I am writing to express my support for LD 1054 the Maine Defend The Guard legislation and ask that you vote in favor of persevering the clearly defined powers in the Constitution that "Congress shall have the authority to declare war." We must insist that congress do their job and not let the President take the United States into war without the property action of a Congressional Declaration. The Maine National Guard should not be fighting endless wars that have not been declared. “Our nation’s founders made clear that declaration of war is the solemn and sole responsibility of the U.S. Congress,” American Legion National Commander Vincent “Jim” Troiola said. “The American Legion calls on Congress to once again follow the text of Article I, Section 8, Clause 11, of the U.S. Constitution.” The Maine legislature has the opportunity to pass a bill that would require congress to reclaim their authority which they have abdicated for over 80 years. The Biden administration is marching us headlong into a nuclear WWIII in Ukraine. He has already sent over $100 Billion, Abrams Tanks, Patriot Missiles, and other American weapons systems. Soon he will commit American troops to a war that is not our own. We cannot allow him to do this without the consent of the people through a declaration of war from our representatives in Congress. If we must fight a war, then we must fight it with the full weight of support of the people. Please vote to pass LD 1054 Defend The Guard.

Please vote yes for Defend The Guard on 3/20/23 in the Maine Senate Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee. We support our troops. We love the Maine National Guard. We believe in the clear language of the US Constitution. Vote yes on LD 1054 Defend The Guard.

Not the president. Not the DoD. Not the career administrative state. CONGRESS! Congress should put their name on a Declaration of War and then defend that action with their constituents before they send our sons and daughters to fight and die half-way around the world. Pass LD 1054. Pass Defend The Guard. Vote yes for Defend The Guard. Defend The Constitution and Defend The Guard.

The State of Maine must stand up. The federal government has abandoned us. Our private property is under an invasion. Our safety is in jeopardy. Our rule of law is ignored. And the Federal government is doing nothing. The Maine National Guard has a Constitutional duty to do three things; 1) Enforce the laws of the union, 2) Put down an insurrection, and 3) Repel and invasion. A declaration of war from Congress that is signed by the president becomes the "law of the union" and the National Guard should then go and fight and win. Without a declaration of war, the Maine National Guard should be HERE defending our nation and our State. The ME National Guard deserves our very best because we demand their very best. They deserve the full support and authority of the United States before they are asked to risk their lives and American treasure in overseas wars of choice. Pass Defend The Guard, SP423. This is the easiest concept to understand with even a limited understanding of Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution. This one is EASY. Vote YES on Defend The Guard.

This is simple...Congress has the authority to declare war. That is a very somber responsibility that they have abdicated for 80 years. Congress hasn't declared war since 1942. Since that time, Presidents from both parties have taken young American men and women into nations around the world to fight endless wars with no clear mission or purpose. Generals have failed and never been held accountable. Congress refuses to do their job and the cost is American lives and treasure. The Generals rotate through the theater of operations in these endless wars and they bring a new vision, new strategy, new tactics...but they all deliver the same results. They lie about their successes and cover up their failures. The Afghanistan Papers proved those failures and pointed the finger at Congress for not maintaining their control and authority over war. Generals are never called before powerful committees to answer for successes or failures and progress reports are shaded with inflated successes. Congress must do their job...their most important job...before the US Military deploys on foreign misadventures of the Presidents choosing. Maine must force Congress to do their job. Vote YES on LD 1054 Defend The Guard. We demand it.

“Our nation’s founders made clear that declaration of war is the solemn and sole responsibility of the U.S. Congress,” American Legion National Commander Vincent “Jim” Troiola said. “The American Legion calls on Congress to once again follow the text of Article I, Section 8, Clause 11, of the U.S. Constitution.” These are the words of the Commander of the largest veterans organization in the country. If the men and women with actual skin in the game and who have defended the constitution with their lives, believe in the proper role of Congress in matters of war is to "declare war" and not to abdicate that responsibility to the president, then so do I. LD 1054, Defend The Guard, is in line with the spirit and letter of the clearly written words of the United States Constitution. This bill is perhaps one of the most important that the Maine legislature could possibly consider. I support LD 1054 Defend The Guard and I am asking you to support it to. Please vote YES on LD 1054on 3/20/2023.

It has never been more important. Congress must reclaim their authority of issues of war and peace. The president cannot be allowed to take our country into another endless and undeclared war. The world is a tinderbox ready to ignite. The Maine National Guard can and should fight America's wars and defend our nation against all enemies. Let's give them the proper authority. Let's put OUR names behind any war effort by asking our representatives in Congress to vote or reject war. That is the way the Founding Fathers intended it to be. Maine is leading the country. This is a good bill. Vote yes on LD 1054 Defend The Guard.

Congress refuses to do their job...the most solemn duty they hold...to declare war. Instead, they have allowed the President to wage endless wars with nothing more than a courtesy nod and a blank check from Congress. American lives and treasure should be safeguarded by those elected and granted the authority to do so. Congress cannot give away their enumerated powers...and it's time that we, the people of the State of Maine, say "ENOUGH!" Congress must put their name on the line and declare war before the Maine National Guard puts their boots on the ground. Vote yes on LD 1054.

In Maine we just welcomed home our sons and daughters. Members of the Maine Air National Guard were on a combat deployment in Africa. I do not remember a declaration of war passed by Congress for any nation in Africa. Our joy over their return was short lived as we also sent members of the Maine National Guard on a combat deployment to the Middle East and countries like Syria, Jordan, Libya, and Iraq. I don't remember congress declaring war on Syria, Jordan, Libya, and Iraq. The Maine National Guard has served with distinction in the Global War on Terror. We have sent over 3000 of our best to fight in endless and undeclared wars and the behest of presidents....not the congress who are our representative voice in Washington DC. The famous Maine National Guardsman and War Poet Ralph Moan of East Machias wrote, “Have decided to cut this diary out right now, for no man wishes after seeing what we have seen to recall them but rather wishes to forget. From now on, all we see is HELL.” If we must fight a war, then we must send our best to do it. If we must send our best, then we must give them the full support of the country they are protecting. The only way to do that is through a proper debate to decide the merits of war, a vote to declare war, and the presidents signature and execution of the war. There is no other just way for us to wage war in a foreign land. I encourage you to honor your oath...the same oath our veterans took and promised to keep with their lives. You should keep that same oath by using your vote to support the constitution and honor the sacrifice of the men and women of the Maine National Guard. Vote yes to Defend The Guard. Vote yes on LD 1054.

Please vote in favor of Defend The Guard. As Mainers we must act. We cannot participate in the Washington DC war machine. We do not believe believe the President can/should send the military to fight anywhere at anytime that he chooses, and we respect the Constitution that defines CONGRESS as the only body with the authority to declare war. I support the Constitution. I support the Maine National Guard. I support Defend The Guard and I am asking you to support it too. Defend The Maine Guard. Vote YES on LD 1054.

We live in very troubling times. We are on the brink of a war with a nuclear power. At the same time the secretary of defense and the chairman of the joint chiefs were in the middle east last week lobbying for a US war with Iran. We need cooler heads and a sense of diplomacy to rule the day. But we're not going to get that from Congress. It is up to the sovereign states to take action. Defend The Guard is strong action to restore the enumerated powers in the constitution. It doesn't force congress to do their job, but it requires them to do if they want to take 45% of the military fighting force, the National Guard, into foreign war. But, the warmongers can still have their wars of choice but they will need to convince 51 senators and 218 representatives that the war is just and necessary. No congressional approval? Too bad. The National Guard will stay here and defend our state and our nation from actual threats instead of neolib and neocon gaslighting. Vote yes on LD1054. Any argument against it is naïve and ignorant of reality.

Finally! This bill is simple...follow the Constitution's road map for committing American and Maine citizens to war BEFORE we go to war. Such a simple bill with clear language. Please support Defend The Guard, LD 1054. The men and women in uniform are worthy of the correct process that sends them into war. The will and support of the people, through their representatives in Congress, must declare war before we put another boot on the ground in a foreign nation. Vote YES for Defend The Guard.

This bill shouldn't even be necessary but Congress has failed to do their job. The constitution is crystal clear, congress and congress only has the authority to declare war. But they have let the president make the decision to go to war ever since WWII. In our federal system, when the national government proves unable or unwilling to tackle a problem, it is the duty of the sovereign states to step up and take action. And we need action in Augusta! The Defend The Guard bill is necessary. The Maine National Guard has been in Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Djibouti, Afghanistan, the Hord of Africa, and Europe. But there has been no declaration of war in any of these places. They haven't been there training...they have been to these places engaging in WAR. Congress is a do-nothing body. The Maine legislature is closest to the people and therefore we the people are seeking redress for a major grievance. Vote yes on Defend The Guard, LD 1054.

Please support Defend The Guard in the Joint VLA Committee on 3/20/23. The ME National Guard should not be deployed to overseas wars that have not been declared by Congress. Defend The Guard is constitutional and I am asking you to vote yes. Mainers and veterans support the bill passing through the committee. Do you believe that the President should be able to wage war without Congress declaring it? I don't. We must fight and keep our nation from becoming like other war empires throughout history. If war is inevitable, then send us to fight. But send us with the proper authority. Send us with a Congressional Declaration of War and demonstrate the will of the people! And then let us go and fight with a clear mission, let us WIN, and then let us come home. Vote YES on Defend The Guard LD 1054.

The National Guard is the backbone of the United States military, and it ought to play an integral role in our national defense. The Defend the Guard Act would not inhibit the use of the Arizona Guard to complete a domestic mission under Title 10, or even the Guard’s deployment overseas for training missions in allied countries like Kuwait or Germany. All the bill requires is a declaration of war by Congress before the Arizona National Guard is sent into active combat. That’s the same precondition the Founding Fathers gave in Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution. Is it too much to ask for Congress to properly declare war before our men and women risk their lives and American treasure in foreign war? Please vote yes on LD1054 known as Defend The Guard

They defend us when we need it most. We should defend them with thoughtful legislation that strengthens the Constitution that they have sworn to protect. This one is easy. The bill is less than a page long and says more than any other piece of legislation you will consider this session. Everything else the Maine legislature is doing this year means NOTHING if we are marched into WWIII by the president and his advisors. We must protect the Maine National Guard so that they can defend us. Please vote in favor of LD1054