A dozen veterans gathered at a Fraternal Order of Eagles pub in Henderson with Republican congressional candidates Mark Robertson and Sam Peters voiced hopes that more fellow veterans will represent them in Congress after the November election. 

“With Mark being a veteran, myself, Adam Laxalt, Mark Amodei — we can have a large veteran delegation representing Nevada in Washington,” Peters said at the roundtable event last week. 

A recent analysis by Pew Research Center of data from the Department of Veterans Affairs showed that 17 percent of lawmakers in Congress have prior military experience, down drastically from just a few decades ago. The share of senators who were veterans reached its peak of 81 percent in 1975, while among House members, veteran membership peaked in 1967 at 75 percent, the report states.  

Robertson, a retired Army colonel running for the District 1 seat currently held by longtime Democratic Rep. Dina Titus, and Peters, who retired as a major from the Air Force and is challenging Rep. Steven Horsford for District 4, were joined by House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to “find out what’s in veterans’ minds.”

The group touched on mental and physical health concerns, fear of people no longer caring about the military, the country’s international ties and allies, culture within the military and depolarizing the force and its issues.

 “Military should not be a partisan issue,” McCarthy said.   

But it is a complex problem, one attendee said, and without the military “on the front page” since President Joe Biden withdrew troops from Afghanistan last year, people may stop paying attention to issues affecting current and previous members. That raises concerns of potential future wars and whether the country will be prepared — from funding and the budget, to training, leadership and recruiting. 

The share of Americans who are veterans has also declined, but a 2019 survey showed people still considered veterans’ services as a top priority.

According to the U.S. Department of Defense, the number of people on active duty has dropped significantly over the past half-century, from 3.5 million in 1968, during the military draft era, to about 1.4 million in today’s all-volunteer force. 

Robertson spoke about his 30-year experience in the military and having the opportunity to serve in Iraq with his oldest son. He also recounted his time as a JROTC teacher in the Clark County School District. 

In response to veterans’ concerns that the military will no longer be seen as valuable or a priority in the future, he shared his “optimism and pride” for the younger generation to continue joining the military.

Editor’s Note: This story appears in Indy 2022, The Nevada Independent’s newsletter dedicated to comprehensive coverage of the 2022 election. Sign up for the newsletter here.