After barnstorming through much of the midwsest the Veterans for American Power tour is heading to the nation's capitol today. Since the tour started in Arkansas Oct 12, we been to dozens to towns and cities in a half dozen states, including Arkansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio and West Virgnia. The vets on the bus are from a wide range of services and tours, ranging from Operation Desert Storm in the Gulf to recent tours to Afghanistan. They all have been spreading the message that climate change is a national security threat, and that creating a new clean energy economy is the best way to keep our country safe and secure by getting off oil and creating more jobs in the US.

Army veteran Ed May plans to be with the tour the entire trip, ending up in Tampa October 25. "I'm on the trip because this is the most important mission in my life," he says. "I remember standing in the oily rain during the gulf War. I know what it's like to go to war over oil. We need to help explain to people why it's so important to build a new clean energy economy. Otherwise, we'll keep sending our armed forces to dangerous and unstable places, which will only get worse because of climate change. We need to become energy independent and do it in a way that creates jobs and cleans up the environment. That's something we all need to work toward and support, because it will make all American safer and more secure."

The bus tour has stopped in VFW Halls, held press conferences, and attended meetings with local officials across the midwest. We now head to our nation's capitol, where we plan to meet our representatives on the Capitol grounds today. After that, we will push south to continue to spread our message of improving our national security through building a clean energy economy right here at home.