Sparks flew when the eight Republican presidential candidates who participated in Wednesday night's debate discussed their stance on continuing to support Ukraine, though it was one of the few mentions of national security or the military.

While the war in Ukraine and the threat from the Chinese Communist Party were topics of discussion during the first debate of the cycle, other military issues, such as veterans healthcare and support, the ongoing concern for Afghanistan allies and special immigrant visa applicants, and the GOP's criticism of the Biden Pentagon's focus on diversity and inclusion, were not mentioned.

TOP THREE TAKEAWAYS FROM THE REPUBLICAN DEBATE IN MILWAUKEE

"It was a robust debate, with serious differences on foreign policy and defense," John Byrnes, the deputy director of Concerned Veterans for America, told the Washington Examiner. "It would have been nice to hear the candidates agree that veterans' healthcare should be a priority, and that veterans need more choices beyond a broken VA system."

CVA representatives were in attendance for the debate, including Byrnes, who posted on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, at its conclusion, "Too bad the few mentions of veterans tonight were self serving and not about fixing health care for veterans. Veterans deserve better #VeteranVoicesCount! #Disappointed!"

A leader of No One Left Behind, an organization dedicated to ensuring that the United States keeps its promise to interpreters and employees in Iraq and Afghanistan through the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) programs, called the lack of conversation on the issue a "major missed opportunity.

"Last evening's debate featured zero questions about Afghanistan or the 150,000 SIV applicants left behind — this was a major missed opportunity," Andrew Sullivan, the group's director of advocacy, told the Washington Examiner. "Americans, especially veterans, deserve to hear from candidates about how they would keep our national promise to the SIVs and wartime allies that served with us during our longest war. America is strongest when we have robust alliances and partnerships, failing to ask candidates about Afghanistan and the allies left behind, misses an opportunity for them to differentiate the beliefs that would undergird their future national security strategy. America's allies and potential adversaries were watching last night — the lack of focus on Afghanistan will not go unnoticed."

The GOP as a whole has largely condemned the current administration's emphasis of diversity and inclusion, including in the military and service academies, arguing that it takes away from military readiness and inserts division within the ranks, while current top DOD leaders have said it has the opposite effect.

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy indicated they wouldn't support increasing Ukrainian aid, while former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley accused the latter of being a novice on foreign policy and of supporting a "murderer" in Russian President Vladimir Putin. Former Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) and former Vice President Mike Pence defended their recent trips to Kyiv, where they met with President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The threat posed by the CPP to the United States was touched on briefly by various candidates, with some discussing U.S. reliance on Chinese energy as well as the production and distribution of fentanyl.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Deterring China "is the number one issue we're facing," outsider candidate Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND) said. "Of course, we haven't been talking about it. And we act like letting Russia win in Ukraine is like a gimme, as opposed to a gift to China. Russia has become China's gas station, but how would we do it? The Biden administration is a complete fail. China imports 10 million barrels of oil a day, more than any other country in the world. They do not even have all the food they need to feed everybody in that country. So they don't have energy security or food security, but the Biden administration sends [Secretary of State Antony] Blinken [and Secretary of Treasury Janet] Yellen over there ... They don't even bring up energy because they're too busy trying to kill the U.S. energy here."

Burgum, who was debating a day after tearing his Achilles tendon, was the only candidate who described the U.S.-China relationship as a "cold war."