Sacrifice

I have been mia all week because I had a headache that lasted three days.  Pretty much gone now, but I finally had a chance to log in.

I want to share this article, because it made me speechless.  LT Gen John Kelly

It is an article about the General, and the loss of his son in Sangin, one of the places in Afghanistan that has seen some serious insurgency lately.

Articles like this make me happy/proud that I decided to stay in the Navy for at least one more tour (which is really 2). 

I have done two deployments, and one surge, and the stuff you see is unlike what gets in the news.  The news is there to determine what Americans "want" to hear, not what is "actually" happening.

Here are a few photos from my past couple of years in the Navy.  These are from my deployments, to show some of what we do..

USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) on the pier in New Orleans just days after Katrina.  We provided humanitarian relief, and I definitely learned a lot.  The news media did not give the relief workers, both military and civil, justice.

Senate meeting with the President in the Wardroom.  That is the place where we eat and have meetings.  I got to sit in on this because I was the governor's escort.

LCAC evacuating American Citizens from Beirut, Lebanon, 2006.

Memorial at the Beirut Marine Corps Barracks, 2006

Flight Deck of the USS Iwo Jima.  "Why We Are Here"



Standing FPTAO on USS Porter (DDG 78) on our way back home through the Med , Jan 2008.  The ship conducted anti-piracy operations throughout the deployment.



Getting Promoted to LT on the USS Constitution June 1, 2008.

General Kelly's article states how so many people do not understand the sacrifice that our Nation's men and women in uniform, and their families, sacrifice day to day.  Deploying with no to little email,  phones,   tv,  cell phones, showers, mail (it takes weeks to get mail at sea..sometimes longer), fresh food and milk, sleep, etc.  Life on a ship is much different than the desert, but life out at sea makes me appreciate the little things that much more.  Email doesn't always work.  There are phones only for emergencies, and I mean emergencies.  I never have time to watch tv/movies because I am always working or on watch.  When I am not doing these things, I am sleeping or working out.  I love mail call.  Receiving that random care package from family/friends is the best feeling in the world.  You have no idea. 

These are the things that service men and women are more than happy to go without, because they took an oath to defend freedom and democracy around the world.  To take care of themselves, and others. 

Take a moment today to think about what you are thankful for, grateful for, and say a prayer for our troops.  They need every prayer they can get. 

Stay safe, Semper Fi.