Freedom and Appreciation

Many of you know I have a brother who has been deployed to Iraq for the past 13 months. He left before his youngest boy turned one. He will (hopefully be home) by the time he turns two. He and his family have made a HUGE sacrifice for well over a year now, while he does what he's asked to fight the war on terrorism. I haven't personally talked with Troy at all since his departure. I have however, kept up on how he's doing, and where he's at the best I could. I have heard from my Sister in law and my nephews a bit. This deployment has been hard for them. Bethany (Troy's wife) has had to be a single parent. She's had to not only care for her children, but she's also had to deal with feelings of loneliness, fear, sadness, etc. I always HATE it when Bryant is gone, and he's only ever left for a few days at a time, and it's never been to a place where he would be in harms way. I can only imagine what the past 13 months have been like for Bethany and their boys. I write about this because this is a historic day. It's a day that will always be remembered, reverenced, thought about for years to come. This day 10 years ago, this nation was attacked, and from that tragedy, came a kind of UNITY that was indeed very special.

A few days ago, my sister in law received an email. This person basically said that she always hears people say how grateful they are for the military, specifically the troops deployed overseas. She then asked, WHY she should be grateful to them. She didn't understand how they were protecting her freedom. Her question, Bethany said was sincere, but it was hard to find a response.

Troy responded to this question. I thought he said it so beautifully, and he hit the nail right on the head. This is his response:

"Throughout my deployment to Iraq I pondered the questions “what am I doing here?” and “What is the point?” I wondered if our being in Iraq was really making a safer America. I do not know if what we did really impacted the United States and frankly I am uninterested in having some political debate on the matter.
I have however come to some conclusions. The United States have undoubtedly fought some seemingly pointless wars. One might say that in recent history we fought such a war to the tune of 60,000 American lives. I am of course speaking of Vietnam.
Whether our military is engaged in a seemingly pointless conflict or one with substance and true meaning such as WWII is not the point. It matters not if the 116BCT made a difference in keeping America Safe. The fact is that men and women are willing to put on their uniform that will always stand for freedom and answer the call of their government leaders. We do not sit back and debate the matter nor do we decline to go because we do not feel it is making an impact or it is a pointless engagement.
The men and women of the United States Military answer the call and will always answer the call regardless of a complete understanding on the matter casting their individual feelings aside. This is what we admire and appreciate about the armed forces.
We have the greatest military in the world. While other militaries are weak and influenced by corrupt generals or drug lords we enjoy a military that is bound by the rules and laws set forth by the constitution and enforced by congress. This is why it is so important that we ponder and search out our political leadership. The armed forces answer the call of the government and the government is elected for the people by the people.
So why do we admire the military when they are engaged in a conflict that one may disagree with or find pointless? We admire them not for the conflict they are associated with but for their willingness to stand at a post with a watchful eye as quite often unappreciated guardians of freedom."

So today especially I would like to give the most sincere THANK YOU to ALL the men and women of the armed forces. To all those who have served, who are still serving and who will serve, To those have given their lives, and to those willing to give their lives if necessary, for those who willingly "stand at a post with a watchful eye" and act as "guardians of freedom" so that my children can grow up in a country where we enjoy Freedom----I APPRECIATE YOU! I appreciate the sacrifice you AND your families have made, are making and will make for mine! May we always remember and never forget, Freedom is not free, and keeping freedom is not free either.