I first wrote about the "Forgotten Americans" in early 2016 in an opinion piece for Fox News.The phrase was actually coined by Pat Buchanan when he served as a presidential speechwriter for President Nixon.
Nixon used it in at least one speech, but then started using the phrase "Silent Majority." In my piece, I talked about who the "Forgotten Americans" really are.They love their families and want a better life for their kids.
They believe in American exceptionalism.They work hard, worship their God, and go to church.
They pay their taxes and obey the law. When America's security is threatened, the Forgotten Americans are always the first to volunteer to defend it.They want to see America's border secured, and they're concerned about "political correctness" being taught to their children in schools that they fund.
A few months after my op-ed, the Trump campaign started using the phrase "Forgotten Americans," and it was a central part of President Trump's acceptance speech at the 2016 Republican National Convention.RENEWED PATRIOTISM AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES FUEL ARMY'S BIGGEST RECRUITING SURGE IN YEARSFor over 100 years, there's been no better link between the U.S.military and grassroots Americans than the Army's Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army (CASA) Program.
Historically, the Secretary of the Army has appointed at least one individual in each state to serve as a Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army.That person has usually been a business or civic leader who serves in a purely voluntary capacity, but has served as the link for telling the "Army story" and building support for the U.S.
military in local communities.In fact, on the U.S.
Army’s own website, it’s referred to as "The Army’s Link to the People."I believe we can have a laser focus on the technology America needs to protect our national security interests and keep the American people safe while still engaging with the grassroots and telling the Army story at the local level....