Wade Sanders

The son of a career Naval Officer who suffered terrible wounds in the Battle of Santa Cruz while serving as Gunner's Mate aboard the U.S.S. Pensacola, and Mary Houston, a talented artist, Wade Sanders is currently the Senior Advisor for Veterans and Military Affairs to John Garamendi, the Lieutenant Governor of the state of California. A former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Clinton Administration, he contributed significantly to the Post Cold War restructuring and modernization of the Armed Forces of the United States and worked with the Secretary of Defense to achieve full integration of the Reserve and Guard Components of the U.S. Military.

A combat veteran of the Vietnam War (Swift Boat skipper, PCF-98), [http://www.mwweb.com/ndc/SwiftBoats/Swifthome2.htm] and retired Navy Captain, Sanders had several successful command assignments and received many personal decorations and unit citations for nearly thirty years of active and reserve Naval service including the Silver Star for gallantry in action, the Bronze Star (with "V") for heroism, and the Purple Heart.

As attorney practicing in San Diego, California, he received his Bachelor of Arts from California State University at Long Beach, his Juris Doctor from the University of San Diego School of Law, and is a graduate of the Naval War College. He also attended The Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. A community activist, he is a member of the San Diego Police Department Senior Oversight Committee, and has served on many non-profit Boards, including the Vietnam Veterans of San Diego. An award winning journalist, Wade Sanders is the author of many published articles and opinion pieces in major newspapers and the Navy Institute Proceedings. He is a columnist for Military.com and a television commentator on national security matters and the war in Iraq for NBC and FOX. He has been installed in the Long Beach City and State University Halls of Fame and has been recognized the Mayors, City Councils, and Boards of Supervisors of several cities for his contributions to national security. A distance cyclist, he concluded a 1200 mile bicycle trip from Hanoi to Saigon. He is also a talented guitarist and vocalist, having performed with several musical groups.

Sanders, is a resident of San Diego, California, [http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2007/02/21/columnists/contributing_voices/28wadesanders021207.txt] and is presently engaged in the legal practice of corporate governance, ethics, and specializing in employee owned companies, as well as lobbying for major corporations.

On May 4, 2004, when Swift Boat Veterans For Truth commenced their attack on Democrat Presidential candidate John Kerry, [http://horse.he.net/~swiftpow/article.php?story=20040629220813790] an attack that was characterized by Senator John McCain as "dishonest and dishonorable." Sanders was the most prominent spokesman for the Kerry campaign's rebuttal but the campaign was largely ineffective in discounting their accusations. [http://www.gwu.edu/~action/2004/interestg/swift050404c.html]

Sanders made an appearance in the documentary "Going Upriver - The Long War of John Kerry (2004)", and contributed much of the combat footage that is featured in the film.

Sanders was nominated for the 2005 BRAC commission but was deemed unacceptable by the Bush Administration due to his outspoken criticism of its prosecution of the Iraq War

External links

# Wade Sanders Archives at Military.com [http://www.military.com/Opinions/0,,Sanders_Index,00.html]
# Wade Sanders on KPBS TV San Diego "Full Focus" (mostly) [http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=%22wade+sanders%22+kpbs]