2010 ENDORSED CANDIDATES

Army Lieutenant Colonel Allen West (Florida-22)
LTC West - web

Gulf War? Check. Iraq War? Check. Afghan War? Check. You name it, Lieutenant Colonel West has the t-shirt...and the awards to prove it. Lieutenant Colonel West was decorated for valor on the battlefield as a Captain during Desert Storm, he led a battalion (that's about 600 Soldiers) in combat in Iraq, and then trained Afghan Army officers in Afghanistan. In all places, Lieutenant Colonel West always put his men first, and was willing to make the tough calls.

Don't we need more Congressmen who can make tough calls in Washington? Damn right we do, and Lieutenant Colonel West is the man for the job. VFF-PAC will stand with him, shoulder-to-shoulder, and make sure we discharge another DC politician.

Visit Lieutenant Colonel West's site HERE.


Army Lieutenant Colonel Steve Stivers (Ohio-15)
Steve Stivers - web

This Army veteran of 25 years was a Battalion Commander who led over 400 soldiers in a combat zone. That should make shepherding the 435 sheep...um, we mean House members...a simple task. (For the record, the House is comprised of 80% non-veterans).

Lieutenant Colonel Stivers came thi....s close to winning this Congressional seat in 2008, losing in a recount. VFF-PAC supported him then, and will aggressively do so again. He's already won his primary, and is drawing up battle plans for November.

Visit Lieutenant Colonel Stivers' site HERE.


Marine Lieutenant Ilario Pantano (North Carolina-7)
Ilario Pantano - web

No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy. These words define the warfighter, Ilario Pantano.  After 9/11, Lieutenant Pantano left a cushy job on Wall Street to lead a platoon of infantry Marines in combat, which brought him to Fallujah during some of the fiercest fighting of the war. Lieutenant Pantano led his men with courage and decisiveness, exactly the qualities needed on the battlefield.

Lieutenant Pantano will bring those same qualities to Washington, leading the fight for our warfighters. He's smart, articulate, and tenacious. This Republican has an excellent chance in November, and VFF-PAC plans to be a steadfast friend, taking on his enemies one-by-one.

Visit Lieutenant Pantano's site HERE.


Air Force Captain Adam Kinzinger (Illinois-11)
Adam Kinzinger - web

The other nine members of VFF-PAC's Operation 10-in-10 saw the war(s) from the ground; Captain Kinzinger saw them from the sky--sending valuable intelligence to ground troops in Iraq (2 tours) and flying air medical evacuations in Afghanistan, a job that requires skill...and balls of steel. Captain Kinzinger may look like Tom Cruise, but he's actually earned the wings.

Captain Kinzinger calls Iraq and Afghanistan veterans "America's warrior class," and he's right.  He will be a stalwart for his fellow veterans, not just when they come home--but also while their on the battlefield. So it's on to the general election for this Maverick, and we plan to be his Goose.

Visit Captain Kinzinger's site HERE.


Army Colonel Joe Heck (Nevada-3)
Joe Heck - web

Colonel Heck is the man you never wanted to see in Iraq, but when you did, he was a warfighter's best friend. This is because Colonel Heck ran the emergncy and air-medical evacuation division for the combat support hospital in Al Asad, Iraq. Al Asad is the second largest base in Iraq, and recieved wounded Soldiers and Marines from multiple hot spots on a daily basis. Think M-A-S-H on steroids.

Colonel Heck now commands a U.S. Army Hospital state-side, and is seeking to take command of the people's seat in Nevada-3 as a Republican. VFF-PAC will fight with everything we have for Colonel Heck, knowing that he'll send a medevac blackhawk our way if things get scrappy.

Visit Colonel Heck's site HERE.


Navy Commander Andy Harris (Maryland-1)
Harris

Commander Harris helped save and rehabilitate the severely wounded during Operation Desert Storm.  And with all that's ailing Washington these days, VFF-PAC believes Congress could really use this dedicated physician stat!

In addition to leading the John Hopkins' Naval Reserve Medical Unit in the years since, Commander Harris has served in the Maryland state senate, applying his oath to the Constitution and defending liberty every step of the way.  This Republican is battling mightily in a very competitive race, and VFF-PAC's surging for his victory come November.

Visit Commander Harris' site HERE.


Marine Corporal Michael Grimm (New York-13)
Grimm

Corporal Grimm left college and enlisted at age nineteen, earning a meritorious field promotion before returning home from the first Gulf War.  All Marine jokes aside, Corporal Grimm's a leader of many talents, having also served as a deputy U.S. Marshall and an FBI special agent.

Now a businessman with degrees in law and accounting, Corporal Grimm, as with all VFF-PAC's Operation 10-in-10 candidates, embodies the new generation of citizen-solider-legislators Washington needs to strengthen U.S. national security policy and restore economic prosperity.

Visit Corporal Grimm's site HERE.


Army Major Tim Griffin (Arkansas-2)
Tim Griffin - web

Major Griffin--a Screamin' Eagle no less!--has served our country in uniform for 13 years, one of which was spent in Iraq on a Bridage Operational Law Team. He earned the Combat Action Badge--which means this Army lawyer met the enemy in battle, not just in the courtroom. He remains in the Army Reserves to this day.

Major Griffin already won his Republican primary, and is well positioned to win in November.  VFF-PAC will send artillery, mortars, direct fire, and maybe even some Marine infantrymen down range on his behalf.

Visit Major Griffin's website HERE.


Army Colonel Chris Gibson (New York-20)
Chris Gibson - web

7 tours, including 4 Iraq combat tours. 4 Bronze Stars. 2 CIBs. 1 Purple Heart. Any way you stack it up, this infantry Brigade Commander is a modern day GI Joe. Colonel Gibson's battalion earned a Unit Valor Award in Iraq, during some of the fiercest fighting of the war. And, oh by the way, Colonel Gibson is a graduate of Cornell and Stanford, and taught at West Point. So he's smarter than you...and us.

Colonel Gibson, who is the consensus Republican candidate, faces an uphill battle in November. Nothing he hasn't seen before!  VFF-PAC will "follow him" as he charges up the hill in New York, seeking to bring leadership, integrity, and some good ol' fashion wup-ass to Capitol Hill.

Visit Colonel Gibson's site HERE.


Marine Major Sean Bielat (Massachusetts-4)
Bielat

Major Bielat's contributions in Afghanistan and Iraq extend well beyond his reserve pay grade, as his bomb-diffusing robots have tackled countless improvised explosive devices, unexploded ordnance, and saved lives.  With degrees from Georgetown, Wharton, and Harvard, this Marine running in the Massachusetts Commonwealth knows how to work smarter, not harder.

Challenging Barney Frank, the controversial chairman of the House Financial Services Committee-to whom many attribute the recent mortgage crisis, Major Bielat and VFF-PAC believe he can close the gap in November, when it counts, in a district Scott Brown won.

Visit Major Bielat's site HERE.

 


Paid for by Vets for Freedom Political Action Committee. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. www.vetsforfreedom.org/pac.


Vets for Freedom is a nonpartisan 501(c)(4) organization which focuses primarily on educating the American public about the importance of achieving success on the battlefield by applying our first-hand knowledge to issues of American strategy and tactics. Vets for Freedom PAC is a federal political action committee which aims to support those candidates who recognize the importance of achieving success on the battlefield. Vets for Freedom and Vets for Freedom PAC are separate organizations.