Join me in celebrating the brave men and women who serve in the U.S. Armed Forces on Armed Forces Day!

A thought for you on this Armed Forces Day.
It's been fashionable in recent years to quote the statistic that less than 1% of Americans choose to serve in our Armed Forces and defend our nation and our American way of life. While that quote is startling, and to be fair has an underlying truth to it, it's far from accurate.

One percent is generally the size of the force in uniform on any given day. The 2024 Defense bill authorizes 1,284,500 uniformed servicemembers including all the branches and reserve components. And the latest census says we have about 258 million adults in the US, with less than 200 million of those which could be called "military age". So that's where the "less than 1%" stat comes from.

But let's dig a little deeper. The military is a largely transitional force. People join and leave every day. The VA estimates that there are about 18 million living veterans or about 6% of the adult population.

So there's the hidden truth. Six times more veterans than the latest factoid would have you believe. Americans who have served our nation in uniform are all around us. If you're traveling through a major airport like I am today, 6% would mean I've literally passed scores of people - perhaps hundreds - who have all served our nation in uniform.

As we as a nation say thank you to the 1% of uniformed servicemembers standing watch on this Armed Forces Day, let's take a moment to reflect on all the Americans who have served and continue to serve our great nation. All 18 million of them.