Soldiers

I am going to post about Pensacola in a little while, but first this.... THis uproar about Rush Limbaugh speaking about "phony soldiers" struck a chord with me. I have a mixed feeling about his comment.

Before I was married (and even after I was married, I had another opportunity to do so), I went on 3 different tours overseas with the Department of Defense singing and performing in a cover band for our troops. I wasn't necessarily in Iraq, but I traveled to "satellite" bases in other countries, i guess you could call them. SOme where safe havens for those coming and going from Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as some were simple posts for national presence within allied nations.

I had a chance to travel to Turkey, Italy (several locations within, including Napoli and Sicily), Spain, Portugal, the Azores, Puerto Rico (two locations within), Honduras, Andros Island, Guantanamo Bay Cuba, and several others. I have had a chance to meet many soldiers, and many families directly affected by the war. I have met those who have been on the front lines of battle. I have met those who collect the bodies of the deceased off the streets of Iraq following battles or suicide bombings, and roadside bombings. I have met these men and women. They train, they work out, they study, they travel, they don't sleep, they work hard, they play hard - they love their country. I have not once met a soldier who is not proud of the country they stand for, and that they have chosen to fight and give their lives for. Not once. I knew there are some out there that complain about this, and about that. Maybe those should be considered "phony" soldiers. I'm not one to say. But I do have to say that the power behind their allegiance is so intriguing, and so inspirational that it is a possibility to think that soldier who opposes the very reason that he or she fights for could be considered a "phony."

I have a patch that one gentleman named Caleb ripped off his jacket and gave to me in Andros. He wrote on it "Keep doing what you are doing, because it keeps us doing what we do. Love Caleb" This says so much to me. This was before our nation began contemplating the purpose of the war. This was not 2 years after 9/11. Now, our government (not our President) has significantly reduced the amount of support for our troops, and has dropped the morale in the country for the purpose of war and the very purpose of our soldiers' presence in this war-torn nations, not only degrading soldiers verbally, but cutting back on funding for housing and food, ammunition, and for entertainment to keep troops morale up. Despite the attacks of their own people back here in the lazy "freedom plagued" nation of America, they press on and they keep working toward their cause....for the very freedom that keeps us feeling "safe."

Saturday night, when we were in Pensacola, there was a table of 3 guys. One lit up a cigarette, and unfortunately the place was a non smoking facility. My cousin Joey was upset that he lit up, and I offered to go back and ask him to put it out. I stood up, walked over and leaned in and asked him if he would please put out his cigarette, and that I had a little guy in the next booth. He immediately threw the cig on the floor and said "yes ma'am, i'm so sorry." I winked at him and said "Thank you, my friend." As I walked away, I noticed a camo duffle bag sitting next to him on his seat, and he had a small set of stitches in his freshly shaven head. "Ugh..." I thought. He's in the military, and I just asked him to put out his cigarette. I wish I would have just let him smoke it. As I was walking out of the restaurant, I ran into him coming back to his table from the bar. I shook his hand and said "I'm so sorry to have asked you to put out your cigarette. I hope you don't mind." He said "No no, its absolutely fine!" Then I asked "Are you in the military?" He said "Yes ma'am, marine corps." I said "That's great, my friend. Thank you for all you do. Thank you SO much. It doesn't go unnoticed." He said as he walked away, "Thank you. You don't know how much that means to me."

I don't really know why I wrote this post today. I just felt that these men and women of our military need a boost of morale and the deserve a great amount of respect. I'm not one to speak about if we should or should not trust our government considering the spin of the media on the progress of the war. THe President and his staff cannot tell the American people EVERYTHING as we are under a microscope of the world. Would you send an email to your enemy with your battle plan so that they can defeat you before you even take the battle field? No. THe American people demand to know what's going on, and its not their place to know. Its our place to trust. We have the right to question, but we also need to trust our leaders to a certain extent. And also, we need to remember that our President is appointed, not only by us, but by God. There is no mistake to the fact that he is our leader, and there is no mistake to the fact that we are at war.

I'm done. :)

Here's a little photo from the past of Alison and I and the band in the Azores, singing with Bob Burger, the base's entertainment coordinator. Ali in the white pants, I'm with the tambourine. Caitlin on fiddle in the background. Bob just won the "Bob Hope Award" a few years ago for his accomplishments of bringing great quality entertainment to his base. Way to go, Bob!