I grew up in the 60’s and 70 during the Vietnam era, so I remember the days when soldiers had to travel incognito for fear of having to endure taunts and criticism from the public. Today we hear of very different attitudes towards traveling service members. We have all heard of, and many of us have seen, service men and women receiving very warm welcomes at airports and restaurants.
As I was traveling to Ft. Benning last weekend for final departure processing, I and another officer were exiting the Atlanta Airport train station to retrieve our checked baggage. As we came to the top of the escalator, we heard raucous applause. I looked around, thinking that there was a victorious sports team somewhere in the vicinity. It turns out the people were applauding for us, and they cheered and applauded each time other service members would come up the escalator.
It was humbling (and quite frankly, a little embarrassing) to be received like that. During the few days that I was staying in a hotel near Ft. Leavenworth, people would go out of their way to thank me and others for our service.
Although any military in any country works for the government of that country, our military is different in that, although it takes its marching orders from the government, it serves the citizens. When we meet people all around the country who go out of their way to show gratitude and support, it makes me realize what a privilege it is to serve on behalf of fellow citizens. I imagine other service men and women feel the same.
It is a fantastic feeling to experience first hand the support that people are showing for the troops. It is encouraging to know that when young soldiers come home from long deployments, they will be welcomed with open arms by their public. The other officers and soldiers here at Ft. Benning feel much the same, and everyone is grateful to all of you who are showing that type of support.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Monday, March 31, 2008
Just a start
Welcome to my blog. This blog will be my unofficial record of Army life north of Baghdad. It may appear that I am often writing in vague generalities on this blog, and that will probably be a fairly accurate assessment. I will not discuss details of any military operations so as not to jeopardize the lives of US soldiers or our allies. I will not hesitate to offer my own opinions and comments on matters that are already in the open press.
I am just at the beginning stages of this deployment to Iraq. For the next two weeks, I will be training/processing at Ft. Leavenworth, KS, and Ft. Benning, GA, before heading overseas. Once I am on the ground in Iraq, I will be stationed north of Baghdad at COB Speicher (near Tikrit), and my duties will take me to various locations around Iraq.
I am an Army Reserve Major who was once an Active Component officer. I was initially mobilized a couple of years ago after a break in service, and this will be my first deployment for Operation Iraqi Freedom.
So it is clear where I am coming from on this blog, I have been and still am a strong supporter of the US military missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. I believe that we each owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the service men and women who are serving in these two countries, many of them multiple times. These military men and women who are patrolling the streets and towns of Iraq and Afghanistan are the ultimate professionals who are making split second life and death decisions on a daily basis. They are shouldering responsibilities at a level that their peers could never imagine, and they are accomplishing their missions with the full knowledge that the only time that they will receive attention for what they are doing is if or when they make a mistake.
With that being said, the pace of this blog will pick up a bit once I am in country. I hope to be able to relay a little bit of life in Iraq back to my friends and family (and anyone else) as time and mission permit.
I am just at the beginning stages of this deployment to Iraq. For the next two weeks, I will be training/processing at Ft. Leavenworth, KS, and Ft. Benning, GA, before heading overseas. Once I am on the ground in Iraq, I will be stationed north of Baghdad at COB Speicher (near Tikrit), and my duties will take me to various locations around Iraq.
I am an Army Reserve Major who was once an Active Component officer. I was initially mobilized a couple of years ago after a break in service, and this will be my first deployment for Operation Iraqi Freedom.
So it is clear where I am coming from on this blog, I have been and still am a strong supporter of the US military missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. I believe that we each owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the service men and women who are serving in these two countries, many of them multiple times. These military men and women who are patrolling the streets and towns of Iraq and Afghanistan are the ultimate professionals who are making split second life and death decisions on a daily basis. They are shouldering responsibilities at a level that their peers could never imagine, and they are accomplishing their missions with the full knowledge that the only time that they will receive attention for what they are doing is if or when they make a mistake.
With that being said, the pace of this blog will pick up a bit once I am in country. I hope to be able to relay a little bit of life in Iraq back to my friends and family (and anyone else) as time and mission permit.
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