Along with Republican victory in the White House, a number of former service members with no previous political experience have been elected to public office–at the state, local, and national level. One of the more public and contentious races was for governor of Missouri. Former Navy SEAL Eric Greitens narrowly defeated his Democratic opponent to join Bob Kerry (D-Nebraska) and Jesse Ventura (I-Minnesota) as SEALs-turned-state-governors.
As a general statement, this author feels that there are far too few veterans in elected office and welcomes these new faces in their continued service to our nation. They bring a perspective to public service that non-vets simply do not have. And their perspective on military-related issues will leverage their influence in these matters with their new colleagues.
Stepping past the specifics, a number of my fellow vets, to include my brother special operators, have weighed in against some of these new office holders, citing them as unfit or unqualified to serve in this new capacity. It’s my contention that military service, any military service, from boot camp to MOS training to Ranger School to component Special Operations training only serves to make these new public servants more fit to take up their new duties. Public service is just that, service.
For those newly-elected veterans, my hearty personal congratulations. Go forward, serve well, and make us proud. For more:
Dick
