 with a BA in Social Science. Ensign held two law degrees, a Master of Laws (LLM) from NYU and Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Wayne State University. (After Ensign's death, the Citizen Soldier website went dormant.) He was also intimately involved with the Citizens Commission of Inquiry, also formed in 1969, which was founded to document American atrocities throughout Indochina.

As an attorney, Ensign participated in a broad range of legal cases involving GIs and veterans. Two notable cases are the Agent Orange class action, which attempted to hold chemical manufacturers liable for the injuries their herbicide caused Vietnam veterans and their offspring, and the Vietnam-era Winter Soldier Investigation and National Veterans Inquiry.

Following the invasion of Iraq in 2003, Citizen Soldier attorneys, including Ensign, counseled hundreds of GIs and reservists seeking alternatives to serving in what many regard as an illegal war. The most celebrated case was Citizen Soldier's defense of Sgt. Camilo Mejía, the first US combat veteran to refuse further service in Iraq. He based his refusal on his duty, according to international law, that it is illegal to obey military orders that violate international law. During his five months in Iraq, he claims he witnessed command-sanctioned shooting of civilians, abuse of detainees and other violations.

In 2006, Ensign founded the Different Drummer Café near Watertown, New York, which strove to connect and inform service members. The cafe was located near Fort Drum — thus, its name. had one daughter, Rachel Ensign.