Jon Soltz served as a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

officer in the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

and is chairman and co-founder of the veterans advocacy group VoteVets.org. Soltz served in both the

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

campaign in 2000 and later in

Operation Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

in 2003. Based on his service, Soltz became an outspoken critic of the execution of

. Soltz deployed in 2011 as part of Operation New Dawn in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

Military service and background

Soltz was commissioned in 1999 from the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

Army ROTC The Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (AROTC) is the United States Army component of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. It is the largest Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program which is a group of college and university-based officer tr ...

and attended the Armor Officer Basic Course at

Fort Knox Fort Knox is a United States Army installation in Kentucky, south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Elizabethtown. It is adjacent to the United States Bullion Depository (also known as Fort Knox), which is used to house a larg ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. Following his graduation he was stationed in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

from 1999–2003. Between June and December 2000, he served as a Tank Platoon Leader in the

Kosovo War The Kosovo War (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Косовски рат, Kosovski rat) was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 28 February 1998 until 11 June 1999. It ...

. Between May and September 2003, he served as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

during Operation Iraqi Freedom, where he worked deployed logistics convoys with the 1st Armored Division. Leaving active duty in 2004 and transferring to the U.S. Army Reserve, in 2005 he trained soldiers for combat at

Fort Dix Fort Dix, the common name for the Army Support Activity (ASA) located at Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst, is a United States Army post. It is located south-southeast of Trenton, New Jersey. Fort Dix is under the jurisdiction of the Air Fo ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. He took a leave of absence from VoteVets.org in January 2011, to deploy as part of Operation New Dawn. Until he returned to the group in 2011, Ashwin Madia, an Iraq War veteran former

U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...

Judge Advocate Judge-advocates are military lawyers serving in different capacities in the military justice systems of different jurisdictions. Australia The Australian Army Legal Corps (AALC) consists of Regular and Reserve commissioned officers that prov ...

officer, and one time candidate for U.S. Congress, assumed the role of Interim Chairman. On December 12, 2011, Soltz returned as Chairman of VoteVets.org after completing his deployment to Iraq. On July 23, 2021, Soltz graduated from the US Army War College, earning his JPME 1 certification.

Veterans' advocacy

In 2006, Soltz co-founded VoteVets.org, which originally was a

PAC Pac or PAC may refer to: Aviation * IATA code PAC Albrook "Marcos A. Gelabert" International Airport in Panama City, Panama * Pacific Aerospace Corporation, New Zealand, manufacturer of aircraft: ** PAC 750XL ** PAC Cresco ** PAC CT/4 ** PA ...

that endorsed a slate of veterans running for office. Since that time, VoteVets has grown into a group that claims 700,000 supporters, including veterans, military families, and civilians who support them, and is made up of both a

and 501c(4), VoteVets Action Fund. The PAC has helped elect a number of veterans in every cycle at the Federal, state, and local levels. Soltz volunteered for the John Kerry presidential campaign in 2004. Regarding his personal political views, Soltz told ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' in 2007 that "I'm a conservative" and that he opposed the

Iraq War troop surge of 2007 The Iraq War troop surge of 2007, commonly known as the troop surge, or simply the surge, refers to the George W. Bush administration's 2007 increase in the number of U.S. military combat troops in Iraq in order to provide security to Baghdad a ...

because "I don't think 20,000 more troops is Democratic, I don't think 20,000 troops is Republican. I think it's stupid." He has been a frequent contributor to numerous shows, including

All In with Chris Hayes ''All In with Chris Hayes'' is an American news television program that airs Tuesdays through Fridays at 8:00 p.m. ET on MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsi ...

, The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell,

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AM Joy Joy-Ann M. Lomena-Reid ( Lomena; born December 8, 1968) is an American political commentator and television host. She was a national correspondent for MSNBC and is best known for hosting the political commentary program ''The ReidOut'' from 20 ...

Countdown with Keith Olbermann ''Countdown with Keith Olbermann'' is a weekday podcast that originated as an hour-long weeknight news and political commentary program hosted by Keith Olbermann that aired on MSNBC from 2003 to 2011 and on Current TV from 2011 to 2012. The show ...

and

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on MSNBC. He has been interviewed by the

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, ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', ''

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'', ''Time'' magazine and ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

.'' He has appeared on ''

NewsHour with Jim Lehrer ''PBS News Hour'', previously stylized as ''PBS NewsHour'', is the news division of PBS and an American daily evening television news program broadcast on over 350 PBS member stations since October 20, 1975. It airs seven nights a week, and i ...

'',

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, ''

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'',

Air America Radio Air America (formerly Air America Radio and Air America Media) was an American radio network specializing in progressive talk radio. It was on the air from March 2004 to January 2010. The network was founded as a left–wing alternative to coun ...

, ''

The Ed Schultz Show ''The Ed Schultz Show'' was a progressive talk radio program hosted by Ed Schultz. It was formerly broadcast from KFGO in Fargo, North Dakota. It was heard on a network of over 100 stations, including seven of the ten largest radio markets. It ...

'', and '' The Bill Press Show''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Soltz, Jon Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American political commentators United States Army personnel of the Kosovo War Military personnel from Pittsburgh United States Army officers Tank personnel Washington & Jefferson College alumni University of Pittsburgh alumni United States Army personnel of the Iraq War American anti–Iraq War activists American founders

Military service and background

Veterans' advocacy

See also

References

External links