By Lt. General Rod Bishop, USAF ret, USAFA ’74
STARRS Chairman of the Board
“What a great day for STARRS! Congratulations!!” was the first text I received from a friend/media personality following SECWAR Pete Hegseth’s address to some 800 flag officers and senior enlisted leaders on 30 September 2025.
Others poured in close behind. “Your long-suffering efforts paid off big time in the speech yesterday. Pete hit every note of the song you have been singing for 4+ years. Perseverance pays off. Thank you fellow VETERAN!”
One Vietnam vet friend proclaimed: “There isn’t one combat veteran alive who doesn’t agree with every word of that speech 100% – well done!”
Another asked a question: “Did you write SECWAR’s speech? Patriots victorious!” (Answer – No – but the STARRS team certainly could have.)
As we posted on our STARRS X account, “SECWAR @ Pete Hegseth gave THE absolute best speech in the history of the Pentagon. It was so powerful and covered everything STARRS has been advocating for the last 4+ years regarding merit in the military and against the divisive DEI agenda. Thank you Pete! Your speech is music to our ears!”
In short, SECWAR’s timely and seminal speech threw down the gauntlet and charted a clear-eyed, new course. Gone are the myriad distractions of DEI and its many other counter-productive fellow travelers.
We will reinvigorate our military culture, ethos, and standards. Our sole objective is to win wars when called upon to do so. Our training will ensure we win by being tough, realistic, and emphasizing war-fighting skills.
I told Mary, my wife, that SECWAR’s address made that the happiest day of my life since Congress overturned the tyrannical vaccine mandate, ending the government’s assault on the law, informed choice, religious freedom, and valid science.
It certainly appears STARRS’ two strategic goals have been accomplished – for now. But we must remain vigilant.
We all understand the divisive Marxist monster will continue to raise its ugly head – consider the NYC mayoral race.
The fact is there is an active and growing, pro-Marxist sentiment in our country. Against it we must heartily trumpet the American spirit. Freedom, liberty, individualism, ingenuity, and hard work are what builds character – and are what made America the “exceptional” country it is.
STARRS – like many inventions – was born of necessity. We saw DEI ripping apart the meritocratic and teamwork-forging pillars of our military. We understood the unacceptable grave risk this presented to our national security. (Losing a football game is one thing … losing a war is convulsing and traumatic.)
Add to this the illegal vaccine mandate which assaulted our laws, freedom, past precedent, and commonsense.
STARRS was born to pool our talents and energies, rise up as a group, and defeat these attacks on our fundamental Americanism.
And to stand as faithful sentinels to ensure the soil which produced these assaults is, and remains, plowed under for good.
But I digress. It is time to celebrate and be thankful – for a moment.
Of course, it is not just STARRS who should celebrate. Not just STARRS who should be thanked. Clearly “the collective we” are at least partially responsible for these successes. (I say “partially” because our SECWAR “gets it” as a result of his own experiences.)
But I would be remiss if I did not effusively thank all of our friends and allies who joined with us in this battle of educating the American people. Together, we have accomplished much together!
Here are just a few of the collective we who deserve our sincere thanks and appreciation for their role in this fight: the Center for Security Policy; the Center for Military Readiness; the MacArthur Society of West Point Graduates; and the Calvert Task Group from the Naval Academy—along with our 40 something STARRS Board of Advisors.
We also extend our sincere gratitude to our many prolific writers who helped us educate the American people on the evils we faced– the indoctrination and infection of DEI and the tyranny of the vaccine mandate. Captain Brent Ramsey; Dr. Scott Sturman. Dr. Greg Salsbury, and Dr. Lani Kass come immediately to mind … but there are many more.
I have to add in our friends in the media – headliners here would have to include J.M. Phelps of the Gateway Pundit, American Family News, and WorldNetDaily; L Todd Wood at CD Media and Armed Forces Press; radio/podcast hosts Ross Kaminsky, Kim Monson, John B Wells, Col (Ret) Phil Williams, now Congressman Jeff Crank, Jim Breslo, and Col (Ret) Rob Maness, and again, so many more.
Turning internally for just a sentence or two, please allow me to acknowledge the core leadership team of STARRS: Maj Gen (Ret) Joe Arbuckle, our CEO and President; Dr. Ron Scott, the champion of our Chairman’s group; Col (Ret) John Brockman and of course our Executive Vice President/General Counsel (the man with the big heart and a tireless work ethic), former South Carolina Senator Mike Rose. All of these gentlemen are amazing patriots, friends and brothers in arms. And who is the person who masterfully weaves all these contributions together? – Cindy Kwitchoff – the BEST webmaster in the world!
Today’s battle is won – but the war continues for the hearts, minds, and souls of our fellow Americans.
As President Reagan understood, “Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation.”
Proverbs 4:16 reminds us that evil never sleeps. Evil forces are at work in our country, seeking to lead us in a direction which is an anathema to the vision of our Founding Fathers.
We can pause to celebrate, but the fight continues.
A final word of thanks to our many supporters who’ve linked arms with us in trying to protect and defend what we have come to call “The American Creed” – the glorious and revolutionary understanding our rights are inalienable, they come from our Creator (not government), and grounded in the principle that “all men are created equal.”
Thank you all for both your moral and monetary support!
Last night on a TV program I heard our government spent $92 Billion injecting the Marxist DEI ideology into our nation. We would like to see them spend some of our tax dollars cleansing that poison from our system.
Until that happens, STARRS depends on the generosity of supporters like you to keep the torch of liberty and the idea of E Pluribus Unum burning brightly in the hearts and minds of our fellow citizens of our Republic. So, again, my heartfelt thanks to each of you!
And as we all go forth together to reinvigorate the American spirt in our military and our country, remember: Pugna NON est finite! (The battle is NOT over!)
I have been to the JBPHH 3 times since the speech ; Five observations – 1. Upon presenting my retired officer ID card the salutes by sailors and airmen are consistent & “snapper” and oral greetings respectful & professional, 2. Sporadic Civilian security personnel have been replaced by uniformed men and women, 3. An electric sign inside Hickam’s main gate announced a climate survey is being taken & contained 5 service logos, 4. Attendance at fitness classes has increased by 25% and gym utilization is heading toward SRO, 5. Fitness staff acknowledge that patron use and energy is on the rise.
This reminds me of the USN’s 1981 Pride and Professionalism actions by CNO ADM Tom Hayward which addressed the service’s restoration of “Good Order and Discipline” .
I have been posting 20 of Marine Chesty Puller’s quotes on my social media accounts every Weds – this week (counting down toward # 1) is curiously “11. “Old Breed? New Breed? There’s not a damn bit of difference as long as it is the Marine breed”.
BZ to STARRS, character-integrity-exceptionalism-perseverance are timeless ! Vrckn