"...We stayed three days and caught a flight to XXXX Air Field again to visit soldiers we have located there. I have yet to fly into or out of XXXX where the beauties of the mountains don't cause me to stop and thank God for His wondrous creation. From my rough calculations some of the peaks exceeded 20,000 feet above sea level and are still snow capped. It was the second evening there, I had taken a run down Disney Drive, named after a fallen soldier, and had returned and headed to the gym to do some sit-ups and lift a little when I noticed the attendant listening to a message come over his two way radio and then walked around telling all of us the gym was closed and we have to leave!
Wow I thought until I caught on what was happening, whenever the remains of our soldiers are taken to the airfield for the final flight home ALL non-essential activities cease an announcement is made over the FOBs public address system as to the time of the Fallen Warrior ceremony and soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen and civilians begin to line Disney Drive. I quickly changed into my uniform and made my way to the files of warriors lining the road to pay our last respect for these young warriors who had performed the duties asked of them, even unto death. Even now I am surprised at the tears that stream down my face, I didn't know who were in the four containers that came by me that evening but I know entire families back home are grieving these losses. The motorcade was gone and on the flight line, we dropped our salutes and the crowd that had gathered without a sound dissipated as it had formed.
...Something that is important to remember and I bring this up because of a conversation a soldier shared with me concerning folks back home. We are in a war zone and NEVER get a day off, the Taliban and Anti Afghan Forces don't take breaks, even on the Islamic Holy Day, Friday, they attempt to kill our soldiers. Yes we do get down time, but every soldier has their weapon on their person except when they shower. When we are in the dining facility, weapons are there, when I hold church, weapons are there, when these guys and gals go to sleep, their weapons are right there. The enemy we are fighting will do anything they can to make us & US look bad, to include using the non-radical Moslems as shields and even as additional battle damage. Killing innocent men, women and children and say we did it, we see it, experience it and clean up after it. Don't be deceived.
OK enough of that, we are back at XXXX and waiting to go out again. The weather has changed again and we've been having thunderstorms forming in the afternoons and sometimes we actually get rain. I don't think it rained at all here on XXX during the month of May and the temperature was in the mid 80s during the day. The temperature right now is in the 50s and I think that will be the high for the day, it is 1:30 PM so it should be warmer, but it is still 56 degrees with dark, mean looking clouds over head, thunder rumbling and light showers.
Peace be with you.
Love,
XXXX"
Wow I thought until I caught on what was happening, whenever the remains of our soldiers are taken to the airfield for the final flight home ALL non-essential activities cease an announcement is made over the FOBs public address system as to the time of the Fallen Warrior ceremony and soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen and civilians begin to line Disney Drive. I quickly changed into my uniform and made my way to the files of warriors lining the road to pay our last respect for these young warriors who had performed the duties asked of them, even unto death. Even now I am surprised at the tears that stream down my face, I didn't know who were in the four containers that came by me that evening but I know entire families back home are grieving these losses. The motorcade was gone and on the flight line, we dropped our salutes and the crowd that had gathered without a sound dissipated as it had formed.
...Something that is important to remember and I bring this up because of a conversation a soldier shared with me concerning folks back home. We are in a war zone and NEVER get a day off, the Taliban and Anti Afghan Forces don't take breaks, even on the Islamic Holy Day, Friday, they attempt to kill our soldiers. Yes we do get down time, but every soldier has their weapon on their person except when they shower. When we are in the dining facility, weapons are there, when I hold church, weapons are there, when these guys and gals go to sleep, their weapons are right there. The enemy we are fighting will do anything they can to make us & US look bad, to include using the non-radical Moslems as shields and even as additional battle damage. Killing innocent men, women and children and say we did it, we see it, experience it and clean up after it. Don't be deceived.
OK enough of that, we are back at XXXX and waiting to go out again. The weather has changed again and we've been having thunderstorms forming in the afternoons and sometimes we actually get rain. I don't think it rained at all here on XXX during the month of May and the temperature was in the mid 80s during the day. The temperature right now is in the 50s and I think that will be the high for the day, it is 1:30 PM so it should be warmer, but it is still 56 degrees with dark, mean looking clouds over head, thunder rumbling and light showers.
Peace be with you.
Love,
XXXX"
This is a stark reality of life in the battle zone...one we would choose to make ourselves blind to, if possible. Those of us who choose to support these troops at times need a true awakening.
Support is definitely a verb -- an action, not a thought. Slapping a yellow ribbon magnet on our car is not support. Putting work and money into truly making a difference is what is needed right now.
I choose to support Operation: Quiet Comfort. www.operationquietcomfort.com. Read the letters from the front, and determine for yourselves whether we are making a difference for those wounded troops. We don't define "wounded", as there are so many walking wounded -- emotionally wounded -- with their boots still on the ground. We let our Unit Contacts (chaplains; medics; commanders) determine who needs the comfort we send.
Although Operation: Quiet Comfort is a 501(c)3 national support organization, our work is carried out through a Yahoo Group to enable free interaction between our supporters. You can find this WORKING group at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/operationquietcomfort/. Thanks so much for your consideration of supporting this organization.
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