View from the Hill:
'Once a Soldier ... Always a Soldier'
by Bill Loper
You may remember a few columns ago, I mentioned that the Government
Affairs Directorate was about to publish its fifth edition of the book
"Once a Soldier ... Always a Soldier."
Indeed, it has been published and distributed to the members of Congress whose biographies have been added to the book.
For new AUSA members or those with short memories like me let me review
the history of a book that has become an excellent reference work.
We created the book for the 106th Congress and updated it for the 107th, 108th, 109th and 110th Congresses.
It features all the members of Congress who served in the Army.
It is designed to honor their service in the United States Army and to
recognize the important contributions made to our nation by a unique
and distinguished group of American soldiers. (Oh, by the way, it also
provides a great reason to go to the Hill and puts AUSA on
congressional bookshelves and desks.)
Creating the original book was not an easy task.
There were 100 members of the 106th Congress who had Army service, and
we contacted each office to obtain biographical information, a list of
current committees on which the member served, the history of the
member's Army service and any awards and decorations earned.
We also asked for a current photo, a photo from their Army days, and a
quote from the member stating what their Army service meant to them.
Collecting that information required monumental effort, especially when
you consider all of the requests for information or time that flood a
congressional office.
Some offices could not get
quotes, some could not find old photos of the member in uniform, and
some failed to return any of the information.
Lots of phone calls and personal follow-up visits resulted in two pages
for each member. Some times we had to tell one office that another
member had provided a great quote and that it would be a shame for
their member not to have one and, pffft, a quote was faxed over.
Other times we had to extend the deadline for a photo because the
member was contacting his mom who had the only photo of him in uniform
30 years ago.
We persevered and once the book
was published, we faced another daunting task. We wanted to present one
of the books to each member of Congress with an accompanying
paperweight engraved with the member's name and with the AUSA logo and
the words "Once a Soldier ... Always a Soldier." (What better way to
keep AUSA in the forefront of a member's mind than to have a
paperweight that connects AUSA, his Army service and holds papers down,
in the middle of a congressional desk?)
After we
managed to schedule appointments with congressional offices, General
Sullivan, Lieutenant General Stroup and Lieutenant General Rhame fanned
out on the Hill to make the presentations. Those first hundred visits
were the hard part.
When the 107th Congress was elected, the number of members with Army service went down to 94.
One new senator and eight new House members had served in the Army.
The 108th Congress produced only 90 members with Army service - 17 in
the Senate and 73 in the House. The 109th Congress had 84 members with
Army service - 15 in the Senate and 69 in the House.
The 110th Congress has only 80 members with Army service - 15 in the
Senate and 65 in the House. Of those, three were new to Congress and
all three were House members.
So, this year we
only needed three new appointments to present books and paperweights.
It was fascinating to see the diversity of the new members and the
differences in their Army experience.
To a man, they were interested to see which of their colleagues shared their Army experience.
Phil Hare, D-Ill., an Infantry staff sergeant at Fort Ord, Calif., in
the 1970s, and later in an Iowa Army Reserve unit said he was honored
to serve and made lasting friendships during his time in the Army.
He serves on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee and will work on
that committee to ensure that citizen-soldiers receive the compensation
and benefits they deserve.
Patrick J. Murphy, D-Pa., left the Army only three years ago.
A Judge Advocate General's Corps officer in the 82nd Airborne Division,
he served not only in Baghdad from 2003-2004, but also in Bosnia in
2002. He also taught at the United States Military Academy.
Harking back to his airborne days, his quote in the book is: "The world
is two-thirds water and the other third is a drop-zone. All the way!"
Murphy serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the Select Committee on Intelligence.
Tim Walz, D-Minn., retired as a command sergeant major from the Minnesota National Guard in 2005 after 24 years of service.
He serves on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee and his quote in the
book reads: "It was my great honor and privilege to serve this nation
in uniform for 24 years. The leadership experience that this
opportunity provided serves me well every day in Congress."
G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., is not a new member of the 110th Congress,
but is new to the "Once a Soldier" book. He began his service in the
House in mid-term, so he missed inclusion in the previous printing.
Butterfield served as a specialist in the Army from 1968 to 1970 and is
now in his third term in Congress. After leaving the Army he became a
successful attorney and later a judge in North Carolina.
Every story of our Army brethren on the Hill is different, but the
common thread is a desire to serve our great nation and an appreciation
for what they gained as they gave of themselves to serve in our Army.
From congressional aide to attorney, from high school teacher to judge,
these great Americans have at least two things in common - a love of
country and a willingness to wear the green uniform.
As each new Congress arrives, AUSA will continue to forge links between
itself and the new members with Army service and inform them that there
are others on the Hill who were "Once a Soldier ... Always a Soldier".
Now for a shameless plug - you can purchase a copy of "Once a Soldier ... Always a Soldier" online at http://www.ausa.org in the AUSA e-store.
Each purchase helps our government affairs budget turn a bit less red and get closer to green. Uh, I mean black ink!
Regardless of party, the AUSA recognizes and respects the service of Army veterans now in Congress. Their numbers are decreasing, and we think that reflects the fact that with the creation of an all-volunteer military, fewer Americans are spending time in uniform.
And while we come from families that mostly have Army in their service (a smattering of Navy men, too), we respect all vets who served honorably in both war and peacetime. Just the way our parents raised us.
Here are a couple of paragraphs we liked in Doug Grow's column about MN-05 Republican Barbara Davis White at Minnpost:
The Washington Post reports Miss. Win May be Bellwether. The article concludes with Boehner touting the "Change He Deserves" rebranding plan that Bluestem linked to a trademarked Wyeth anti-depressant slogan:
