Kandahar Air Base, AFGHANISTAN –
Every year we take time to remember the sacrifices our military members have made to protect our freedoms and our interests at home and abroad. Sometimes we never fully understand the reason behind why our young men and women are sent into harm's way, or why they sometimes have to make the ultimate sacrifice to ensure our freedoms remain intact.
To exacerbate the issue is our advances in technology and the hunger for 24-hour news coverage. The general public is eager to see what is happening on the battlefield; however, they are not prepared for what they see. The unfiltered view of war is most often more than the general public is willing to watch. The ugly truth is that war is people fighting and dying to achieve the political aims set forth by governments. Karl Von Clausewitz writes, "War is not an independent phenomenon, but the continuation of politics by different means." These means are not people politely talking and negotiating their positions. It is the sometimes very gruesome act of inflicting harm upon the opposing force to get them to capitulate to the other force's demands.
I have been involved with the military in one form or another all of my life. As a military brat, my father spent more than 24 years in the Army and Air Force, retiring as a senior master sergeant. My father-in-law served in the Air Force and then retired from the Navy as a senior chief petty officer on fast attack submarines.
I served as a jet engine mechanic in the Air Force Reserves before obtaining my commission as an officer in the Air Force in August 1995 and have been serving as a C-17 pilot since September 1997. Now, a lieutenant colonel, I have had the opportunity to serve both in ground deployments as well as flying deployments in combat operations such as Kosovo, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation New Dawn. Each operation is slightly different in the political goals, however each operation brings the same challenges for the military members fighting in them - austere conditions, harsh environments, and the constant danger of enemy fire.
Too often, the general public views Memorial Day weekend as the start to summer activities and an opportunity to take a three or four day weekend. This Memorial Day, I find myself serving a ground deployment in one of the most dangerous parts of Afghanistan. That point was made very clear to me on my first day in country when we lost 8 personnel from our base to enemy engagements (a mix of Army and Air Force personnel). As I attended the dignified transfer ceremony, it was humbling to me to stand in a formation of a few thousand personnel, consisting of members from several nations - all gathered to honor the sacrifice of those eight Soldiers and Airmen. It was difficult to think that no more than 24 hours ago they were eating with me in the dining facility and walking with me in the areas on the base. I watched as the bag pipers played, the prayers were said and each flag-draped transfer case was ceremoniously carried on the back of mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles on the flight line to the beginning of the assembly and then hand carried through the formation to the awaiting C-17. We all did the ceremonial salute and held that salute until all eight American heroes were aboard the awaiting C-17, which was dedicated to these heroes and would carry nothing else for the entire somber flight back to the United States.
The point was driven home further when, on my second day in country, the rocket attack sirens went off and we were taking cover as the base came under indirect fire.
Each member of the military does what he or she does, not for a paycheck or recognition, but because we feel an internal calling to place our service to our country above our personal needs. We are not the only ones sacrificing our free-time; the burden we bare for the greater good of our country is carried by our families back home as well. Sometimes I feel it is the families that feel this burden more than we do. As warriors, we understand why we are risking so much and why that requires us to leave our families behind for long periods of time - and for those who make the ultimate sacrifice, leaving our loved ones behind to carry-on without us. Our children do not always understand why mommy or daddy has to go away and especially why they sometimes do not return. While this burden weighs heavily on my mind and many others deployed, we rely on our loving spouses to carry that burden so we may focus on the task at hand. For us, it is our spouses who are the real heroes, not us.
As you enjoy this day, please take a moment to pause and reflect on those members in uniform who are sacrificing for your freedoms. Also, as a personal favor to those of us deployed, take a moment to thank our family members who keep everything running smoothly at home and, like a duck in the water, wear a smile in public, but struggle privately to keep the wheels from coming off the bus every day.
Sleep well, for we are out here meeting the enemy on their grounds, so that they will not have to be met in our own backyards. May God bless all of you and may God Bless America.