"When you wear the uniform, it changes you." (Video interview, 28:17)

Mark S. Kirk

Mark Kirk [detail from video] War: Kosovo, 1999; Afghan War, 2001- Branch: Navy; Navy Unit: VAQ-209 (Electronic Attack Squadron); Military Joint Intelligence Center Service Location: Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia; Suitland and Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland; Aviano Air Base, Italy; Incirlik Air Base, Turkey; also: Afghanistan Rank: Commander

Working in politics on Capitol Hill, Commander Mark S. Kirk realized that he couldn’t effectively advise on military matters without personal experience--so he volunteered for a direct commission in the Navy. This decision led to a dual career as both a politician and an intelligence officer, and eventually, as an air crewman flying missions in Iraq aboard a Prowler aircraft. Of his military service as a whole, he comments that it meant a “fundamental transformation of life,” and explains that all veterans, no matter the conflict or time period in which they served, are set apart by the way in which they have taken on the success and safety of the United States as their own personal responsibility.