Our security depends on our brave troops who run into the fight…

Our security depends on our brave troops who run into the fight…

There’s a bit of battle-tested wisdom we need to keep in mind when asking what needs to be done about threats to our nation’s security like the one coming from North Korea. Whatever mix of diplomacy, sanctions or military posturing is used, ultimately our security depends on this simple fact:

“We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm.”

Students of the Second World War will recognize the quote as coming from either George Orwell or Winston Churchill. More important than who said it first is the context in which it was said. As Hitler built his military and signaled his ill intent, Europe slept and America chose to stay away from the fight. Appeasement and abdication of responsibility led to war then, and they have not worked today. In fact, they have never worked. Every time we look away from the danger in the hopes that someone else will do the heavy lifting, we only increase the cost and pain of what is sure to come. Whenever we act, this simple but profound truth holds: our security ultimately depends on brave troops who run into the fight while the rest of us sleep safely in our beds far from it.

SoldierStrong is dedicated to supporting those brave men and women who ran into the fight and now need help to stand on their own two feet again. They did their part; now we must do ours.

“We Mutually Pledge To Each Other Our Lives, Our Fortunes, And Our Sacred Honor…”

“We Mutually Pledge To Each Other Our Lives, Our Fortunes, And Our Sacred Honor…”

With this last sentence of our Declaration of Independence, the fifty-six signers of that document not only committed themselves to uncompromising, complete devotion to the American Republic, but they also charted a path for all patriots to come. When the signers of the Declaration committed themselves to this pledge, they also signed the warrants for their own doom at the hands of the greatest military force the world had known to that point. It’s not that they did not know whether Washington and the Continental Army would be successful. Quite to the contrary; there was little reason to believe they would. This is what makes their commitment so very courageous.

No living American knows this feeling because our material capacity and warfighting capability exceed that of any adversary who has fought us or would consider doing so. The only question to answer today is whether we have the will to defeat our adversaries. Too many of the elected officials who commit our armed forces to the defense of our nation and our principles speak of every goal with the exception of the one that counts most: complete victory over our adversaries. But those who have taken the pledge of our founders when they accepted the solemn responsibility to defend our Republic are the most clear-eyed and committed to the ultimate goal: victory.

Reagan was once asked about his goal in the Cold War. His answer: “we win, they lose.” Well said, Mr. President. Let’s stand with the soldiers who win for us.

SoldierStrong stands with our heroes! Join us in supporting our military veterans by donating today.

Donate to SoldierStrong

 

 

A Republic…if you can keep it….

“A Republic…if you can keep it….”

That’s how Benjamin Franklin responded to a question asking what kind of government the Constitutional Convention of 1787 created. The ancient Greeks and Romans tried something similar and it ended in dictatorship and collapse, as increased prosperity dulled the lessons of the past and the virtues that built prosperity. Entitlement, grievance, factionalism, debt, and disunity killed those attempts at empowerment of the people. But Franklin and his fellow Founders thought America could be different (the motto of the great seal of the fledgling United States: “Novus Ordo Seclorum” – “A New Order of the Ages”). Their constitution, the first written one in history, limited government and made clear that the people were the source of its power. For this experiment in popular sovereignty to succeed, however, the people would need to be virtuous in word and deed. Honesty, thrift, devotion to hard work, service for the common good, love of country, and a solemn respect for and gratitude to the Almighty for liberty’s blessings had to be taught and reinforced. Over 230 years, this approach has yielded spectacular successes. No nation in history has been as prosperous at home or liberated as many abroad. But our contemporary challenges are mounting and our sense of virtuous purpose is in question. Rather than debate the symptoms of our national malady, our preference is to focus on the cure.

We are SoldierStrong, a not-for-profit created to purchase and put in-place the most technologically sophisticated and effective rehabilitative mechanisms to help those heroes who have sustained catastrophic spinal chord injuries while defending our nation. Though our first priority is to raise funds to purchase exoskeletal rehab suits for use by injured vets, we’ll be writing in this space to raise important lessons from our national past to keep strong our shared virtues and the patriotism necessary to win the future. Thanks for reading, please let us know your thoughts, and we hope you stay with us as our mission for our veterans and our nation continues.

Our next essay will consider “Our Lives, Our Fortunes, and Our Sacred Honor” – The Founders on Character and Virtue and what it should mean to us today. See you then!

United Rentals CMO Christopher K. Hummel Joins SoldierStrong Advisory Board

STAMFORD, Conn., June 01, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — SoldierStrong, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing advanced medical technologies to veterans, today announced that Christopher (Chris) K. Hummel, senior vice president (SVP) and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) for United Rentals, will join their Advisory Board effective immediately.

United Rentals began donating to SoldierStrong in 2013 and, as of May 2017, has donated over $350,000 to SoldierStrong to provide advanced medical technologies to benefit injured veterans. In 2016, Mr. Hummel initiated the highly successful “Turns for Troops” program with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing where United Rentals would donate $50 to SoldierStrong for every lap completed by IndyCar driver Graham Rahal in the IndyCar Series.

“SoldierStrong is delighted to welcome Mr. Hummel to our Advisory Board, as our organization and, more importantly, those we serve, will benefit from his vast experience,” said Chris Meek, co-founder and chairman of SoldierStrong. “Throughout his career, Mr. Hummel has proven himself as a key member of critical leadership teams—driving key marketing and operational projects. His extensive experience will help advance our mission to help as many injured veterans as possible to gain access to cutting-edge medical technologies.”

Mr. Hummel brings more than two decades of senior management experience to United Rentals, having previously held senior sales and marketing positions at Unify, SAP and Oracle; he was appointed his current role for United Rentals in 2016. Prior to that, he served as the chief marketing officer of Schneider Electric SE, responsible for the development and implementation of Schneider’s global marketing strategy. Mr. Hummel is an award-winning corporate spokesperson who was named one of FierceCMO’s “15 B2B CMOs to Watch” in 2013 and profiled in The CMO Manifesto.

“On behalf of United Rentals and as an individual, I am honored to join the Advisory Board of SoldierStrong and look forward to helping continue its mission to support our veterans long after their return home,” said Mr. Hummel. “It’s critical that we use all our skills and resources to help support an organization that is dedicated to the service of those who have so bravely served our nation.”

Mr. Hummel holds a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy (MALD), International Business and a BA, International Relations, both from Tufts University.

About SoldierStrong
SoldierStrong, previously known as SoldierSocks, helps American patriots literally take their new steps forward. Through educational scholarships and by harnessing the most innovative technology in advanced rehabilitation, we help our returning service men and women to continue moving in the only direction they should know – forward. Nearly every dollar SoldierStrong receives goes towards direct support of American patriots so that they can re-acclimate to civilian life. Our organization works to remind those men and women who sacrificed so much that we are forever thankful.

MEDIA CONTACT: 
Rachel Harrison
CYNYPR, Inc.
rachel@cynypr.com
soldierstrong@cynypr.com

COMPANY CONTACT:
SoldierStrong
1127 High Ridge Road #124
Stamford, Connecticut 06905
Telephone: 888-898-3235
Website: www.soldierstrong.org
Facebook: SoldierStrong
Twitter: @soldierstrong

LaSalle Solutions Supports SoldierStrong Through Turns for Troops Charitable Program

Every Lap Completed at 2017 Indy 500 Will Benefit Veterans

ROSEMONT, Ill., May 24, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — LaSalle Solutions, a leading provider of technology lifecycle asset management services, announced today that it has partnered with United Rentals and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing on their Turns for Troops program. LaSalle Solutions will donate $25 to SoldierStrong for every lap Verizon IndyCar Series driver Graham Rahal, driver of the #15 Honda, completes during the 2017 Indianapolis 500 on May 28.

SoldierStrong applies donations toward the purchase of state-of-the-art medical technologies and implementation of educational programs that benefit injured veterans across the country, helping them to—literally—take their next steps forward.

“We are grateful that LaSalle Solutions has joined the Turns for Troops program to support us during the Indy 500,” said Chris Meek, co-founder and chairman of SoldierStrong. “Their contribution will help us in our efforts to provide cutting-edge medical technology to veterans. As awareness of this campaign increases, we hope additional partners will follow suit and find ways to get involved.”

In 2016, United Rentals, the world’s largest equipment rental provider, and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing first partnered on the Turns for Troops program, raising more than $100,000 for SoldierStrong—which went toward the purchase of cutting-edge robotic medical devices that address a variety of physical rehabilitation needs. SoldierStrong donated these technologies to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals nationwide and plans to do the same with this year’s proceeds.

“LaSalle is thrilled to support SoldierStrong and the amazing work that they do,” said Steven Robb, president of the Solutions Group at LaSalle Solutions. “We are inspired by their commitment to helping our wounded veterans, as well as everything United Rentals and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing are doing through Turns for Troops. As a sponsor of the racing team at this year’s Indy 500, we heard about the program and knew we had to get involved. We are excited to be a part of it and look forward to helping SoldierStrong surpass last year’s proceeds.”

To learn more about the program and opportunities to directly support SoldierStrong, visit turnsfortroops.com.

About LaSalle Solutions

Founded in 1980, LaSalle Solutions is a leading provider of technology lifecycle asset management services. LaSalle enables its customers to improve their technology operations through enhanced processes, management and reporting for better planning and return on investment. LaSalle Solutions’ processes, outstanding customer service and powerful, market-leading cloud-based platform, LAMP, enable customers to obtain better business outcomes through transparency and reliable results at their fingertips.

LaSalle Solutions is a subsidiary of MB Financial Bank, N.A., a commercial bank headquartered in Chicago. MB Financial Inc. is the publicly traded holding company for MB Financial Bank, N.A. and is traded on the NASDAQ as “MBFI.”

For more information on LaSalle Solutions, please visit www.elasalle.com and www.YouTube.com/LaSalleSolutions.

About SoldierStrong

SoldierStrong, previously known as SoldierSocks, helps American patriots literally take their new steps forward. Through educational scholarships and by harnessing the most innovative technology in advanced rehabilitation, we help our returning service men and women to continue moving in the only direction they should know — forward. Nearly every dollar SoldierStrong receives goes toward direct support of American patriots so that they can re-acclimate to civilian life. Our organization works to remind those men and women who sacrificed so much that we are forever thankful.

LaSalle Solutions and LAMP are registered trademarks of LaSalle Solutions in the United States.

Press Contact
Beth Kirshenberg
LaSalle Solutions 
847.823.9600