Thane Startzell is from San Antonio, Texas and is a colonel in the present day U.S. Army.  He grew up in a military family, and he decided to pursue that goal in his own right, choosing to attend West Point.  He was there when 9/11 happened, recognizing right away that it was a moment that would define his generation.  He was commissioned in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in June of 2002, and as the War on Terror escalated he soon found himself sent to Iraq, the first of three deployments.  While there his unit assembled barricades and did route patrol and dealt with the difficult conditions of war and insurgency in a desert setting. Startzell also deployed to Jordan during the time of the Syrian civil war, ready to play a role if circumstances demanded.  Startzell’s awards include the Bronze Star Medal, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal (2 oak leaf clusters), the Army Commendation Medal (1 oak leaf cluster), the Army Achievement Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal (3 stars), and the Global War on Terror Expeditionary Service Medal. In 2024-2025 he was at the Canadian Forces College in Toronto, and while there he was able to visit Crestwood, where he spoke to Mr. Masters’ Politics 12 class about the realities of modern warfare and the American mission in the Middle East.