Archived: My 2005-2006 MilVets VP bio statement

Below is my 2005-2006 MilVets VP bio statement, since disconnected, though as of today, not yet deleted. The formatting is poor due to the cut and paste I did from the website.

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Who am I?

I’m your Vice President - again. I’m also a New Yorker, so I’m lucky enough to live at home and stay close to family while I attend Columbia. There’s good and bad in that; the good is more important. I’m a political science major. If I were actually Ivy League smart, I would have taken my best shot at a real science or math or a field like economics or philosophy. But I’m not and I need to graduate somehow. Since I don’t know how to hack school computers like Matthew Broderick, poli sci it is.

Why did I join USMilVetsCU?

Besides being the guy who started the group, I served on active duty for 4 years in the United States Army as an Intelligence Analyst, S2 type, from PVT to SPC (P) with time out as a USMAPS cadet candidate and West Point cadet.

How do I view my military experience today?

Under conventional circumstances, I wouldn’t have volunteered. I wasn’t a Boy Scout or JROTC cadet, and I wasn’t a fan of the US military growing up. I joined the Army for selfish reasons: the personal challenge, the benefits and a second chance. I received all that and more. I learned some things, I did my job and my duty, and I served my country honorably. I even led soldiers. How do I view my time as a soldier? It was hard more than it was easy and it wasn’t fun. It was a privilege.

As for the Army itself, my memories are of a peacetime Army; at least it was peaceful in Korea. With the war experience our soldiers have had since 9-11, with everything that’s changed since I ETS’ed, I can’t rightly say it’s my Army any longer. While Oscar was fighting as a Ranger in Afghanistan, it was my Army. While the regular Joes and Janes – my kind of soldiers - were crossing into Iraq, it was my Army that I watched on CNN and MSNBC. Today, I can still say those are my people, and in a few cases, friends, but it’s not my Army anymore.

Final thoughts:

It truly is selfless service – a lot of love and pride goes into soldiering. It doesn’t matter why someone joins or where he came from, or how much he enjoys (or suffers) his duties. It doesn’t matter who’s making the tough decisions in the White House. Soldiers are part of a heritage that is older, deeper and more essential than the republic for which they sacrifice. Soldiers are of the people. They are the primal embodiment of the social contract we make with each other to be a civilization.

Now, and in all times, our soldiers, marines, sailors and airmen deserve the American people’s gratitude and understanding. As Vice President, I trust that we’ll do our part in the Columbia community to represent and support our brothers and sisters still in uniform.

Last modified: 03/19/2006
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