THAT WOULD BE NICE: Operation Midnight Hammer—Can’t We All Just Be Proud Americans?

As a military aviator and veteran of more contingencies than I care to remember, I watched with bated breath and prayers in my heart on the evening of June 21st as Operation Midnight Hammer was unfolding on live TV. A 37 hour long mission, cramped cockpits, strapped to ejection seats, radio silence, with only a tiny toilet to take care of nature’s calls and a small cot to try and catch some shut eye, were just some of my thoughts.

But I went to sleep that night so proud to have been an American aviator—and an American citizen—proud of my nearly four decades of military service. Knowing what it takes to plan and flawlessly execute a mission of such scale and scope, at extreme ranges, over enemy territory, with incredible skill, precision, and courage, I saluted my fellow pilots and stood a bit taller, as a proud American Airman. What those Airmen, Guardians, Sailors, and Soldiers pulled off was nothing short of miraculous. No other country on planet earth could have done this—without a single casualty or mishap.

Yet waking up that next morning I found myself in a parallel universe. Rather than praise and pride, the airwaves were filled with bellyaching naysayers, all looking for a cloud in the silver lining….

I’m old enough to remember when Democrats like Tip O’Neil largely stood behind Ronald Reagan’s bombing of Libyan terror camps in 1986 — which makes me feel pretty old.