With essays by U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, U.S. Reps. Brett Guthrie & Sheri Biggs, K. Conwell Smith, Mike Desmond, and others; plus, a profile of U.S. Rep. Jake Ellzey

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The country pays tribute to its veterans each year on Veterans Day. And for the eighth year in a row, The Ripon Forum is publishing a special edition as a small way of honoring them, as well.

The lead essay turns to a challenge that is too easy to overlook. K. Conwell Smith, Deputy Chief of Military and Veterans Policy for the American Psychological Association, examines the invisible wounds of war and the gap between veterans who need mental health care and those who receive it.

“Some wounds can last a lifetime,” Smith writes, noting that a June 2025 Government Accountability Office report found that 67 percent of troops screened positive for at least one mental health condition in their separation health assessment. Smith offers three ways to make a difference: reducing stigma, addressing provider shortages, and ensuring high-quality care.

As in past years, The Ripon Forum also asked a bipartisan group of lawmakers who served in uniform a simple question — what does Veterans Day mean to you? U.S. Senator Mark Kelly, a Democrat from Arizona and retired Navy captain who flew combat missions in Operation Desert Storm, recalls a lesson that he learned. “I flew 39 combat missions, but I never flew any of them alone,” Kelly writes. “And supporting all of us were families back home making sacrifices of their own.”

Congressman Brett Guthrie, a Republican from Kentucky and Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, writes of the uncle he never met, who was killed in the Korean War, and of the West Point motto that has guided his own life. “The values of duty, honor, and country instilled in me at West Point have gone on to shape my entire life, especially my service in Washington,” he writes. GOP Congresswoman Sheri Biggs of South Carolina, a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air National Guard and a nurse practitioner, reminds readers that “every veteran made a commitment few Americans will ever be asked to make.”

Mike Desmond, Strategic Director of Government Affairs and Advocacy at Mission Roll Call, takes stock of how the Department of Veterans Affairs is fulfilling its own commitment to those who served. Desmond notes that the average time to complete a disability claim is now about 76 days, down from 152 days only a few years ago. Drawing on a survey of more than 2,200 veterans, Desmond further notes that “both the timeliness and quality of care they are receiving have improved,” while cautioning that a veteran’s experience can still depend heavily on which VA facility he or she visits.

Jennifer Huddleston, a Senior Fellow in Technology Policy at the Cato Institute, makes the case that artificial intelligence can help the VA cut wait times, free clinicians, and save money. “Our veterans should not be left out of that transformation,” she writes.

Raymond Toenniessen, Deputy Executive Director of the D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families and a Bronze Star recipient, looks at the GI Bill as one of the best investments America has ever made. He notes that a 1988 Joint Economic Committee analysis estimated that the college portion alone returned $5 to $12.50 for every $1 spent. But Toenniessen argues it is time to hold the benefit accountable for results and build it around lifelong learning. Veterans, he writes, are “making consequential financial decisions with less information than they would get buying a used car.”

With 2026 being an election year, Rye Barcott, a Marine Corps veteran and the co-founder and CEO of With Honor, writes about what he calls a “service wave.” Some 752 veterans from all 50 states have run or are running for the House and Senate this cycle, the most the organization has recorded. “Americans did not come to trust veterans because of what they said,” Barcott writes. “They came to trust them because of what they did.”

Finally, the latest Ripon Profile features Congressman Jake Ellzey of Texas, who discusses how his service in uniform shapes his service on Capitol Hill. Ellzey is a retired Navy Commander, a former fighter squadron commanding officer, and the Republican Chair of the For Country Caucus. “Twenty years in the Navy taught me to put the mission first, take care of my people, and accept responsibility for the decisions I make,” he says.

“Veterans Day gives us a chance to say thank you, and the writers in this edition remind us that the obligation does not end on November 11,” said Lou Zickar, Editor of The Ripon Forum. “By publishing this annual bipartisan Veterans Day Special Edition, we hope to honor, once again, those brave men and women who put service above self.”

The Ripon Forum is published six times a year by The Ripon Society, a public policy organization that was founded in 1962 and takes its name from the town where the Republican Party was born in 1854 – Ripon, Wisconsin. One of the main goals of The Ripon Society is to promote the ideas and principles that have made America great and contributed to the GOP’s success. These ideas include keeping our nation secure, keeping taxes low and having a federal government that is smaller, smarter and more accountable to the people.