Congressman Michael Coffman, Maj-USMC (R-CO-6)  of Highland Ranch, Colorado, will be running for re-election.  Mike Coffman was born in Aurora, CO and left Aurora Central High School at age 17 in his junior year enlisted in the US Army and earned a high school diploma through the Army.  He later attended the University of Colorado under the GI Bill.  Prior to graduating, he was able to take a leave of absence from the Army Reserve and the University of Colorado for one year to attend Vaishnav College in India and the University of Veracruz in Mexico.  He graduated from the University of Colorado in 1979.  In 1995, he completed the Senior Executive Program  for State and Local government at the John F. Kennedy School of government at Harvard University.

Following his junior year at Central High School in 1972 at Aurora, CO, Mike Coffman started his military career by enlisting in the US Army at age 17 and was assigned to the 1st Armored Division in Europe where he swerved in a mechanized infantry battalion.  He earned his high school diploma while on active duty thru the US Army Education Program.  He left active duty in 1974 to attend the University of Colorado and continued his military service in the US Army Reserve while matriculating at the University of Colorado.  Following graduation from the University of Colorado in 1979, Mike transferred as a Sergeant (E-5) in the US Army Reserve and to the US Marine Corps where he was commissioned as an Infantry Officer in the US Marine Corps.  After serving on active duty for four years, he returned to Colorado in 1983 and continued his military service in the US Marine Corps Reserve.  Shortly after being re-elected to Colorado State House of Representatives, he took an unpaid leave of absence to return to active duty during Operation Desert Storm, where he saw combat as a light armored infantry officer.  After serving 20 years in the US Army, the Army Reserve, the US Marine Corps, and the US Marine Corps Reserve, Maj Mike Coffman retired in 1990.  In 2005, after 15 years of retired status with the US Marine Corps, Maj Coffman retired as the elected Colorado State Treasurer and returned to active duty to serve in Iraq, even though being an elected official exempted him from serving.   During Operation Iraqi Freedom, Maj Coffman worked in support of the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq (IECI) on two national elections and then helped establish interim local governments in the Western Euphrates River Valley.  He completed a full tour of duty in 2006, returned to Colorado, retired from the US Marine Corps a second time, and the Governor of Colorado reappointed him to his statewide elected office of State Treasurer for Colorado.  He was awarded the Combat Action Ribbon, the Navy Marine Corps Achievement Medal, the US Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon, The Navy Marine Corps Commendation Medal, the Meritorious Unit Commendation Ribbon and other theatre medals for combat service. 

In 1983 Mike Coffman founded a property management firm where he was the senior shareholder.  In 1968 Mike began his career in state government when he was elected to the Colorado State House of Representatives and was re-elected in 1990.  Mike was elected to the Colorado State Senate in 1994 and became Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.  In 1998 Mike was elected State Treasurer of Colorado; in 2005 he returned to active duty in the US Marine Corps.  Subsequent to completing a full tour of duty n 2006, Mike returned to Colorado and resumed his duties as the Colorado State Treasurer.  Later in 2006, Mike was elected to the Office of Secretary of State where he served until he was elected to Congress in 2008.  Congressman Coffman serves on the House Armed Services Committee on the Air Land and the Sea Power and Expeditionary Forces Subcommittees, the House Natural Resources Committee, and on the House Small Business Committee.  Cong Coffman just passed the National Guard Reemployment Act in the House of Representatives that gives members of the National Guard, who are called up for Homeland Security Missions, the same reemployment rights to their civilian occupation that members who are called up for overseas assignments have.  

If you review Congressman Coffman’s positions on his Web site, you would be pleased with his stand; they agree with the Combat Veterans For Congress Mission Statement.  We look forward to working with Congressman Coffman, and are pleased that a Combat Veteran of his caliber is serving in Congress.  If you have friends, associates, or relatives who know voters in the 6th Congressional District of Colorado, kindly pass this E-mail on to them, and ask them to support Congressman Coffman 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.