Veterans Day: Our Duty Doesn’t End When We Hang Up the Uniform

By Gretchen Klingler, Director, Veterans for American Ideals

As Veterans Day arrives this year, many of us who once wore the uniform find ourselves reflecting not only on our time in service but on the meaning of service itself. We may no longer belong to an active unit, but that sense of duty – to protect, to serve our communities, to uphold the Constitution – never fades. 

Over the past year, that duty has taken on a new form. Veterans For American Ideals has been working with veterans across the country who have been raising their voices and taking action against this administration’s growing misuse of military resources. So far we’ve seen the Trump administration deploy the National Guard into American cities with dubious justification, convert military bases into detention sites for migrants that Trump seeks to deport, order strikes in Latin America without Congressional authorization, and turn the office once known as Secretary of Defense into a politicized “Secretary of War.” These policy decisions signal a dangerous shift in how the military is utilized and viewed.

Those of us who have worn the uniform understand that military power is not a political prop; it is a sacred responsibility. When our leaders use troops as optic tools instead of instruments of defense, we must speak out. 

In the last year, National Guard troops have been deployed against their own neighbors in an effort by the administration to instill fear and quell largely peaceful protests. Veterans know this misuse of the Guard threatens to harm the relationship between civilians and the military and is a waste of taxpayer money. The Guard is being deployed for imaginary crises, when those funds could go to our cities’ actual needs, like healthcare, education, and housing. 

We’ve also seen military installations transformed into migrant detention centers: Fort Bliss has already been activated, while Fort Dix and Camp Atterbury (among additional Navy bases under consideration) may yet be turned into holding sites for immigrants, including those seeking safety, whom the Administration wants to remove from the U.S. For veterans who understand both the structure and symbolism of a military base, this is deeply unsettling. These are places where we trained to defend freedom, not confine those who seek it. Turning these bases into internment-style facilities erodes public trust and corrodes the moral purpose of our armed forces.

Abroad, the pattern continues. The United States has conducted military strikes in Latin America against alleged drug cartel networks, not enemy combatants. These operations exemplify why Congress enacted the War Powers Resolution: to prevent executive overreach and ensure military action is subject to legislative oversight. Letting the Caribbean strikes continue without authorization invites future constitutional abuses.

Coinciding with this administration’s rampant misuse of the armed forces is the growing politicization of the military. First, there was the alarming decision to rename the Department of Defense the Department of War, followed by relentless public firings, loyalty tests, and ideological purges of military leadership. When senior officers are dismissed for their perceived politics instead of their performance, we inch closer to the very kind of military politicization our founders warned against.

Veterans are not blind to these dangers. We recognize the pattern because we’ve studied, served under pressure, and took seriously the meaning of lawful orders and moral restraint. This Veterans Day, veterans want to see true, principled senior leadership for those still serving. We call on our military leaders to continue to stand for an apolitical military. I urge my fellow veterans to continue standing up for those who can’t—our brothers and sisters still in uniform, who feel the weight of orders they can’t question publicly.

At Veterans for American Ideals, we are continuing to push back through: 

• Advocacy: We confront misuses of military power through public education, coalition-building, and outreach to local, state and congressional leaders, reminding them that the uniform we wear belongs to the nation. 
• Education: We help Americans understand why domestic troop deployments and military detention centers are not just logistical missteps but undemocratic red flags. 
• Engagement: We create spaces for veterans to use their voices—not to speak for the military, but to speak on behalf of its integrity.

To those who served: your duty is not over. You may have turned in your gear, but you haven’t surrendered your principles. Join our monthly, virtual VFAI community calls, email your member of Congress and ask them to use all available tools to prevent the misuse of our National Guard, keep standing together and keep defending the boundaries that make our military strong, honorable, and accountable.

Let’s work together to make sure that the next generation of service members can wear the uniform with the same pride we once did, unburdened by politics and unafraid to serve with integrity.