Every man and woman who has worn the uniform of the United States Armed Forces knows these words by heart: “I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” You stated your full name. You raised your right hand. You took that obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion.

I know this because I did the same thing as a young Second Lieutenant at the University of Tennessee on 31 July 1982, and I meant every word. I spent twenty-two years in the United States Army living by those words, deploying to combat zones, commanding Soldiers in harm’s way, and watching young Americans put their lives on the line for a Nation that too often takes their sacrifice for granted.

After my military service, I carried that same oath into the United States Congress, and I carry it today as Executive Director of the Committee to Support and Defend. Let me be clear about something: nowhere in that oath will you find an expiration date. Not for me, not for you, and not for any American who has ever raised that right hand.

So I must ask you a direct question. What are you doing about it? What are you doing while the progressive socialist left systematically erodes the constitutional rights that you and I swore to defend? What are you doing while our active duty service members, the very men and women standing on freedom’s ramparts right now, have their most fundamental right as citizens stripped away through bureaucratic incompetence and, in some cases, deliberate political obstruction?

I am talking about the right to vote. One in seven military voters stationed overseas never receives a ballot on time, or never receives one at all. Nearly one in three rejected military ballots gets thrown out for a single reason: it arrived late. Not because the Soldier, Sailor, Airman, or Marine failed to do their duty as a citizen. Because the system failed to do its duty to them. You cannot make this stuff up… but it is happening, every single election cycle, and too few people are willing to do a doggone thing about it.

That is why the Committee to Support and Defend exists. We are the veteran-focused arm of the American Constitutional Rights Union, and our mission is straightforward: we fight for the constitutional rights of those who fight for ours. We protect military voting rights across all fifty states. We expose the bureaucratic failures and the political actors who disenfranchise our troops. We track every piece of legislation that affects military voters, veterans, and their families, and we take action when the Constitution demands it. This is not some Washington think tank that publishes white papers nobody reads. This is an operational mission, and every member of this organization is part of the formation. When I was a Battalion Commander, I did not need people who agreed with me from a distance. I needed people who would stand in formation, shoulder to shoulder, ready to execute the mission. The Committee to Support and Defend operates on that same principle.

The day I took my oath and became an Army officer. My Dad took the oath and served as a US Army Corporal in World War II.

Here is what I need from you. Join this formation. It costs you nothing, not a single dollar, because this is not about fundraising. This is about force strength.

Every month, I host a live online muster exclusively for our members, a real-time formation where you can ask me questions directly, share what you are seeing in your community, and engage with fellow veterans and patriotic Americans who understand that the oath to our Constitution does not come with a discharge date. Whether you served in uniform or you simply believe that those who did deserve a Nation that honors its obligations to them, there is a place for you in this fight. Do not sit on the sidelines. Do not tell yourself that someone else will handle it. The progressive socialist leftists and Marxists are counting on your apathy. Prove them wrong.

The oath you took still holds. The Republic still needs you. Fall in.

Maybe you never served in the military. That is OK as well. I also ask you to join as a patriotic American who wants to protect our Constitutional Republic. We are all in this together.

Steadfast and Loyal.

LTC Allen B. West (Ret.) Executive Director, Committee to Support and Defend