Military

Veterans Day—A Tribute to FREEDOM

November 11, 2020 by TMLC

From the Desk of Richard Thompson

Today, November 11th, Americans commemorate Veterans Day. It’s a day set aside to honor those who have served our Nation in times of war and in times of peace. It’s a day to remember and be thankful that there are men and women who have fought and stand ready to fight to preserve our Freedom.

MASTER SERGEANT ROY P. BENAVIDEZ – HIS STORY EXEMPLIFIES THE STORY OF AMERICA

His story is the story of America. Born near Cuero, Texas, son of a Mexican father and a Yaqui Indian mother, he was orphaned at an early age. His American story—President Reagan awarded him our Nation’s highest honor, the Congressional Medal of Honor, for his unbelievable heroism in the jungles of Vietnam on May 2, 1968. During six hours of operations he suffered 37 separate bullet, shrapnel and bayonet wounds and saved the lives of at least 8 comrades.

A Navy ship bears his name, the USNS Benavidez. Several facilities are named in his honor including an American Legion Post, a city park in Colorado and the Master Sgt. Roy Benavidez Highway. Roy Benavidez died on November 29, 1998, but his love for America and amazing heroism is a lesson to us all on this Veterans Day. He and millions of Veterans throughout our history have sacrificed for Freedom. Let us vow that their sacrifices are not in vain.

Before President Reagan presented Master Sgt Benavidez the Medal of Honor, he reportedly turned to the press and said: “If the story of his heroism were a movie script, you would not believe it.”

Click here to watch video of President Reagan Awarding the Citation

Click here to read the Citation

Veterans Day often brings to mind a quote typically attributed to George Orwell:

“People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.”

God bless our veterans and their families and God bless America.

Sincerely yours,

Richard Thompson
President and Chief Counsel
Thomas More Law Center

Thank God For Our Veterans

November 11, 2019 by TMLC

Dear American Patriot,

Today, with solemn pride, we as a nation remember and salute the heroic men and women of our Armed Forces throughout our nation’s history. With great personal sacrifice, they purchased for us the freedoms we enjoy today.

Veterans Day honors ALL our military who served—alive and deceased. We honor and remember the service of all our veterans whenever and wherever they served.

On this Veterans Day, please pray for our veterans who are suffering the wounds of combat, and for their families. It is their sacrifices that allow us to live freely, enjoying the abundances and splendor of America.

It is also a fitting time to remember the words of Gen. George S. Patton Jr., considered one of history’s greatest military leaders and the combat commander most feared by Hitler and his generals.

“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died.

Rather, we should thank God that such men lived.”

― George S. Patton Jr.

God Bless our Veterans and God Bless America,

Richard Thompson

President and Chief Counsel

Thomas More Law Center

Thomas More Law Center Asks Federal Court To Stop LGBT Groups From Harassing The Center For Military Readiness

July 18, 2018 by TMLC

July 18, 2018

ANN ARBOR, MI – The Thomas More Law Center (TMLC), a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, MI, has taken legal action to stop the ongoing intimidation and harassment of groups opposed to transgenders serving in the military. Yesterday, TMLC filed a motion on behalf of the Center for Military Readiness (CMR) in the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan to stop an effort by LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) activist groups and transgender individuals to compel compliance with a staggering subpoena for the production of documents served on CMR on May 3, 2018.

Kate Oliveri, TMLC Trial Counsel and the principal attorney representing CMR, stated: “This intrusive subpoena seeks information irrelevant to the underling case in which CMR has no part. It is an example of those pushing identity politics attempting to bully and silence any opposition through an abuse of the legal process.”

The subpoena controversy arises out of a federal lawsuit, Ryan Karnoski, et al., v. Donald J. Trump, et al., filed in a Federal District Court located in the State of Washington, by several transgender individuals and major national LGBT activist groups to stop enforcement of President Trump’s August 2017 ban on transgenders serving in the military. CMR is not a party in that lawsuit and did not have any official or unofficial role in developing or implementing President Trump’s transgender ban.

Nevertheless, the LGBT-Plaintiffs served a broad-ranging subpoena on CMR located in Michigan, commanding it to search all its records and electronic files for documents and communications generated in the past 36 months, from June 16, 2015 (the day Trump announced his candidacy) to the present, between CMR and the President, Vice President and the Defense Department, relating to public policy on transgenders in military service or transgender people in general. Plaintiffs hope to uncover proof that President Trump’s order banning transgenders from serving in the military was motivated by “animus against transgenders” communicated to him by non-party groups like CMR and others.

The LGBT-Plaintiffs filed the motion to compel production of the alleged documents after CMR filed written objections to their subpoena.

Click here to read TMLC’s opposition to LGBT motion to compel production.

Elaine Donnelly is the President of the Center for Military Readiness which she founded in 1993. CMR is an independent, non-partisan, public policy organization that promotes sound principles of unit cohesion, mission readiness, and combat lethality. Donnelly believes that policies should be based on empirical evidence derived from actual experience, not sociological theories and misguided political goals.

Commenting on the LBGT motion to compel production, Donnelly stated: “Their subpoena seeks to violate our First Amendment right to free speech, and to punish CMR for engaging in public policy discussions as an independent source of information and analysis. CMR refuses to be intimidated, silenced or deterred from our mission.”

Donnelly added, “Equal opportunity is important, but if there is a conflict between career considerations and military necessity, the needs of the military and the nation must come first.”

There is a concerted national effort by LGBT activist organizations to overturn President Trump’s ban on transgenders serving in the military. Federal lawsuits challenging the ban have been filed against President Trump in the states of Washington, California, Maryland and in Washington D.C. Three subpoenas were served on CMR, two emanating out of the Washington D.C. case, and one out of the State of Washington case. CMR filed written objections to all three subpoenas. However, a motion to compel CMR to produce the documents was filed only in the State of Washington case.

The demands on CMR to comply with the Subpoena are staggering:

All Documents and Communications from the Relevant Period between CMR and President Trump, the Executive Office of the President, the Trump Campaign, Vice President Pence, the Office of the Vice President, or the Department of Defense, concerning military service by transgender people, public policy regarding transgender people, medical treatment for transgender people, and/or transgender people in general.

According to the Plaintiffs, the definition of the word “communication” means: any transmission by one or more persons to one or more persons by any means including, without limitation, telephone conversations, letters, telegrams, teletypes, telexes, telecopies, e-mail, text messages, computer linkups, written memoranda, and face-to-face conversations; “communication” includes all documents and electronically stored information (“ESI”) containing, summarizing, or memorializing any communication.

CMR opposes the LBGT-Plaintiffs’ motion to compel discovery on the grounds that such discovery is irrelevant and out of proportion to the needs of Plaintiffs’ case, imposes an undue burden on CMR, and infringes on CMR’s First Amendment Rights under the U.S. Constitution.

A Veterans Day Tribute

November 9, 2017 by TMLC

From the Desk of Richard Thompson

This November 11th, Americans commemorate Veterans Day. It’s a day set aside to honor those who have served our country in times of war and in times of peace. It’s a day to remember and be thankful that there are men and women who have fought, and continue to fight, for the preservation of our freedom in this great country of ours.

Master Sergeant Roy P. Benavidez – Extraordinary Hero

I had not known about the extraordinary story and heroism of Sergeant Roy Benavidez until yesterday. Every American should become familiar with his story. Upon receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor, Master Sergeant Benavidez stated:

“For those who have fought for it, life has a special flavor the protected will never know. You have never lived until you’ve almost died. And it’s us veterans that pray for peace most of all, especially the wounded, because we have to suffer the wounds of war.

In the 25 years I have been in the military, I feel like I’ve been overpaid for the service to my country. There will never be enough paper to print the money, nor enough gold in Fort Knox for me to have to keep me from doing what I did.

I’m proud to be an American and I’m even prouder that I’ve earned the privilege to wear the Green Beret.”

Watch a clip of his extraordinary speech here.

Click here to watch video of President Reagan Awarding the Citation

Click here to read the Citation

Master Sergeant Benavidez truly exemplifies the best in America.

This Veterans day, spend time reading and listening to the stories of those who have put on a uniform to serve our country. Take a few moments to watch this emotional tribute video to the American Soldier.

Veterans Day often brings to mind a quote typically attributed to George Orwell:

“People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.”

God bless our veterans and their families and God bless America.

Sincerely yours,

Richard Thompson
President and Chief Counsel
Thomas More Law Center

Thank you for your Service — You’re Fired; Pink Slipping our Army Captains a Threat to National Security

July 15, 2014 by TMLC

July 15, 2014

While we watched the commander-in-chief drinking beer and playing pool last week, we learned that 1,100 Army captains — some in harm’s way on the front lines in Afghanistan—were receiving pink slips notifying them they were fired. How demoralizing, heartless, and stupid.

These captains now must lead and care for the Soldiers entrusted to them in combat, dodge the bullets and IEDs, and at the same time worry about finding a job when they get back home, that is, if they ever do. As one Army wife posted on MilitaryFamily.org, “On some level I knew the draw downs were inevitable, but I guess I never expected to be simultaneously worried about a deployment to Afghanistan and a pink slip because my husband’s service is no longer needed.”

This is another stark example of domestic politics trumping our national security interest.

The experience and knowledge about the enemy and counter insurgency these officers have gained is irreplaceable.

The very Army leadership we are eliminating are the leaders we most desperately need to retain. Why? Because they represent three critical talent streams that will be essential in our next war (and there WILL be a next war, and it will likely be sooner than anyone wants):

Courage – They are among the bravest volunteers. Any captain or major currently with 6 to 10 years in service would have had to have raised his/her hand around 2004-2008, when the current war was at its worst. Iraq was in sectarian flames, and a resurgent Taliban was attempting to retake Afghanistan. This was followed by the surge to fix Iraq and Operation Medusa in Afghanistan to save Kandahar from the Taliban. All of this and these young Soldiers still said, “I’ll go. Send me.”
Experience – This war has been largely a platoon leader and company commander’s fight. These Soldiers have been the point of the spear for years and are at the pinnacle of their professional relevance in our ongoing global war against Al-Qaeda. We are now going to dump a major chunk of irreplaceable talent out on the streets.
Talent – These are now some of our most agile and adaptive leaders. These young leaders have mastered the art of coordinating nearly all elements of national power to achieve our nation’s global aims – not just military force, but diplomacy, economic resources, education, and information in an effort to defeat an intractable enemy and provide space for innocent civilians to carve out a new country.

Given the recent events of China threatening its Pacific neighbors, an emboldened and bellicose Russia threatening Ukraine and inserting itself in Latin America, Iran ever closer to nuclear weaponry and a Middle East now descending into a virtual free-fall of Islamist inspired chaos why would anyone inside the White House be stupid enough to press ahead with these drastic levels of military cuts? It is tantamount to willful negligence on the part of our nation’s political leadership.

Our Army is currently at 510,000, well below the Clinton Era Army. The current cuts are aimed at reducing it to 490,000. And the most recent defense budget proposal from the Pentagon, now working its way through Congress, calls for an Army of 450,000 soldiers.

It seems our troop reduction policies are based on how we would like the world to be, not what it really is. We have forgotten George Washington’s admonition, “To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving the peace.”

Moreover, we are reducing our military ranks without regard to our own dismal history in accurately predicting both the timing and nature of our next war. In February 2011, then Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, told an audience of West Point cadets:

Major force reduction is a bridge the U.S. Army has crossed often, especially during the big post-war draw downs. The post World War I and World War II era draw downs were very large, but these were entirely expected and economically necessary.

Although the Pentagon is attempting to soften current separations, the fact remains: it is putting out young officers into a weak economy which still hasn’t recovered from the 2008-2009 recession. These young officers and their families agreed to devote their lives to defending our country. Now they are rightfully concerned about finding a job (the unemployment rate for recent veterans is incredibly high). We thank them for their service. But Washington will spit them out in another 10 months.

President John F. Kennedy, on November 26, 1962, addressed the First Armored Division, at Fort Stewart, Georgia. The Division had been deployed during the Cuban Missile crisis. In his remarks he quoted from a poem found in a sentry box in Gibraltar:

How sad but true.

Watch video of Charles Krauthammer here.

Former US Army Capt. Jonathan Hendershott’s (West Point, 2007) original article.