Rye Barcott, a former Marine, argues in his new book that military veterans running for office can bring a rare kind of courage to Washington—one that’s willing to defy party instincts, endure harassment and violence, and work across lines in service of a comm
By the time Rye Barcott started writing his new book, “Courage Can Save Us,” he’d already been chasing one idea for years: that the difference between bravery and courage isn’t just a matter of nerve. In his telling, it’s a matter of morality—what you do when pressure turns ugly.
Barcott served in Fallujah. Iraq. and said he watched a senior enlisted Marine—his gunnery sergeant—prove himself “undoubtedly brave” in combat. The safety of other Marines, Barcott said, often seemed to come from that proficiency. But he described what followed as something darker: the gunnery sergeant “started to go down this kind of moral rot and degradation. ” as war pressure mounted. Barcott said the commander eventually reached the point of wanting to recruit a child to provide information about enemy locations.
Barcott said courage showed up somewhere else. A lower-ranking sergeant refused. He came to Barcott and described what was being asked of him. Barcott said. and together they told the gunnery sergeant that the plan was not going to happen. Barcott framed it plainly—he called it a war crime. and he said the courage belonged with the sergeant who stopped it.
In the book, Barcott draws from that moral distinction to make a case about politics. With Honor. the cross-partisan group Barcott cofounded. encourages veterans to run for office. and he points to the appetite for service at a moment when the country. as he put it. needs it. With Honor has counted the number of veterans running for federal office since 2018. and Barcott said that this year more are running than ever. He also cited a specific shift he sees in the candidate pool: the number of women running is double what it was in 2024.
The political thread runs through the book’s roster of examples. Barcott said he profiled politicians who served—five from each party—who, in his view, have shown courage at war and back home in politics. That often meant breaking with the party line.
One of those stories, Barcott said, is about Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts Democrat and another Marine. Barcott described Moulton as having been sharply critical during the Biden administration’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. He said Moulton even jumped on an unauthorized flight into Kabul.
Moulton faced heavy backlash, Barcott said, with critics accusing him of “showboating.” But Barcott said many veterans—including himself—respected the attempt to “shine a light on a catastrophe that was playing out,” even if it came with political risk.
The risk, Barcott argues, isn’t abstract. He said politicians and veterans face genuine dangers that extend far beyond legislative debate. including social media harassment and real acts of political violence. He also said the record number of veterans entering politics doesn’t guarantee staying power: several of the vets profiled in his book are either leaving politics or being pushed out.
Barcott’s book also includes a Republican example: Dan Crenshaw of Texas. a former Navy SEAL who lost an eye and “nearly lost both eyes in combat.” Crenshaw. Barcott said. is a conservative Texas Republican who supports President Trump except on a few issues. One of those exceptions is defending Ukraine against Russia, and Barcott said Crenshaw’s position drew online targeting. Crenshaw ultimately lost a primary challenge. Barcott noted. attributing it to multiple factors—including the positions Crenshaw took on issues like Ukraine.
The point of these stories, Barcott said, is not that all veterans will do the same thing once they’re in office. It’s that the courage to cross lines still exists.
He said politicians might lose their jobs and “lose some friends,” but that some will still choose what he calls the right thing. He emphasized that he’s focused on “10” veterans in his book, and on what they did at key moments.
Barcott said he’s “not naive.” Still. he hopes that this year’s surge in veterans running for Congress—more than ever. with women making up a bigger share than they did in 2024—can bring the same kind of moral refusal and shared resolve to Washington that he has linked to courage in combat. The goal. in his telling. is to work alongside Americans “of all stripes” even when differences are sharp. in pursuit of a common good.
The underlying message lands less like a campaign slogan than a warning drawn from lived experience: bravery may look like competence under fire, but courage is the choice you make when the pressure asks you to cross a line—and when politics, like war, can reward silence.
Rye Barcott Courage Can Save Us With Honor veterans running for office Congress bipartisan politics Fallujah Seth Moulton unauthorized flight into Kabul Dan Crenshaw Ukraine social media harassment political violence women veterans candidates