Back in the last century (the 1990s), we “old-timers” in the armed forces wore uniforms of blue, green, khaki, or white slacks, skirts (for women only) and pressed shirts, complete with jackets and ties. Most of us worked side by side with civilian office workers, especially at the Pentagon. Some of us worked with equipment, or in labs, or in environments that required physical labor and had to get permission to wear utility or battle dress uniforms (BDUs) and boots. Camouflage often drew questioning looks, as if we were deliberately flouting the prescribed professional office attire.

All of that changed after September 11th, 2001. Everyone felt, and with good reason, that we were all under attack and needed to look and act like warriors. Class A uniforms were out and battle dress was in for most, no matter where you were stationed, especially at the Pentagon. New camouflage patterns, including trendy “digital” patterns, signaled our preparedness to play our part as defenders of the homeland. If we weren’t sent to fight in Afghanistan or Iraq, we would be prepared to do so from our cubicles.

Massive spending went into protecting federal facilities. Where I worked, a building full of defense contractors stood next to an identical building full of government employees working on the same projects. But only the government-occupied building received the protection of high fences, turnstiles, armed guards, and barriers to stop suicide bombers in cars. Government always protects itself first, despite the fact that terrorists almost always choose to attack vulnerable citizens because it creates the most terror among the population, which is the whole point.

Yet, unless you were stationed in a combat unit, none of the office warriors in battle dress were authorized to carry a handgun. We were ready for the terrorists to strike anywhere at any moment, but had no ability to defend ourselves in the event of such an attack. And camouflage uniforms weren’t designed to blend in with the cubicle furniture. Instead, we had drills on how to shelter in place, run, hide, or fight using whatever objects were at hand. The “war on terrorism” in the Middle East was very real, but here at home, it was more of a phony war.

23 years later, our military members still wear camouflage battle dress everywhere, but are forced to participate in DEI classes to learn how white supremacy is our greatest threat and how diversity is actually our greatest strength. Military members have been forced to take experimental vaccines to protect themselves from the allegedly mortal threat of a lab-generated, flu-like pathogen funded by their own government. They have been ordered to use the politically-correct pronouns and encouraged to put their own pronouns in email signature blocks to signal support for the new insane “trans” diversity agenda—and, they’re still not authorized to carry weapons.

And now we are facing an unprecedented invasion by millions of unvetted illegal immigrants, otherwise known as invaders, aided and abetted by our own government. Some of these invaders are likely to be terrorists or foreign agents placed here for a variety of reasons that have nothing to do with asylum and everything to do with advancing the interests of hostile foreign governments.

October 7, 2023 was a wake-up call for Israel, which ironically had tough gun control laws that prevented most citizens, including military reservists, from carrying weapons that could have helped to fight off Hamas terrorists. Immediately after the terrorist attacks, Israel loosened gun laws and stated “Every city resident will be able to get an armament license…. We are facing operation Guardian of the Walls 2, so we will be ensuring that we are prepared, with guns on every street corner.” According to the Times of Israel, the Ministry of National Security was “purchasing 10,000 rifles to arm civilian security teams, specifically those in towns close to Israel’s borders around the country, as well as mixed Jewish-Arab cities and West Bank settlements.”

Given the current threats, would it be too much to ask our government to permit Active Duty, Reserve, and National Guard personnel dressing the part of homeland defenders to finally be allowed to carry handguns on and off duty in the increasingly likely event that terrorists, or mentally unstable citizens, commit more acts of mass murder at a place and time of their choosing? And to let trained military personnel, and civilians with carry permits, to bring firearms into large entertainment venues and inside public schools—our most enticing yet defenseless targets? How about asking more sheriffs around the country to vet and deputize a large posse of armed Americans who could be ready to respond anywhere, anytime?

The number of American citizens carrying handguns, in states where it is legal, has never been higher. There are now 29 states with constitutional or permitless carry laws. Over 22 million Americans now have concealed carry permits, and the number of permits has been going up since the “mostly peaceful” 2020 riots, even though more states no longer even require a permit to carry. In states like Maryland, where laws required a very limited “good and substantial reason” to carry prior to the 2022 Bruen Supreme Court decision that overturned such restrictions, applications for carry permits soared. Now, more than 30 states allow teachers to carry guns under certain conditions. On April 26th, 2024, Tennessee became the latest, as Governor Bill Lee signed a bill to allow trained teachers to carry guns in school.

According to a gun store owner in southern California, most rural residents are already armed and are stocking up on ammunition, while many of his new customers are citing the border crisis as the reason they’re buying guns for self-defense. Meanwhile, Democrat judges in blue states like Hawaii flagrantly disregard the Second Amendment and their own state constitution by outlawing guns everywhere they can, while a judge in Illinois rules that illegal immigrants can possess a firearm.

France and Britain declared war on Germany in September 1939, after its invasion of Poland, but for the next seven months, no fighting took place on the western front. It was called the phony war. Everyone knew that war was coming, but it took a while for the invasion to begin. Western Europe then fell to the Nazi blitzkrieg in less than three months. Europe now faces a new and existential threat. Not from a fanciful Russian invasion, but from the migrant invasion that stealthily began years ago, resulting in massive increases in crime, terrorism, and social, religious, and political radicalization.

We in the U.S. have been engaging in our own phony war for quite some time. While the threat of domestic terrorism or social and political upheaval may not be as imminent as it is in Europe, Americans can feel the danger rising. Democrats have opened the border to invasion by millions from all over the world while refusing to prosecute criminals and doing everything they can to prevent Americans from defending themselves. Even if Trump wins the 2024 election, closes the border, and attempts to deport millions of illegal invaders, much damage has already likely been done. We need to stop the Democrat war on self-defense by training and enabling Americans in every state to defend themselves and their communities. But first, the American people need to get the idiots cosplaying as adults out of the White House in November.

David Thalheimer is a graduate of (pre-radicalized) George Washington University and Harvard University, the Air War College, and the National Intelligence University. He retired from the US Air Force as a colonel and now works as an engineer in the field of cybersecurity.

Image: Public domain.