American national security is protected by the men and women willing to confront the nation’s enemies in the most difficult environments imaginable. The tip of the spear in this fight are the members of the Special Operations community. That responsibility carries enormous risk, and when decisions made in Congress miss the mark, the consequences are severe, lives are lost, families are forever changed, and our national security suffers.
We had the opportunity recently to meet with Members of Congress to bring forward issues that members of the Special Operations community face. Discussing these issues with key policymakers at the highest levels of government ensures that SOF members are taken care of both down range and here at home and helps to strengthen our national security.
Few Members of Congress have firsthand military experience, with most of their understanding of Special Operations coming from headlines, or what they see in movies. SOAA exists to bridge that gap by bringing real-life testimony, operational context, and lived experience directly to policymakers.
Every Member of Congress that we met with echoed the importance of keeping a clear line of access between the SOF community and decision-makers in Washington, DC. This is critical for ensuring that our Representatives are not left in the dark and that the SOF community is not left in the cold. At SOAA, we will continue to strengthen and widen these lines of communication.
Thank you to Representatives Pat Harrigan, Eli Crane, Michael McCaul, Morgan Luttrell, Jimmy Panetta, and Darrell Issa for your commitment to working with us to ensure the Special Operations community is taken care of both down range and at home.
