Mike Escobar

Name: Mike Escobar
City/State: Reno, NV
Branch of Service: Marine Corps
Dates of Service: 08/2002 – 08/2006
Last Rank Held: E4
Military Occupation: 4341/4313 (combat correspondent, broadcast journalist)
Current Occupation: Administrative occupation
X: N/A
Instagram: TBD
Facebook: TBD

Mike outside of the military:

I love reading (fiction and nonfiction), current events, martial arts, fitness, philosophy, and board games. I am married with a stepdaughter and have lived in Nevada nearly my entire life.

Mike on joining the IAVA Cavalry:

I am passionate about advocating for various veteran-specific and “general American” issues (pro-democracy reforms, increased transparency and accountability in government, and honoring the promises this country has made to its servicemembers and its citizens).

How the military experience affected Mike’s personal growth:

My training within the media fields during my time in the Marines helped me become an effective communicator and compelling storyteller. The discipline and resiliency I learned during my time in the service has helped me give full effort and focus to many areas of my life, even years after leaving the service.

IAVA’s policy priorities that are the most pressing:

AUMF repeal/reform: I served during the time of two unfortunate wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our nation’s withdrawal from Afghanistan was a disaster, with allies and military equipment left behind and thousands of lives lost, only so the Taliban could take control of the country once again. Our mission in Iraq was no less unsuccessful, with the promise of finding “weapons of mass destruction” proving to be a fiction and a generation of veterans bearing the scars of a war whose legacy is unclear at best. I believe the power to wage these campaigns should be limited to prevent these catastrophes from happening ever again.

Pro-democracy reforms are also a big issue for me. Veterans need to use their respected status within the community to highlight the abuses and structural limitations of our political system that are preventing many veterans and Americans from living the promise of freedom, prosperity, and representation that America could offer.

IAVA’s policy priorities with the strongest personal connection for Mike:

Pro-democracy movement. The dissatisfaction with our nation’s leaders, institutions, and political systems is unsustainable. This distrust and misinformation will destroy our republic if we do not gain back Americans’ buy-in and belief in our elected leaders and political systems to a greater degree. To me, the structural problems within our systems are the root cause of so many issues our veterans and our country are facing.

For the past three years, I have belonged to the national pro-democracy organization, Veterans for All Voters, who advocates for structural reforms in these institutions. I was also a key leader in the “Yes on 3” ballot question campaign in Nevada in 2022 and 2024. This campaign would have allowed greater access and voice to all Nevadans via enacting open primary elections and a system of ranked-choice voting throughout the state. I was the veteran representative and one of the key media stars (starring in television ads, printed mailers, and radio spots), and I continue being a passionate advocate for initiatives such as these.