Why I’m a veteran who is proud to support Hillary

This year, I’m working to defend American values here at home

I grew up in a working class family in Bentonville, Arkansas. No one in my family had gone to college. But when I was a high school senior, I got the opportunity to study abroad in France. At my school, I met students who had fled humanitarian crises in Rwanda and atrocities in the Balkans. As I listened to their stories, I felt an immense sense of pride for the American values I had grown up with.

In 1999, I enlisted in the U.S. Navy. I wanted to protect the values I had so much pride for during my time abroad.

For the next 11 years, I served as a language analyst at military bases in the U.S. and around the world, and then I spent a year fighting in Iraq. After leaving the Navy, I enrolled full time at the College of Charleston. I graduated college with distinction, earned five years of funding to work on a PhD in African History, and continue to receive free medical care thanks to the post-9/11 GI bill. Without the U.S. Navy and VA, I could not have become the first person in my family to earn a degree.

As a veteran, I trust Secretary Clinton to care for my brothers and sisters who are still serving. She has the skill, track record, and experience to solidify America’s legacy and relationship with the rest of the world. And her commitment to programs like the G.I. Bill and Tricare is a testament to how much she cares about us as veterans.

That’s why I’m so proud to fight on her behalf in Virginia. As an organizer, I get the opportunity to talk with volunteers and voters on a daily basis about the work Secretary Clinton has done to improve my life and the lives of my fellow veterans.

I was moved to join the Navy when I realized the importance of defending American values abroad. This year, I’m helping defend American values here at home. I’m no longer a member of our armed services, but I’m serving my country by organizing to help Hillary Clinton win Virginia in November.

With just two months until Election Day, I hope you’ll join me in this work. Sign up to volunteer for Hillary in Virginia here.