Q: How did you come to work for Akaka in his Washington office?
A: I was serving as a state representative in 2004 when I volunteered to deploy to Iraq with my Hawaii National Guard unit. It was the first deployment that our brigade combat team had had since Vietnam, really. And I was one of the few people who was not on the mandatory deployment roster, but I knew there was no way I could stay home.
So I stepped away from my reelection campaign at that time and volunteered to deploy, got trained in a job in a medical unit that they needed filling. All in all, we were away from home for 18 months. When I came back, my life had changed. Every day, I was confronted with the high human cost of war and the reality that death could come at any moment.
I wanted to take those experiences and do something positive with them. At the time, Sen. Akaka was the chair of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, and he was facing a tough reelection — a primary campaign [in 2006]. He was one of the few senators who had voted against the Iraq War, and while I really didn’t know him personally, I went and I volunteered on his campaign for several months because I felt his voice, especially as a veteran, was critical.
He won, and when he returned to Washington, he asked if I would go and work with him as a legislative aide.
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'My boss had a front-row seat': Tulsi Gabbard on serving in the National Guard - Roll Call
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