In late June, the NRA spent $2 million to launch its first ad oriented toward the 2016 presidential election. Notably, the spot did not mention guns or the Second Amendment. Instead, its focus was Benghazi.

The ad, which aired in key battleground states, features Mark “Oz” Geist, a former Marine and one of the private security contractors who interceded during the deadly 2012 siege on the U.S.’s diplomatic compound in the Libyan city. He walks solemnly through a cemetery. “A lot of people say they’re not going to vote this November because their candidate didn’t win. Well, I know some people who won’t be voting this year either,” he says, referring those who died during the attack. “Hillary as president? No thanks. I served in Benghazi. My friends didn’t make it. They did their part. Do yours.”

Earlier this week, Politico reported that the organization plans to spend another seven figures to extend the campaign in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida, and Nevada, states that will likely prove must-wins for Trump

The NRA’s ad campaign could suggest that the organization is avoiding direct trumpeting of gun rights in the wake of a string of horrifying shootings. But in fact the group has affirmative reasons for playing the Benghazi card. The Geist spot is a way for the NRA to double down on the story it likes to tell about itself and its members, who are encouraged to view themselves as society’s “sheepdogs,” protecting the defenseless flocks from wolves — which include mass shooters and terrorists. If the U.S. government would simply butt out, and leave citizens to protect themselves, Americans would be much more secure.

Geist is the NRA’s latest military hero, following in the footsteps of deceased Navy Seal Chris Kyle, who authored American Sniper, and Marcus Luttrell, also a Navy Seal, who wrote Lone Survivor. Both books were made into blockbuster films, and are celebrations of toughness, perseverance, and rugged individualism in the face of grave danger.

Geist helped author 13 Hours, a book about his experience in Benghazi; it, too, was made into a blockbuster film. According to its version of events, Geist and his fellow commandos were delayed in their intervention by the chain of command. Against the orders of superiors, they finally headed over to the nearby compound to fend of the attackers on their own: an international spin on the sheepdog story.

Geist spoke at last week’s Republican National Convention, and was one of the chief attractions at this year’s NRA convention, which took place in May. During an event, he addressed thousands of people, reminding them that Hillary Clinton, as Secretary of State, was responsible for Benghazi, despite numerous investigations and reports that have concluded otherwise. He told the crowd Clinton could not be relied upon for protection, and it was up to people like him — like them — to stop her. “The NRA is America’s safest place,” he said.