The Combat Veterans For Congress PAC is endorsing the 67th Combat Veteran For Congress; he is a fiscally conservative candidate who will work to rein in the out of control spending by the Congress and the Obama Administration.  He will work toward unleashing the private sector to grow once again, create jobs, and stimulate private sector business investment.  Col Paul J. Cook, USMC (Ret) (R-CA-8) http://www.joinpaulcook.com resides in Yucca Valley, CA and is a 26 year veteran of the US Marine Corps.  Colonel Cook is running for an open seat in the 8thCongressional District of California.  Paul Cook was born in Meriden, Connecticut on March 3, 1943 and graduated from Platt High School in Meriden in June 1961.  In June 1966, Paul Cook received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education from Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, CT.  In June 1996, Col Cook received a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from California State University San Bernardino in San Bernardino, CA.  In June 2000, Col Cook received a Master’s Degree in Political Science at the University of California Riverside in Riverside, CA. 

After graduation from Southern Connecticut State University, Paul Cook was sworn into the US Marine Corps from Meriden, CT in February 1966. He entered USMC Officer Candidate School at Quantico, Virginia in March of 1966. After graduating from OCS in May, he was commissioned a 2ndLieutenant. He attended Basic School at Quantico. When he completed Basic School in October 1966, 2nd Lieutenant Cook received orders to report to WESTPAC in the Republic of Vietnam.  2nd Lt Cook reported to Company B, 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Division as an Infantry Officer. In January 1967, 2nd Lieutenant Cook deployed to I Corps in Vietnam as a Platoon Commander and later as a Scout Sniper Platoon Commander in the 1stMarines. He was promoted to 1st Lieutenant in June 1967.  During his combat tour, while involved in Operation Union, Lieutenant Cook was awarded a Bronze Star Medal with the Combat “V" for Valor, and was subsequently awarded two Purple Heart Medals for wounds sustained in combat operations.  In January 1968, Cook deployed back to the Continental United States, and in December 1968, he was promoted to Captain while assigned as company commander with the infantry training regiment at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
  

In 1970, Captain Cook was assigned to 1st Battalion, 25th Marines where he served as the Battalion S4. Cook served there until 1972 when he became a Company Commander in the 4th Marine Division. He was promoted to Major in November 1975 and was later transferred to the 1st Battalion, 8thMarines, 2nd Marine Division to serve as a company commander and later as the CO of Headquarters Company, Headquarters Battalion, 2nd Marine Division. In 1978, Major Cook became the Executive Officer of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, 2nd Marine Division.  In 1979, Major Cook became the G3 Assistant Operations Officer with the 2nd Marine Division and the following year in April 1980, his rank of Major became permanent. 

Major Cook next served as the G1/Inspector for the 4th Marine Division from 1981-1983. While serving with the 4th Division, Cook was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 1982. Cook was assigned to the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms in 1983 where he served as the Inspector and OIC of the Reserve Support Unit.  In April 1988 Lt Col Cook was promoted to Colonel and subsequently assigned to the Marine Corps Base at Camp Pendleton to serve as the Area Commander.  Colonel Cook completed his Marine Corps career at Twentynine Palms, CA.  On September 30, 1992, Col Cook received an Honorable Discharge from the US Marine Corps following 26 years of service in defense of the Republic.  His military awards include the Legion of Merit Medal, the Bronze Star Medal (with Combat “V”), the Purple Heart Medal (with Gold Star for a 2ndaward), the Combat Action Ribbon, the Joint Services Commendation Medal, the Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal (with Gold Star for a 2ndaward), the Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon, the Meritorious Unit Commendation Ribbon, the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm, the Republic of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation, and various campaign and service medals. 

Following retirement Col Cook served as the Executive Director of the Yucca Valley Chamber of Commerce from 1993 to 1994.  Since retirement from the US Marine Corps, Col Cook has earned a Master of Public Administration at California State University San Bernardino in June 1996, and a Master of Political Science at University of California Riverside in June 2000. Utilizing these degrees, and his extensive experience in the Marine Corps, Paul Cook became a professor of political Science and History. He served as an Adjunct Professor at the College of the Desert, University of California Riverside, and California State University San Bernardino. He became a tenured professor at Copper Mountain College, located near the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms. The college serves a large number of Marines and family members of Marines.  Paul Cook continued his service to the public by seeking and winning a seat on the Yucca Valley Town Council in 1998, ultimately serving as Mayor. Paul became known for his commitment to conservative fiscal policies that protected working families from higher taxes. In 2006, while simultaneously teaching at Copper Mountain College and serving as Mayor, Cook ran for the 65th Assembly District, which covers portions of San Bernardino and Riverside counties.  He won the election, besting better known candidates from Riverside County and surprising many observers.  He has gone on to win two subsequent elections to the State Assembly.

 As an Assemblyman, Cook has distinguished himself as the leading advocate for veterans and military families.  He is one of only two Republican chairs of a standing committee in the Legislature, serving as Chair of the Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee.  He has tackled a variety of military and veteran issues, such as veteran’s retirement homes, delivery of services, and educational challenges, among many others.  He has authored many bills for veterans and military families on a variety of topics, including but not limited to the following: “stolen valor” (lying about military feats, rankings, and records with the intent to defraud); child custody for military parents; veterans homes prices and spousal allowances; higher education for military and military family members; and full funding for County Veteran Service Officers.  Assemblyman Cook also authored AB 717 (2009), which established March 30 as “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day” in California.   

Col Cook has been endorsed by Lt Gen Emil R. Bedard, USMC (Ret), Maj Gen James E. Livingston, USMC (Ret), Jose Ramos (Vietnam Veteran and Founder of the Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day Organization), Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack, Congressman Darrell Issa, Big Bear Lake Mayor Bill Jahn, Highland Mayor Larry McCallon, Twentynine Palms Mayor John Cole, Yucca Valley Mayor Dawn Rowe, Apple Valley Mayor Barb Stanton, Yucaipa Mayor Dick Riddell, Riverside County District Attorney Paul Zellerbach, Riverside County Sheriff Stan Sniff, retired San Bernardino County Sheriff Gary Penrod, retired Mono County Sheriff Dan Paranick, retired Riverside County Sheriff Dan Paranick, Former State Senator & State Assemblyman Bill Leonard, and the Inland Valley Young Republicans.  Col Cook is a member of the Disabled American Veterans, the American Legion, VFW, and the NRA.  Col Cook has been married 7 years to his wife Jeanne; he has a son Paul age 45 in Arizona, and a daughter Judy age 42 in Connecticut.  Col Cook and his wife Jeanne attend St. Christopher Catholic Church in Joshua Tree, California.

The Combat Veterans for Congress PAC is pleased to endorse Col Paul Cook, USMC (Ret) who will bring to Congress extraordinary public sector and private sector skills and wisdom to better solve problems and represent his Congressional District and the Republic. If you review Col Cook’s positions on his Web site, you would be pleased with his stands; they agree with the Combat Veterans For Congress Mission Statement.  We look forward to working with Col Cook, and are pleased that a Combat Veteran of his caliber is running for Congress.  If you have friends, associates, or relatives who know voters in the 8th Congressional District of California, kindly pass this E-mail on to them, and ask them to support Col Cook by working in his campaign, providing financial support for his campaign in any amount, and/or by networking with others who would be willing to support his campaign.  The military is one of the few remaining institutions producing the caliber of men and women needed to restore this nation to the greatness our Founding Fathers envisioned.  We have endorsed another Combat Veteran For Congress that General George Washington would have approved of.  He is a Veteran who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to “The United States of America” for an amount “up to and including his life.”