A “New Dawn”

This Thursday morning at 0400 CST, former Marine Corps Sergeant Brad McKee began a 200 mile run to raise money for wounded veterans and the families of those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in the Global War on Terror (GWOT). As the nearly full moon set and the sun rose off Brad’s right shoulder along his route in south Louisiana, he faced another “new dawn” in this “post-GWOT” America that seems ever increasingly in need of programs like the one Brad started – The Disposable Heroes Project – to take care of its veterans. Brad’s project is a yet another example of small groups of patriots taking action in a nation that continues to decline in ways that affect Americans in every walk of life: geopolitically, economically, militarily, socially, and morally.

For Brad, myself, and many of our fellow veterans this week is a time when we reflect back upon a deployment we shared in Al Fallujah Iraq in 2005 and the sacrifices made by our fellow service members during that deployment and numerous others. Foremost in our thoughts is the family of one of our fellow Marines who was killed in the streets of central Fallujah in the early morning of June 14th 2005. Brad will be at around mile 130 of his 2.5 day run at the very moment this tragedy occurred nine years ago and I plan to meet him along the way to share some miles and some prayers in  remembrance of our fallen brothers.

Brad and his fellow Veterans remember every bit of the sweat, blood, and tears that came with the struggle to secure Iraq from the foreign-fighter infused Islamist insurgency that plagued the country in the wake of our liberation of Iraq from rule of Saddam Hussein. These memories were foremost in our minds in 2010 when the US decided to re-name the then dwindling Iraq war effort “Operation New Dawn” and begin a precipitous decline in military support. These decisions came in the wake of hard-gained success through the troop surges and counterinsurgency strategy course corrections that enabled Al Anbar and other provinces to experience relative stability. We were heartened by stories of some of the most violent cities experiencing the “Sunni Awakening” and wide swaths of territory becoming areas where US forces could interact among the populace with much less risk than ever previously experienced. Trust was being won little by little with the local leadership and Iraqis, even with their sectarian differences, were looking forward to a peaceful future. Nevertheless, the Obama administration decided to quickly and impatiently withdraw from Iraq without a status of forces agreement, so we feared that the security situation would quickly deteriorate. We also feared what every veteran fears after returning from war – that the sacrifices of our fellow brothers in arms might one day risk being in vain. Four years later, this fear has turned into yet another gut wrenching disappointment as we contemplate the loss of Al Fallujah to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in January, the eroding of Ramadi throughout the year and the total loss of Mosul just days ago. Islamists seeking regional power and a global Islamic caliphate are quickly carving out a safe haven where they will rule with Shariah and we should have no expectation that their aggression will be limited to Iraq. Issues of national security as grave as this one were not always treated with such little concern among America’s leadership; nor were active duty service members, veterans, and their families.

Brad and I remember what it was like before, when our fellow Marine’s family told us of their invitation to the White House and how President Bush, when handed a picture of their fallen son, broke down in tears in front of them – the genuine tears of a leader feeling the responsibility and grief that comes with wartime leadership. We compare those images of President Bush with Obama’s treatment of the families of those fallen in Benghazi, and with the Administration’s fanfare surrounding Bowe Bergdahl’s “homecoming.” We add these observations to the memories of what it was like to return from tour after tour in combat, fighting Al Qaeda in Iraq to see then Senator Obama on television claiming that there was no such thing as “Al Qaeda in Iraq.” The gut wrenching continued as we watched our newly elected Commander in Chief spend an entire spring season apologizing to the world as if America had lost the moral high ground in the war…a claim in direct conflict with our own memories of the conflict, where we did everything possible to spare innocent human life and, even in the frustration of combat, care for captured enemy combatants. We remember conducting a raid high in the mountains of Afghanistan, capturing nearly 40 enemy insurgents, then being cold and hungry because we ensured our captives, the Taliban, were afforded the proper sustenance and shelter. Indeed, by the time we reached 2012 and Benghazi, we were so accustomed to the absence of truth that the post-Benghazi narrative came as no surprise. Anyone who has experienced a planned combined arms attack like the one that took place on our consulate can quickly see through the “it was a spontaneous reaction to a video” explanation. Accurate mortar fire doesn’t happen spontaneously and most protestors, even in the Middle East, don’t find RPGs and machine guns laying around in the streets.

Thankfully, there are numerous Americans who are doing what they can to reverse America’s decline. On the local level it is the veteran like Brad and his hometown friends, each with their own talents to contribute, who refuse to sit idle when they see the requirement for leadership and courage to take on a challenge. The physical fortitude exhibited by Brad in his 200 mile run to ensure that our heroes are never forgotten is matched by an intellectual and emotional fortitude among the leaders of multiple non-profit national security organizations. This inspiring reality is best seen in the formation of the Benghazi Accountability Coalition. Veterans of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Africa are inspired by the courage and tenacity of leaders like Andrew McCarthy, Frank Gaffney, Clare Lopez, Brigitte Gabriel, Lieutenant Generals Boykin and McInerney, Tom Fitton, James Carafano, and Victoria Toensing. We are thankful for political leaders like Representative Trey Gowdy (R-SC) who have the courage and endurance to continue fighting to restore the sacred trust between the US Government and the American people. We will be praying for the effectiveness of this coalition, especially during its symposium on Monday, June 16th.

Lastly, we veterans are inspired by ALL OF YOU WHO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT the various non-profit organizations who are taking action to reverse America’s decline, especially those who make up the Benghazi Accountability Coalition: the Center for Security Policy, ACT! for America, The Heritage Foundation, and Judicial Watch. Just like Brad McKee would be unable to help his fellow veterans without the generous donations to The Disposable Heroes Project, our national security non-profits would be far less effective without your support. As a veteran of the GWOT, I want to personally thank all of you who have supported CSP and our allies since your donations are the key component to the “logistics train” that support our operations. As I run beside Brad tomorrow night I’ll be sure to let him know about your generosity and how it will help us win back our Nation, as it will make his final 30 miles, and his “new dawn” on Saturday morning – the anniversary of the death of our fallen brother – just a little bit easier to bear.