Op-Ed

In the end, when law is bent to serve a vengeful president, the burden falls on the men and women in uniform to choose conscience over career and remember that their oath is to the Constitution, not to the occupant of the White House.

At a moment when Americans are once again tempted to choose sides over country, we must decide whether we want a president in the mold of Lincoln, who labored to heal the Union, or a leader who treats the office as a vehicle for grievance and personal gain.

In a world fraying with division and hardship, our real strength is the quiet, unseen gold forged in daily struggle, service to others, and the deep roots of our values that no frost can reach.

After twenty so called successes against drug boats, my experience tells me we are spending billions to swat at speedboats while the cartels calmly rebuild the same networks we refuse to confront at the source.

The shutdown may be over, but the same entrenched division, weak leadership, and political gamesmanship that brought us to the brink are still eroding our national security from the inside out.

As a military commander who swore to provide for those under my charge, I find it unforgivable that elected leaders would let a shutdown — and the halting of SNAP benefits — become a political cudgel, abandoning the most vulnerable when duty demanded action.

From the economy to foreign policy, this presidency has traded unity for grievance, competence for chaos, and American strength for a politics of division that leaves our people paying the price.

In a sunlit Kyiv shop three months after Putin’s invasion, a stranger kissed my hand and thanked America, a small human moment that crystallized why Ukraine’s fight for hearth and home deserves unwavering support even amid the Kremlin’s reckless threats.

Claiming the War Powers Resolution does not apply to strikes on drug cartels sidesteps Congress, erodes transparency, and risks turning American military power into an unaccountable tool.

Since World War II, Congress has steadily abdicated its constitutional duty to declare war, allowing presidents to launch and prolong conflicts on elastic claims of “national interest” under the flimsy cover of the War Powers Resolution and expansive AUMFs, eroding the checks and balances the framers intended.

In Lawton Fort Sill, where neighbors treat Soldiers like family, this government shutdown exposes the emptiness of polite slogans and demands that America guarantee pay and steadfast care for its warriors—always—so we can keep the faith.

Organizing 500-troop quick reaction forces in every state betrays our constitutional separation of military and civilian authority, invites the militarization of civil life, and imperils the very rule of law American soldiers are sworn to defend.