A Grateful Nation

To everyone that offered their thanks on Wednesday, "You're welcome." No, that's really not right of me. That sounds rather snotty, dont'cha think? Let's start again. Thank you. I think I can speak for many of us who have donned a uniform and say that those two words mean so much and aren't said nearly enough. Thanking our veterans and those currently serving shouldn't be isolated to one day in November. We should utter those words whenever we encounter a soldier, an airman, a sailor or a Marine. And we should encourage our children to do the same.

I've been thinking a lot lately about my time in the army. Maybe it stems from rekindling friendships with guys I haven't seen in 10, 15+ years. These guys with whom I lived, worked, partied and served. Looking back on those days, I'll swear I was closer to them than my own family (Mrs. Big Dubya is probably nodding right now). I think it's only natural. There's a level of trust that's borne of the training and camaraderie that creates a bond that goes beyond that of mere friendships. It's an unspoken realization that should the shit hit the fan, you have to be able to rely on the guys to your left and right and them on you if you all want to survive.

When I enlisted in February 1989, I had no idea the extent of the turmoil we would see across the globe. Maybe it was because I was 22 and the world seemingly revolved around me and my plans for the weekend, but I was nearly oblivious to global events for the most part. With the benefit of hindsight, though, I have seen how woefully unaware I was. Some started as little things, easily overlooked, but would eventually blossom into full-blown sea changes that would re-shape the world. The Soviet Union left Kabul ending 9 years of occupation. Two weeks later they announced that all their troops had left Afghanistan. Salman Rushdie learned the definition of fatwa. Solidarity - Solidarnosc - was legalized and allowed to participate in semi-free elections. Hungary dismantled 150 miles of barbed wire fencing along it border with Austria. In Tiananmen Square, students and intellectuals protested against government authoritarianism - an act of defiance which left many dead or severely wounded. And this was just in the first five months of the year. Hey, it's pretty quiet out there, now seems like a good time to join the army!

In reality, it actually was a pretty good time to join. All over Eastern Europe Communism was being shown the door. This is a rather interesting development when you've spent the last 18 weeks learning to identify T-72s, BMPs, Hind-Ds and MiGs as well as every nuance of the armored vehicle superhighway known as the Fulda Gap. When I arrived in Neu-Ulm in October 1989 things were already reaching a boiling point and less than six weeks later we were watching people take sledgehammers to The Berlin Wall live on AFN. All of this sort of negated the need for "forward" divisions and, hence, our unit. Little did we know that less than a year later, a new front would open up that would, in all honesty, plague us for, oh, coming up on 20 years. But that's neither here nor there right now.

If you look at the picture above you'll see guys from Texas, Wisconsin, Utah, Massachusetts, Kansas and everywhere in between. They are single and married, college and high school grads or not. Brand spanking new and grizzled lifers. Supply guys, wire dogs and red legs. But they share one thing in common. They stood up, raised their right hand and pledged to protect and defend a document they had no hand in writing. Whatever their motivation for doing so, they understood that ultimately their job was to fight - I didn't learn to drop pillows on my enemies or shoot them with Nerf darts. I learned how to drop ICMs, WP and FASCAM, take out vast swaths of real estate and fill those left standing with 5.56 mm rounds. That sounds a bit crude, I know, but it is reality. And while I was lucky and never once fired my weapon at anything more substantial than a silhouette, others have not been so fortunate. It is a horrible, horrible price to pay. But it's what they do. And it's why they should be thanked.

In the end, all a soldier asks for is your respect and your thanks. I thank you all for being so kind in offering both.