Standing Tall on the Line: Freedom, Sacrifice, and a Salute to Sisterhood
This RED Friday, our thoughts carry across the globe to the deep, high-stakes waters of the Middle East, where U.S. Military forces are actively holding the line against overt hostility. Behind every deployed service member stands a family at home keeping the home fires burning, managing the daily grind, and holding down the fort with a quiet, resilient strength. We wear our red today as a heartfelt promise to those standing watch in harm’s way: you are not forgotten, your sacrifice is recognized, and we remain profoundly grateful for the shield you provide against tyranny.
As we look toward this Sunday, June 12th, our focus expands to honor a foundational pillar of our military legacy—Women Veterans Day. Marking the 78th anniversary of the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act signed by President Truman in 1948, this day highlights a powerful truth: women do not just support the mission; they execute it at the highest tactical levels.
From the trailblazing codebreakers, nurses, and WASPs of World War II who fought simply to prove they belonged in uniform, to the modern warriors operating in every combat domain today, the trajectory of women in the armed forces is a testament to unwavering courage and professional excellence. Today, they fly strike packages, command carrier strike groups, lead ground components, and defend international stability on every forward edge.
Direct from the Fleet: High-Stakes Operations in the Gulf
That forward edge has been tested repeatedly over the last week. Direct, unclassified operational logs from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) paint a stark picture of the exact environment our deployed forces are maneuvering through right now in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.
- Defeating Air Threats (June 5): The week opened with U.S. maritime and air assets intercepting and neutralizing a multi-vector Iranian strike package over international waters. Forward-deployed U.S. units successfully destroyed multiple anti-ship ballistic missiles and armed one-way attack drones launched directly by the Iranian regime to disrupt critical commercial shipping lanes.
- Enforcing the Blockade (June 8): Operating from the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) in the Gulf of Oman, an F/A-18 Super Hornet from Carrier Air Wing Two executed a precision kinetic strike to disable the Palau-flagged unladen oil tanker, M/T Marivex. The vessel had repeatedly defied verbal bridge-to-bridge commands and maneuvering warnings from U.S. Navy surface combatants in a deliberate attempt to breach the active U.S.-led maritime blockade. The precision strike punched directly into the ship’s engineering and steering spaces, leaving it dead in the water and neutralizing the breach.
- The Downing and Rescue of “Hunter 21” (June 8–9): In the early hours of Monday morning, a U.S. Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopter flying a littoral patrol near the southern entrance of the Strait of Hormuz was struck mid-air by an armed Iranian Shahed-136 drone. The impact forced the aircraft into the sea. Both U.S. Army aviators successfully exited the airframe into the water. Proving the lethal efficiency of modern coordination, Task Force 59 launched a Corsair Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) from Bahrain. Under the direct air cover of combat aircraft and MQ-9 Reapers, the autonomous robotic craft located and safely pulled both aviators from the water within two hours. Both pilots returned to base uninjured.
- Operation Proportional Response (June 9): Following the attack on the Apache, CENTCOM launched a concentrated, four-hour precision retaliatory strike package. U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons and Navy strike combat aircraft hit coastal military targets inside mainland Iran. Striking between midnight and 0100 local time, the operation successfully dismantled key Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) air defense batteries, early-warning surveillance radars, and command infrastructure across Qeshm Island, Sirik, Jask County, and the strategic port of Bandar Abbas.
Remember Everyone Deployed
The operational reality in the Gulf is a sober reminder of why we wear red. While we go about our daily routines here at home, thousands of American service members—fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters—are operating in high-threat environments to guarantee the preservation of liberty. To the families managing the home front alone, and to the warriors keeping watch on the dark waters of the world: the Connecticut Veterans Bulletin stands with you. Stay safe, hit hard, and come home.
I am not a veteran. I am a member of the Civil Air Patrol, the United States Air Force Auxiliary. But in 1991, personal loss brought me to a place I never left.
Over two decades later, that loss led me to the State Veterans Cemetery in Middletown, Connecticut, where I took on the coordination of Wreaths Across America — which grew into the largest and fastest growing veterans program in the state. I didn’t do it for recognition. I did it for them.
In 2016 I founded the Connecticut Veterans Bulletin. Not because I served, but because I believe those who did deserve to be honored, connected, and kept alive.
Twenty-two veterans die by suicide every day. I knew about that number before it became a hashtag. I knew it personally, long before anyone was talking about it.
This publication exists because that number is unacceptable. Because every veteran in Connecticut deserves to know someone gives a damn.
That someone is me.