Andrew has been outspoken since his return from Iraq, calling on both politicians and the public to do more to support the troops. He has written numerous op-eds that have run in The New York Times, The Miami Herald, The Minnesota Daily, and a Memorial Day piece that was carried by AlterNet.

Andrew Borene was an intelligence officer with the 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force from October 2002 to August 2004. He served in Iraq during major combat operations from February to May 2004.

In the news: Read Andrew Borene's op-ed in the Baltimore Sun, where he proposed to expand the Marine Corps Combined Action Program (CAP) to help solve new problems in Iraq.  Andrew Borene spoke at a press conference and rally calling for accountability for the armor shortage in Iraq. See the  press release and the media coverage from The Associated Press, Minnesota Public Radio, KARE 11, WCCO, and the Minnesota Star Tribune.  You can read more from Andrew Borene in the New York Times, and hear him on PRI's "The World."

Thanksgiving came and went, and like most Americans, I spent my Thanksgiving in a safe, familiar home surrounded by loved ones. I comfortably remembered the events of the past month and gave thanks for the brave men and women who are making amazing sacrifices every day overseas on my behalf.

Unnoticed by most, Veterans Day came and went, but our veterans were not yet taken care of; the Veterans Administration remains under funded, and our overseas troops accomplish heroic missions in spite of shortsighted defense policy and dangerous equipment shortages.

Young men and women returning from Iraq, Afghanistan, and other global "hot spots" still need the services that they were promised as part of their enlistment contract. Just as these young heroes were held to the "stop-loss" clause in their enlistment, our politicians need to honor the promise that any American who will stand up and risk his life on behalf of his country without questioning, deserves fair and equitable treatment upon returning home.

The President declared an entire week Veteran's week, and yet I see no outpouring of concern for homeless Vietnam Veterans, no outrage that men who stormed the beaches of Normandy can't get access to VA healthcare, no demonstrations in the streets that badly wounded veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan are left to ask for help from friends and neighbors as their VA claims stall in the vast national bureaucracy.

When I invaded Iraq almost two years ago, I understood that it was an invasion on short notice, and I was willing to accept the risk inherent in beginning combat operations without body armor inserts and in a humvee with no doors left over from the first Gulf War. It was after all a new war, and we went with what we had. But earlier this month, our warriors in Iraq invaded Fallujah, at times driving trucks and humvees without upgraded armor kits.

We have been in this war for over 18 months. We are the greatest, wealthiest nation on Earth. How can we deliver $136 billion in corporate welfare and seek to make tax cuts for the wealthy permanent, when our troops need equipment and services overseas? What is American about putting the well-being of the wealthy over the well-being of the defenders of freedom? Have the people who convinced 40% of America that Saddam Hussein attacked us on 9/11 and that the WMDs were found in Iraq, also convinced America that we can run a "war on the cheap" without seeing our troops suffer?

The violence and intensity of the combat is higher today than during the invasion, but the wounded survive in exponentially higher numbers requiring services for lost limbs and eyesight. This "low" killed in action number is misleading Americans, but the politicians talk about the successes in Iraq and an improving situation.

Young heroes display physical courage out on the front lines in the Global War on Terror, yet even as our troops accomplish mission after harrowing mission, our politicians are failing them. The White House blamed the troops for explosives lost at Al Qaqaa due to troop shortages. The Pentagon blamed the Marines for a failed attack on Fallujah in April 2004. These failing were political decisions, not tactical decisions.

It is time to demand that our politicians stand up and show some moral courage like Specialist Wilson did this week in Kuwait. Supporting the troops means more than placing a yellow sticker on a bumper. It also means purchasing up-armored humvees, SAPI plate vest inserts, the best training in the world, and reducing excessive deployments of the Reserves and National Guard. These things cost money.

It is going to take a new generation of great Americans to turn around the devastation that the continued failures and excuses of the current
administration. It will take Americans who aren't afraid of the truth, Americans who understand that sometimes success requires sacrifice,
Americans who put thoughtful decision making before dogmatic party mantras.

We have a lot of work to do before our troops, veterans and their families are actually getting what they deserve, and it has nothing to do with party politics. It's about taking care of those who take care of us.

Young men and women are fighting for us as I write, but who is fighting for them? If every concerned American wrote the republican members of congress who put tax cuts for the wealthy before troop welfare, demanding that our veterans and soldiers be given their due, perhaps we could make some headway on honoring America's contract with its veterans.

God Bless America. God Bless our Troops. May our political leaders show their thanks and take responsibility for their decisions by taking care of those who protect us all.

If you want to hear more from Andrew, check out citypages.com! (Optruth is non-partisan, and the views of Lt. Borene as stated in the
article are not the views of all of Operation Truth's veterans. His story, nevertheless,  is worth a retelling.)

If you would like to interview Andrew, please email press[at]iava.org.