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War is something we are all contemplating as tensions with Iran continue. It certainly keeps me up at night. After spending 22 years in the Army and deploying around the world, it still consumes a lot of my attention.

Europe and America fought the "War to End All Wars" more than 100 years ago in the trenches of World War I. Of course, it didn’t really end wars, and it directly fed into World War II, which left millions dead and reset the global national hierarchy. In the book "1984," George Orwell wrote that "by becoming continuous war has ceased to exist." When we normalize war, it becomes a constant in our lives, like a chronic disease we try to manage but never fully cure.

That’s why one of the proudest votes I took in my first year in Congress was to repeal the 2002 authorization for use of military force in Iraq — almost 17 years to the day after I came home from my own deployment in that war. This marked the first time in my life that Congress successfully repealed an authorization for use of military force.

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Earlier this year I introduced my own bipartisan reform plan to repeal another dormant authorization and require future authorizations to be reapproved at least every five years. This package would also give Congress more tools to quickly and clearly define future missions after the president uses force to confront urgent threats.

Our Constitution is clear: Only Congress can declare war and decide to engage in the use of military force. In 1973, Congress passed the War Powers Act, which delegated some authority to the president for up to 60 days before Congress must give consent for the effort to continue.

When that timeline expired for the conflict in Iran, I felt compelled to enforce it for one simple reason — the decision of when and how to go to war is perhaps the most consequential that a government can make. It literally involves life and death.

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Decisions like this demand the highest level of constitutional scrutiny. Iran must never get a nuclear weapon, but the people’s representatives must have a say when American lives and taxpayer dollars are on the line.

Decisions about war can’t be taken lightly. Sadly, I have encountered what feels like a growing mindset that some Americans think we can fight wars using other people’s sons and daughters with technology that keeps us far from the battlefield. We haven’t had a draft in over 50 years, so it’s easy to feel insulated from the effects of war.

But an entire generation of Global War on Terror-era veterans see it differently. We lost friends and battle buddies who either didn’t make it home or came back physically or psychologically wounded, with thousands more losing the battle to suicide than to combat. At the end of two decades, it was easy to wonder if it was all worth it or not.

Staff Sergeant Duane Dreasky was my friend and roommate on a deployment to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, during Operation Enduring Freedom. He was struck by an IED in Iraq and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery, just three miles from where I now cast my votes as a member of the United States Congress.

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Other friends were lost to suicide or overdose. I think about the total human cost of war as I carry their memories and the thousands of other War on Terror veterans with me as I make these decisions.

While my time in the military has passed, I owe it to this generation of warfighters to set clear, unambiguous objectives, prevent mission creep and protect against endless conflicts and nation building.

When we do need to use military force, a clearly defined mission allows for overwhelming force to defeat the enemy quickly and decisively. It’s time for Congress to step up and have the debate on the use of force and avoid the tragic mistakes of the past.