Thanks Saeed and Don for recognizing.

Love this...



To those of you who served. God Bless.

God bless America and our veterans!!!!


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You’re welcome.
Vilseck/Grafenwoehr training area. Range 117 Calibration Complex in late 1997 or early 1998. What an awesome job.

Thanks to all who put their lives on the line for our nation.

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I am a veteran. Our country needs us to participate in and defend its democracy at home.
Opinion by Chris Costa • 3h

https://www.msn.com/en-us/vide...cid=socialshare&t=96

Ialways assumed our greatest adversaries were overseas. Yet, it has become increasingly clear to me why the oath I swore as a young Army recruit in the spring of 2001 made mention of a defense against threats both foreign and domestic.

We’re a mere two years removed from an insurrection that was fueled in part by a commander in chief who refused to transfer power peacefully. Rampant tribalism, hyperpartisanship and a vacuum of leadership have ground our government to a halt.

With Veterans Day here, let us consider the state of the democracy I and my fellow veterans swore to defend.

For more than three weeks, our nation's legislative body was in limbo, incapable of even electing a House speaker never mind a budget or any sort of meaningful legislation. Shameless politicians from both major parties continue to cling to power, even as they face multiple indictments for corruption. Our allies are at war, anxiously standing by wondering whether America can lead and deliver on its promises. In short, Congress is rudderless.

Amid all this turmoil, I'm reminded of Abraham Lincoln’s words from his Lyceum address: "If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher."

That’s what this Veterans Day is to me, a warning and an opportunity: Participation in our democracy isn’t just our right – it’s our duty. It is our responsibility.

Growing up in poor, rural Kentucky, politics was never on my radar. But as the dust of combat settled and I returned home from Iraq, two burning questions consumed me: Why were we there? Why had I lost two fellow soldiers in a conflict few back home seemed to even care about?

Dark money, special interests and closed primaries incentivize the loudest, most divisive voices in the room. Binary and tribal thinking has reduced our politics to a game of winners and losers – of us vs. them. And as the 2024 presidential election looms on the horizon, we're presented with two potential nominees who are, to put it mildly, deeply unpopular.

To be sure, military experience in and of itself doesn’t translate to exemplary character, in elected office or otherwise. Just as with any other diverse group, veterans are not a monolith.

On the whole, though, they outperform their civilian counterparts in civic engagement: They vote at higher rates, volunteer more often and are more likely to be involved in their communities.

According to research from the Brookings Institution's Elaine Kamarck, 404 veterans accounted for 17% of candidates in last year's midterm elections. Though the majority leaned Republican, these individuals were perceived to have well-thought-out perspectives on foreign policy and national security. Their service-driven approach resonated across party lines, helping to bridge divides.

To my fellow veterans: Your service doesn't end when you hang up the uniform. Our democracy beckons. Our greatest adversary is our own apathy. Our own disengagement. So please, answer the call. Engage, educate and participate. For in service, we find purpose. And in purpose, we find hope. Let’s get to work.

Chris Costa is a U.S. Army combat veteran and graduate of Western Kentucky University. He currently serves as a senior campaign adviser at New Politics, a bipartisan organization that revitalizes American democracy by recruiting, developing and electing leaders who have committed their lives to serving our country. This column first published in the Louisville Courier-Journal. This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: I am a veteran. Our country needs us to participate in and defend its democracy at home.

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Lost in Time - Wichita's Forgotten War Hero

Erwin Bleckley was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in 1923 for the bravery he displayed in World War I while trying to locate and resupply the famed Lost Battalion. But after a century, very few Wichitans know who this native son was or story of his incredible bravery. A group of volunteers is working to change that by restoring a plane that's the same as the one Bleckley was in on his fatal 1918 mission.

When you go home
Tell them of us and say
For your tomorrow
We gave our today