If reasonable people don’t offer to serve, then those who do serve might not be reasonable. Still wondering what we can do to make a difference, what you can do to promote and preserve our democracy? Let’s take a look at how extremely partisan gerrymandering has become. The power of…

If reasonable people don’t offer to serve, then those who do serve might not be reasonable. On January 6th, 2021 I was ready to jump in the car and drive to DC to stand shoulder to shoulder with those defending the Capital. It was the same feeling I’d had on…

4.12.22 Disclaimer: The content you are about to read contains graphic descriptions. Some may find the following details triggering or uncomfortable. The images coming out of Ukraine are infuriating, revolting, and heartbreaking. We are seeing bodies in the middle of roads that used to be bustling markets, tortured hands bound…

3.11.22 Founder, Dan Barkhuff, shares his insights on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, based on his experience in Fallujah, and connects us back to our founding principles, strengthening our resolve in defense of democracy. On November 9th, 2004, I was three days into leading a small SEAL sniper team in…

2.21.22 Although the above proverb is often falsely associated with a Chinese curse, it does illustrate tumult and disaster, stress and suffering. We are about to enter the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, with nearly a million dead Americans in our wake. We are in the midst of increasing…

2.1.2022 On March 16, 1968, Hugh Thompson, a light helicopter pilot with a 2-man crew, was assigned to provide support to an infantry company moving through a village in Vietnam. As he flew a figure 8 pattern over the village, not taking any fire from the ground himself, he kept…

Twenty years ago, September 11 was just another Fall day — people headed to work and school, unprepared for the heartbreak that is forever etched in our memories. It is difficult, even now, to process the ways in which our collective history shifted, irrevocably, that day. We remember the thousands…

Use this guide to connect to, provide, share, and/or understand resources available to the Afghans and Americans that are resettling from Afghanistan during the August 2021 Afghanistan Humanitarian Crisis. VFRL Statement | History | Current Crisis| Resources| Action VFRL Statement “Afghanistan in Crisis: An Open Letter”, VFRL Medium, 17 Aug…

Two weeks before the U.S. was set to complete withdrawal of troops, Afghanistan has fallen to the Taliban in a matter of days. The complex emotions we all feel watching and reading the news of the rapidly deteriorating situation are a mix of anger, sorrow, disbelief, and shock. We grieve…