THE MIDDLE EAST –
What's the most important statistic of this war? Bombs dropped? Sorties flown? Territory secured?
I'd argue the most important number of this war as of mid-July is this: 5,059. Unfortunately, this number is not static. It grows every day. It's the number of American service men and women killed in Iraq and Afghanistan since the commencement of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Almost daily there's a solemn event that occurs in the Middle East. While many of us press through the rigors of long work days, trying to find time for sleep or a quick workout, there are men and women of the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing here performing, perhaps, the most important additional duties of any Airman here - honoring our fellow Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their nation.
These honors are often rendered in the wee hours of the night. Silently, with dignity, and with the respect of a grateful nation, those few Airmen who meet these planes carry out this special duty for all of us, as they honor those American heroes who are brought here en route to their families and their final resting place.
Sometimes it's easy to forget we're in the middle of a war - even here. Let's face it - it doesn't get much better than this. So, big deal, you have to walk to the bathroom from an air-conditioned trailer and our swimming pools aren't open 24 hours. But our warplanes fly unimpeded every day. We can order pizza while we drink a beverage at the Desert Eagle Lounge and watch our favorite sports team on cable TV even at air bases throughout the Middle East. This is what I think about when I watch those fallen warriors come off the plane: they'd give anything to be where we are today.
It's also easy to forget our own vulnerabilities. We reside within a few hundred miles from a nation that openly advocates the extermination of its neighbors and has violently suppressed its own citizens in order to secure a theocracy. This same nation has very capable weapon systems well within range of our comfortable confines. So make no doubts about it: we live in a dangerous part of the world and there are people close enough to cause us direct harm.
The Greek historian Herodotus said, "In peace, sons bury their fathers. In war, fathers bury their sons." We owe it to our families, and to the families of our fallen warriors, to be thankful for what we do have, and to maintain our vigilance to ensure our flight home to our families involves little more than a simple choice of chicken or beef.
Tonight before you go to bed, offer a silent "thank you" to those handful of men and women who carry the torch for all of us by quietly standing by to honor those fallen warriors who pass through here. And the next time you feel a sense of entitlement or self-pity, remember this: better men and women have sacrificed far more than you or I ever will.