I was born in Kansas City in 1956. I am a member of the Class of 1974 Winnetonka High School, but graduated a semester early to join the U.S. Navy. I am a Viet Nam Era Veteran who had been serving for fifteen months when Saigon fell. I was Honorably discharged in 1978. I graduated from Longview Community College in 1985, from UMKC in 1987. I have worked for Bendix/Honeywell for nearly thirty two years. Virtually all of my adult life has been spent serving the cause of National Defense. I first swore an oath thirty six years ago "to uphold and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic." That oath was not for a tour of duty, rather for a lifetime.