As Washington stated:
“There is a rank due to the United States among nations which will be withheld, if not absolutely lost, by the reputation of weakness. If we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to secure peace, one of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity, it must be known that we are at all times ready for war.”
As the CEO of Sticker Mule, a company that produces millions of stickers, shirts, and other products right here in the U.S. - I created a shirt with the slogan, “TRUMP FOR PEACE,” that I believe plainly states the reason why President Trump won in a landslide, bringing in more votes than any Republican in history.
The President has wisely selected my own Congresswoman, Elise Stefanik, as his Ambassador to the United Nations. Elise Stefanik has been a tireless advocate for a missile defense system for America, specifically a missile defense system on the east coast. The most obvious place this missile defense system is at our own Fort Drum in upstate New York, as Congresswoman Stefanik has advocated. In fact, Fort Drum has been designated by the Department of Defense in 2021 as the preferred location for a third missile defense site in the continental United States.
There are currently two missile defense sites in the United States, one in California, and another in Alaska. It is past time that one be constructed on the east coast, especially with the threat of nuclear war looming closer than any time since the Cold War. I agree strongly with Congresswoman Elise Stefanik that Fort Drum is the most logical location for this third missile defense system.
Rep. Stefanik secured Department of Defense support for this during a 2023 House Armed Services Committee hearing, where she serves as a senior member.
In that hearing, Congresswoman Stefanik has been forceful in her advocacy for this vital system that is integral to America’s defense and for locating the missile defense system at Fort Drum.
She eloquently laid out the strategic benefits of the missile site before putting Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on the spot.
Stefanik opened her questioning by saying, “I want to ask both Secretary Austin and General Milley about the unique role the 10th Mountain Division and Fort Drum play in Great Power Competition. I recently had the opportunity to visit with Major General Anderson, who is doing a great job after the tremendous job of General Beagle up at Fort Drum. We discussed General Anderson’s Alpine Initiative to return the 10th Mountain Division to its roots of cold weather operations and mountaineering."
Stefanik then asked, “Given that both you, Mr. Secretary, and you, General Milley, were Commanding Generals at Fort Drum, you’re very familiar with the unique strengths of the 10th Mountain, what role do you see the 10th Mountain Division and Fort Drum, specifically, playing in outcompeting our adversaries in the Arctic?”
Austin responded, “I think 10th Mountain Division can play a significant role and does play a significant role in that endeavor. I would also say they are a multi-purpose division. As they have demonstrated, they can go a number of places and be very effective, because their strength is their quality of their people and their leadership. That’s been demonstrated over and over again."
Milley replied, “First, they’re trained in Arctic operations, so that is a key thing. As we know, the Arctic is opening up. Second, they’re light infantry, so they can rapidly deploy. In fact, it’s the most deployed division in the Army. The rapid deployment is key. That acts as a strategic deterrent. They were one of the first units to deploy to Europe. The third thing is they’re optimized for urban combat as light infantry. They’re very effective. As the world becomes evermore urbanized, the probability is higher rather than lower that decisive fights and battles will occur in highly dense urban areas.”
“The 10th Mountain has a lot of unique capabilities, and they bring to the fight rapid deployment, urban combat, mountain warfare, winter warfare. It’s a great place to work and live and serve our country,” Milley confirmed.
Secretary Austin – at the behest of the Biden-Harris Administration – later changed his tune, stating that he “strongly objects” to constructing the Fort Drum missile defense site in a letter to the Senate and House chairs of the Armed Services Committees. In that letter, Austin instead insists that the military budget should be focused on racist DEI policies.
Rep. Stefanik fired back at Austin and the Biden-Harris Administration with a brutal rebuttal that hits the nail right on the head.
“It is unacceptable yet unsurprising that the Biden-Harris Administration is opposed to my bipartisan provision in the National Defense Authorization Act which will strengthen our homeland missile defense architecture by requiring the completion of a third U.S. missile defense site by 2030.
Due to the feckless weakness of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on the world stage, the abilities of our adversaries to threaten our homeland have grown significantly. Iran is getting closer to achieving intercontinental ballistic missile capabilities, North Korea continues to test long range missiles, Communist China is expanding its nuclear arsenal, and Russia threatens to use nuclear weapons against America.
We need to bolster our homeland missile defense and this must begin with the construction of a third missile defense site at Fort Drum, the designated location of the DoD by law. Instead of citing made-up numbers and continuing to decimate our deterrence, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Chuck Schumer, and Kirsten Gillibrand should work to include this critical provision in the NDAA to protect the United States homeland,” Rep. Stefanik said.
I have announced my intention to seek the seat in Congress being vacated by Elise Stefanik as she takes on her important new duties as our United Nations Ambassador. If I am fortunate enough to be selected by the Republican and Conservative Party leaders as their candidate in the expected upcoming Special Election, getting this missile defense system installed at Fort Drum would be among my highest priorities.
Fort Drum is ready to take its place as a strategically beneficial missile site. Not only will its construction bring hundreds of desperately needed jobs to upstate New York, but it will make all Americans safer.
The only thing that has stood in its way is the feckless and indecisive leadership of the Biden-Harris Administration – which thankfully is coming to an end on January 20th, when the highly capable Trump-Vance Administration takes the helm to make America great (and safe) again.
Support for our dairy and apple farmers, as well as those growing specialty crops, along with support for our tourism industry would be among my other priorities as a member of Congress. As the CEO of a thriving upstate business, returning manufacturing jobs to upstate New York would be a top priority. Nothing, however, is as important as strong national defense and a missile defense system which ensures the safety of all Americans.
In Congress, I will take up the fight on this important issue, ensuring that this vital national security issue has a champion in Congress while my friend Rep. Stefanik takes on new and bigger battles representing our great country at the United Nations.
Anthony Constantino is the cofounder and CEO of Sticker Mule. His Amsterdam, NY based company employs over 1,200 people. He recently announced his intention to seek the upstate New York Congressional seat being vacated by Elise Stefanik after she was nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as Ambassador to the United Nations.
