Vets for Freedom On The Hill Today

Vets to press lawmakers on Iraq
The Hill
More than 400 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will be storming Capitol Hill on Tuesday in support of the military operations in Iraq.
Vets for Freedom, a nonpartisan, not-for-profit Washington organization composed of combat veterans, set up more than 300 meetings with House and Senate lawmakers. The group supports keeping U.S. troops in Iraq.
The visits coincide with much-awaited testimony from Gen. David Petraeus on the situation in Iraq, and will be jump-started by way of a press conference Tuesday with presumptive GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the ranking Republican on the Armed Services panel.
Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Rep. Jim Marshall (D-Ga.), who have supported continued military operations in Iraq, are also expected to attend the press conference.
The veterans will argue it is important to listen to the military commanders on the ground instead of politicians, said Pete Hegseth, the group’s executive director. He said most of the meetings in the Senate are with the senators themselves and not staff.
The veterans on the Hill Tuesday will highlight progress in security and a decline in sectarian violence, as well as political progress. “We are winning. We can win,” said Hegseth, who received the Bronze Star and Combat Infantryman Badge for his service in Iraq in 2005.
Democrats have been criticizing the administration for signaling it will not continue to withdraw troops after July, when the number of soldiers in Iraq will reach the level it was at before a “surge” in troops last year. Petraeus is expected to recommend a halt in troop withdrawal after July, and Democrats are expected to press him on an exit strategy from Iraq.
The Vets for Freedom stop on the Hill comes at the tail end of a bus tour through 14 cities and 21 states.

THIS is directly from Vets for Freedom
Senators McCain, Lieberman, Graham & Rep. Marshall to Address Hundreds of Veterans from Iraq and Afghan Fronts
WHO/WHAT:
More than 400 members of Vets for Freedom will gather on Capitol Hill to hear words of support from various Senators—including presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)—before individual meetings with their legislators.
Vets for Freedom (VFF) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization established by combat veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is the largest U.S. organization of its kind, with 44 state chapters and some 22,000 members. Its mission is to educate the American public about the importance of achieving success in Iraq and Afghanistan and to compel Congress to listen to the Generals on the ground. VFF supports policymakers from both sides of the aisle.
WHY:
Tuesday’s gathering will provide a unique opportunity to get first-hand perspective from recent veterans who came from across the U.S., to spread a message of support for the troops, and to support General David Petraeus as he testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee about progress in Iraq that day.
Included in the group are Bronze Star, Silver Star and Navy Cross recipients at the tail end of the VFF National Heroes Tour.
The educational bus-tour spent the last three weeks rolling through 14 states and making 21 stops sharing stories of success in Iraq. Among the rotating group of elite heroes on the bus are the commander of the battalion that found Saddam Hussein; a Navy SEAL famous for being the sole survivor of the most deadly mission for NAVY special operations since WWII; a Marine who kept rushing back into a building to save his peers despite being severely injured, and others.
WHERE:
8:00 a.m. Pre-event interview-availability – Upper Senate Park, Capitol Hill

” So much of todays political foreground is about getting our troops out by people who are at home, yet it seems so few are actually listening to the voices from the people who are or have been in country and who see the results of our blood, sweat, tears and sacrifices. I’ve met and spoken with many first and second tour vets who would return and or are hoping for the opportunity to go back. It seems only one candidate (and I’m not campaigning here) speaks of staying the course and of the importance of victory. We’ve become a nation of instant gratification, of bloodless wars and little will to endure. So while the candidates, the medai and the liberals hail the 4,000th life lost mark as some type of victory, they conveniently forget that our forefathers sufferd many times that number in a matter of hours, yet the nation as a whole had the intestinal fortitude to carry on and see the end in victory. SSG W.Little CO H, RTS, 278th ACR “

Wild Thing’s comment……..
I am so proud of our Vets!! I am in awe and all I can say is a huge thank you!