Armed Forces Day, Mission Accomplished, and the New Dawn

The greatest military victories of my generation were achieved though the empowerment of freedom loving people. On this, Armed Forces Day we have our leadership and our military to thank for this and for the real mission accomplishment and New Dawn in Iraq.

CPT Koby J. Langley on road to Fallujah, one month before declaration of "Mission Accomplished"

It was also eight years ago this month that the former Commander-In-Chief made a victorious proclamation.  I was sleeping in a make shift tent from a poncho in the middle of Iraq, and I knew that he was wrong. It would not be us to declare victory, but the Iraqi people.  Victory would not come that day, or that year — we would be lucky if it occurred that decade.

Most importantly, it was not up to us alone to declare victory inIraq– in situations like the ones we found ourselves in May of 2003, it rarely ever is.  Often times the best we can do is sow the seeds of victory, and then dodge the flying shoes while freedom takes root.

As a brief example, in 2008, the World listened as a nation at war within fought for free and fair elections inIran.  The Iranian people laid the foundation for leveraging the power of free speech and the internet in ways that the world had not seen before.  An enemy who vowed the destruction of another free nation was brought to its knees from within by the unchained power of youth in revolt, armed only with cell phones, computers and a Facebook page – empowered from within.

Fast forward three years, and Lybia is harvesting those lithium seeds of freedom, andSyriais looking across the Gulf to her sister inAfrica and asking what about me? Democracy by the people cannot be denied.

And as Syria looks across the Gulf at her sister inAfrica, we  are reminded that this is  a continent to continue it’s fight for new energy victory and natural resource independence.  We saw Nigera reap the rewards of their own investments in natural resources, leveraging the entire continent to do so with the Organization of African Unity that was supported and championed by President Carter so many years ago.   He sowed those seeds over thirty years ago.

I imagine that no one can dictate the future of Iran, nor the future of Egypt or of Lybia orSyria… butAmericahas always supported the struggles for freedom loving people … whether the chains echo in long and dark hallways of oppression, or in the dimly lit streets of dictatorship.

It was, ultimately this approach that allowed over 100,000 troops to return from the belly of Babel in Iraq and into the arms of their waiting loved ones here at home.  It was the relentless dedication to the mission of empowering the Iraqi people that allowed the Iraqi people to hold free and fair elections.  When all seemed lost, it was General Petraeus who reminded us all that we needed only meet the Iraqi people at their doorsteps, and they would take their own countrymen across the threshold.

So on Armed Force Day, and seven years from a fateful speech on victory,  we must say thank you to the securers of the real victory – the one that has brought us this far. Thank you to Secretary Gates — he was, by many measures, the greatest Secretary of Defense of our generation.  Thank you to General Petraeus, we are lucky to have him.  Thank you to our Commander in Chief, President Obama and Mrs. Obama, who have brought renewed focus to those whom have given the most – our military families.  Above all, thank you to the men and women who brought Iraqto her New Dawn – mission accomplished.

Wounded Warriors Get 14,000 Resources Direct to Smartphones

This week Wounded Warriors, Veterans, and their Family members now have nealry 14,000 resources at their fingertips and on their iPhones — and by coincidence (or maybe not) Craig Newmark is connecting the world for the common good.

Do you believe in Karma?

About two years ago, I met up with Craig Newmark in a small café across from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Unfortunately, I was in a hurry and a little frazzled at the idea of meeting the man, and forgot my wallet.

Luckily, Craig understood, and we just sat and sipped coffee while discussing the two different sides of the planet we were from. I was a combat Veteran of Iraq, and Special Assistant to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Eric K. Shinseki. Craig was, well … Craig. A bonefide genius. During our chat, Craig mentioned that he was interested in helping our Wounded Warriors and Veterans and was inspired by the way that the President and Secretary Shinseki were putting their money where their mouth was in supporting the Department of Veterans Affairs.

He said that it had occurred to him that there many resources out there that could help the Wounded Warrior community, but that there just did not seem to be a way to do it, or do it well. Fast forward about two years, and Craig has lent his genius to several advisory groups on Veterans issues, and then launches a website called www.Craigconnects.org.

This is man who fights for what he believes in. That I can relate to. More importantly, he is fighting on the side of angels. The mission of his new site — “Connecting the World for the Common Good” says it all.

That I can not only relate to, but find inspiration in. Today, I have the honor of working on a project to connect wounded warriors, veterans and their families to resources for free and brought to you by the Departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs, and Labor.

This week, over 14,000 connections to resources for benefits and services became available for recovering service members, their families and Veterans – on their smartphones via a national resource directory for Wounded Warriors, Veterans and family members at www.nrd.gov.

The connections run deep – from National, or State, to local resources. You can find any number of benefits to help – from benefits and compensation, to family and caregiver support, homelessness assistance, to job resources, to local counseling services to help with the re-adjustment coming home after combat. 

All free connections, and all navigable by your zipcode.

In addition, the information and services on the website are screened by the Department of Defense in collaboration with the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Labor who built the site. Since October, use of the site has grown from around 40,000 each month to 90,000.

Craig Newmark is making a run at connecting people to resources himself, and it is great that these two ventures are highlighting Veterans.  Now I am not saying that Craig invented the idea, he didn‘t. What I am saying is that when smart people from different corners of the world get together and connect in ways that seem unlikely … good things can happen.

So, if you are a Wounded Warrior, Veteran, or Military Family Member and want to connect, fire up the ipod or droid and navigate to www.nrd.gov.   While you are on, make sure to tweet up @craignewmark in between clicks – tell him I said thanks for coffee.