[bourbon]

I place country above state, and served my country in the military for almost 30 years.

Seriously. Thank you for your service.

Now, as for the Southerners who served with you as brothers in arms, was their service less praiseworthy than yours?

[Non-Sequitur]

Now, as for the Southerners who served with you as brothers in arms, was their service less praiseworthy than yours?

No, it was not. But then I never ran across a fellow officer who did not consider his loyalty to be to his country first, and who was motivated to preserve, protect, and defend the U.S. Constitution and not some state constitution.