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Dear readers,

Veterans and active-duty service members had a prominent role in last week’s attack on the U.S. Capitol, through vitriolic rhetoric and the violent acts those words incited.

Since the insurrection, Army officials have confirmed they are investigating at least 25 people involved in the attack, many believed to be serving on active duty.

Elected officials have also called for the Pentagon to do a sweeping investigation of troops or retirees associated with the violence.

And to further exacerbate national security concerns, the military opened investigations into service members assigned to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration to weed out troops “sympathetic to domestic terrorists.”

Among the terrorists involved in the attempted coup last week was a graduate of the Air Force Academy who earned the rank of lieutenant colonel during more than 20 years in uniform.

Another was a former military police officer with 14 years of service. A third was a captain on active duty assigned to an Army Special Forces unit. Their actions were fueled by highly influential veterans who repeatedly lied to the public.

Among them was a former airborne officer-turned-cable news anchor, a combat-wounded Navy SEAL serving as a Texas representative, and a former three-star general and

national security adviser who called for the commander in chief to use military force to force new elections “at gunpoint.”

As Inauguration Day looms, the National Guard may be activated in response to armed protests being planned nationwide.

Rosters leaked to The Atlantic of the Oath Keepers show that the terror network has well-trained veterans and service members among their ranks.

The investigation found that extremists “hailed from every state”—a military recruiter in Oregon, a Marine in Wisconsin, a soldier on active duty using his official military email address. “Roughly two-thirds had a background in the military or law enforcement.

About 10 percent of these members were active-duty. ... There were members of the Special Forces, private military contractors, an Army psyops sergeant major, a cavalry scout instructor in Texas, a grunt in Afghanistan.”

The cancer of white supremacy, mental illness, and failed accountability in uniform has been allowed to metastasize for decades. Veterans organizations have also harbored these terrorists.

Extremist groups like the Oath Keepers hosted recruiting events at VFW posts. While the veteran service organization pledged to remove members found guilty in the attack, the measure rings hollow.

Since the attack, I continue to reflect on my own service and how fractured our nation has become since I’ve returned from war.

I know that most veterans honor their oath to defend our country, yet I now wonder how veterans who wore the same uniform as I did could attack our country.

But after the violence and amid ongoing uncertainty, I feel hope seeing veterans gather with civilians to remove racist graffiti and propaganda from the National Mall.

The War Horse is not a breaking-news organization, but our team is dedicated to covering extremism in uniform and in the veteran community, and will be assigning journalists to explore solutions-driven reporting projects.

As Louis Brandeis wrote for Harper’s Weekly in 1913, “Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.”

You can count on The War Horse to continue shining light in dark places.

Semper Fidelis,
Thomas Brennan
Founder and Executive Director