Three times in my career I’ve sworn an oath before I started a new job. Once when I enlisted in the Army; once when I went to work as an IT specialist at the Defense Department; and most recently, in 2007, when I joined the IRS.

The military and civilian oaths are not identical, but they have this phrase in common: “I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”

Anyone who makes that promise is a public servant. Anyone who makes that promise is committed to helping others. It is who I am.

I wore my military uniform for 20 years on active duty in South Korea, Germany and Saudi Arabia. I put my life on the line for my fellow soldiers and for my country. All that time, my service was honored, respected and valued by the people that I helped protect. As it should be.

Why, then, when that same call to service led me to a cubicle at the IRS, must I endure layoffs, threats to my paycheck, downsizing, attacks on my union rights, and disrespectful comments from the highest levels of our government?

There are about 700,000 military veterans just like me who staff our federal agencies, doing the day-to-day work of making sure the American people get the services they need: helping taxpayers avoid mistakes on their returns, protecting our air and water from pollution, conducting safety inspections at drug manufacturing facilities, safeguarding consumers from fraud, facilitating trade and travel through our ports and caring...

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