"Veterans, working together, can have significant influence in public policy issues. Select an organization that reflects your values, financially support the organization, and get involved." That's the advice of Gen. Murray Sagsveen is a retired Army Brigadier General and lawyer who currently serves on the board of Lutheran Relief Services in Bismark, MD and is involved in the Human Rights First Coalition of Retired Military Leaders.

By Cal Hickey

By Joe Jenkins

While the nation shook after President Donald Trump issued the executive order effectively blocking millions of immigrants and refugees from Muslim-majority countries, military veterans in the Baltimore area took the opportunity to open dialogue and confront the rising tide of Islamophobic rhetoric and policy advancing across the United States.

By Joe Jenkins

In the first week of its new administration, the Trump White House signed an executive order barring Syrian refugees indefinitely, slashing refugee resettlement, and effectively targeting immigrants from several Muslim-majority nations.

"I'm proud to have been a part of establishing a new history of American women serving in the 21st c." Read more about Kelsey Campbell, a U.S. Air Force veteran and former Pentagon advisor, currently a Tony Patiño Fellow at UC Hastings College of the Law.

We urge you to pause and reconsider your order.  Our group’s leadership would very much appreciate a moment of your time to discuss a better way forward. We are confident that the United States can protect both its security and vulnerable refugees. We can and must keep our promises to those whose lives are at risk because they saved ours.

We at Veterans for American Ideals condemn President Trump’s Executive Order temporarily barring all people from seven Muslim-majority nations from entering the United States. In joining the military, we raised our right hands and took an oath to defend our country and its values. Among the highest of American values is our enduring commitment to protecting the dignity and freedoms of all people, regardless of their national origin or faith.

By Joe Jenkins

As the nation honors the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the sacrifices of the brave men and women who fought for the equality of all Americans, many choose to reflect on a favorite quote once uttered by the revered civil rights icon. For our military vets at Veterans for American Ideals (VFAI), no words were more powerful than these:

“Everybody can be great. Because everybody can serve . . . You only need a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love.”

Week of January 16

Here’s another round-up of what we’ve been doing and reading this week, from the news and around the web:

"Speak up, and don’t leave anyone behind." That's the advice for other veterans from VFAI leader Travis Weiner, a U.S. Army veteran and a law student at the University of Colorado, Boulder.