I was once an 18-year-old high school dropout who was a computer jock for the NSA (USAF branch) with a top-secret clearance. In the three years I worked up to my elbows in top secret intelligence, I can remember two items the leaking of which would have landed the news on the front pages along with the leaker in the pokey.

We were all told regularly and often what the consequences of revealing classified information would be. Would I have done that? I like to think I would if the public interest in the information clearly outweighed my own safety, but that circumstance never came up, so I can’t know. Before you spit your coffee on the keyboard, remember that the very oath every military person takes involves putting the interests of the country above your own.

Some Indians believe that we should not serve in the colonial military or serve in federal or state government, because that somehow conflicts with the obligations of our tribal citizenships. That position would impress me more if I knew more Indians who trust their tribal government, but I see no reason to engage the argument while the numbers continue to tell the story they tell. I’ll only say that those who believe there’s a conflict have to pick a side, but I don’t see the conflict. When I do, I’ll pick a side.