Six years after leaving the Navy, under the GI bill, Virginia Beach veteran Ricki Thompson is earning a master’s degree to become a surgical assistant. She takes great pride in her service and her fellow servicemen and women—active-duty and veteran.

When asked what she thought about Mitt Romney failure to mention veterans during his keynote address to the Republican National Convention, she said:

"As a Navy veteran, a wife of an active-duty servicemen, and mother, Ricki believes we deserve a leader who will acknowledge the sacrifices of our courageous men and women in uniform, veterans, and their families. "How [Romney] didn’t mention Afghanistan in his convention speech is beyond me. It’s not an imaginary place – we went to war there and many Americans gave their lives. We can't forget that.

"A leader is someone who backs up their words with actions. President Obama backed up his commitment to veterans, increasing funding to the Veterans Affairs Administration, ending the war in Iraq, increasing opportunities for veterans to succeed by signing the Post-9/11 GI Bill which will allow me to complete my degree.

"Since President Obama took office, he has given our military and veterans the respect and care they deserve—we should never expect any less."

A version of this was posted on the Virginia state blog.

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