Former Army National Guard combat engineer Chris Purdy deployed to Iraq in 2011 where he clearly recalls the influence the Celtic punk band Dropkick Murphys had on his psyche -- the driving guitar riffs that got him through the day.
"We played their music in our Humvees and our MRAPs and our Strikers to get us through those many months away from home," said Purdy, CEO of the Chamberlain Network, an advocacy group for veterans in civic engagement.
The gritty Boston-based band is still very much a soundtrack of the lives of many Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, and on Friday -- the 81st anniversary of D-Day -- the troupe will join thousands of veterans, including those in the federal workforce or who receive benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs, to protest planned job cuts and perceived threats to VA services under the Trump administration.
For Dropkick Murphy's vocalist and bassist Ken Casey, supporting "patriots who put their money where their mouth is" by joining the U.S. military is an "obligation."
"Music ... is a good way to kick the door -- the front door -- open or put an exclamation point on a point," Casey said in a media roundtable Monday with reporters.
The Unite for Veterans, Unite for America Rally, planned for 2 p.m. Friday on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., aims to draw attention to the loss of jobs held by veterans in the federal government under planned reductions and a potential erosion of VA services with cuts of up to 80,000 personnel at the department.
Read More: We Fought for This Country. Don't Cut the One Department That Fights for Us.
The veteran-led protest, with smaller marches in at least 43 states planned the same day, is meant to send a message that veterans continue to serve their country in the federal government, they want quality health care provided at VA hospitals and clinics, and they want to protect their benefits.
"Over the last few months, we've really seen an urgency and a fear in the veterans community. ... Veterans are worried about their future. They're worried about the benefits that we fought for throughout our generations. We're worried [about] what's going to happen," said Will Attig, a veteran who serves as executive director of the Union Veterans Council at the AFL-CIO.
VA officials said in March that they are reviewing the departmental organization with an aim to reduce the number of employees to 399,957, or roughly 83,000 fewer than it currently has.
The VA fired 1,000 probationary employees at the start of the Trump administration under mass layoffs across the federal government and let go an additional 1,400 weeks later, only to have them reinstated.
During a hearing in May, VA Secretary Doug Collins said the department had dismissed roughly 1,000 employees and is looking to reduce the workforce by 15% -- a reduction he argues could improve efficiency and is not the equivalent of "firing" 80,000 people at a department that currently employs 482,000, including 459,000 full-time staff.
"We're looking at a goal of how many employees we have and how many employees that are actually working in the front line, taking care. I have doctors and nurses right now that do not see patients. Is that helping veteran health care?" Collins asked during a Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing.
Rally organizers say cutting that many jobs -- and more across the federal government -- will hurt veterans with steady jobs who were hired under preferential status and ultimately lead to reductions in services.
Veterans make up 28% of the VA workforce and hold roughly one-quarter of all federal jobs. Under the VA's reduction in force plan, the department was to complete an internal review and publish its reorganization plan in June. Layoffs would begin in August.
"We're not waiting to fight once it's already done," Attig said. "The partners we've gathered during the process of putting together [this] event lift up veteran voices across the country."
The protest not only will mark the anniversary of the amphibious assault against the Germans in Normandy, it also will pay tribute to the "Bonus Army" protests of 1932, which brought 40,000 World War I veterans to Washington to press for deferred bonus payments they were promised.
Paul Sullivan, an Army veteran of the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War and veterans advocate, said he planned to attend because "there are real threats to cut VA care and benefits."
"Veterans absolutely understand what it means to stand between an enemy bullet and our Constitution," Sullivan said in a message to Military.com. "We are honored to be a part of the social contract, so now, as the U.S. and a culture and nation, must make sure we leave no veteran behind."
No representatives from the VA are scheduled to speak. In a statement provided to Military.com in April, VA Press Secretary Peter Kasperowicz said the department is working to improve an organization that has been on the Government Accountability Office's "high-risk list" for more than a decade.
"Imagine how much better off veterans would be if VA's critics cared as much about fixing the department as they do about protecting its broken bureaucracy," Kasperowicz said. "Unfortunately, many in the media, government union bosses and some in Congress are fighting to keep in place the broken status quo."
According to organizers, the epicenter of the event, which starts at 2 p.m., is the National Mall between the National Air and Space Museum and the National Gallery of Art. Bands will start warming up the crowd at 1:30, with the playing of the national anthem at 2 p.m. and speakers from various organizations, including members of Congress.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., is slated to speak, as are veterans and former Reps. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., and Conor Lamb, D-Pa. Representatives from Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America will speak, as will some from #AfghanEvac on behalf of those who worked for U.S. forces during the Afghanistan war.
Union reps including those from National Nurses United, which represents 15,000 VA nurses, also will join the pack.
"We are currently facing the imminent loss of tens of thousands of positions from the VA. These proposed cuts come as we are already struggling to provide the highest quality of care with far too few nurses and resources," said Irma Westmoreland, chairwoman of the union's VA Division. "Nurses are proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with our veterans as we fight for the highest quality of care for those who put their lives on the line,"
The Dropkick Murphys will play a newly released single -- "Who'll Stand With Us?" -- live for the first time in addition to a full set, according to Casey.
Casey, who recently returned from a trip delivering ambulances to Ukraine, said that "standing up for democracy" is part of the band's foundation.
"The veteran community has always been huge supporters of the band and, you know, we've just felt a real connection," he said. "We've always considered ourselves patriotic Americans, and that's part of the reason why we feel ... it's an obligation to speak out and join causes like this."
Related: Veterans Protest at US Capitol as Pressure Mounts on Senate Republicans over Toxic Exposures Bill
