Whether we are wearing a uniform or
not, we all fight for our country, we all live for the cause of our nation and
people. With this fight there are casualties. Some of us die directly in the service
of our country; we revere their names and legacies because they sacrificed all
for the rest of us. Some troops die in combat, some perish in accidents and
mishaps. We mourn their losses. We honor them, we laud them in movies and
books, in stories and lessons. Those fallen ones deserve all our praise, and
the survivors of those who are lost deserve our love, support, and compassion.
Some troops receive terrible disabling and disfiguring wounds. Some wounds lie
unseen, which is tacked up as mental injuries, Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome,
depression, anger, a whole gamut of negative thought processes and inner
turmoil. Some do not go away, or take a long time to get rid of. Some soldiers
and troops go to their grave with these psychological battles.
God bless them and us. If you do
not have a belief in a higher power or faith in a bigger system of greater
good, we ask for your patience and good wishes, and to recognize that millions
of living people are pulling for you. And also, please realize that our people
and way of life need you. We need you to grow old.
We at times may think that others
do not know what we are suffering, externally and internally, but many of us do
understand these challenges and setbacks. Some of us have been there. Including
millions of former vets. Many of us believe there is a greater love and justice
that exists for all these pains and losses that are incurred to our uniformed
troops. Death and injury touch us all, we need to fight this battle of
attrition for ourselves and others. We need to fight and wage war against
self-hate and hopelessness, for those who have no one else to protect them. We
have to fight to be free, happy, and for the will to live. And we will
ultimately win the war of life! Millions do rely on us. Dozens of nations
world-wide depend on our alliance and constant companionship. All of us combine
to provide this strength of our people, which pushes out to all corners of the
planet. The terrorists and enemies of our freedom want us to fail, they want us
to give up.
I urge us to not give in to those
enemies abroad. But more importantly, we must not give in to the enemies
within. All of us are too familiar with the internal enemies, those that lie in
our hearts, minds, and souls. They are real. We acknowledge the power of those
influences.
All of us lose loved ones. Some
that pass on are aged and infirm; they have lived long and meaningful lives,
with friends and family cherishing their presence and influence for those that
they touched and impacted. Some of our loved ones go too soon. We know from
experience that we mourn their absences differently than the old ones. Why did
he get sick, so young? Why did she die tragically, with so much life ahead of
her? Why would someone target them, when they were such choice people, who
meant no one else harm. The various situations of life and death boggle the
mind.
We all suffer from the same ills. It
is very difficult when those sicknesses hit hard. We may feel all alone and
isolated, but we are not. Feelings are so powerful. Any tremendous, euphoric
feeling that you have felt, someone else has gone through that. Any sad or
depressed mood that you have gone through or feel, others have been there, too.
We do not understand all your thoughts, but we understand the sentiments of
despair and hopelessness. Other people get it. They know what you are going
through, if you are there now. Being down is part of life, and some people
experience the down times more than others. We feel for you when you are there.
What can we say to you to prevent the worst outcome? Fight the battle for the
next day. Fight on, battle buddy. Drill sergeant gonna bring you home!
We are all in the same fight,
engaged in a war that started before you and I were on the earth, and that will
continue long after we are gone. What can we do while we are here to stay in
the fight? Train, prepare, execute the mission. Shoot, move, and communicate.
We are all on the same team, and we
need you. You may not think so, but it is true. We need you to survive, battle
wounds and internal demons and all. We, soldiers and the supporters of the
troops of the United States Army, need all our troops to live on. You served us
when you were in good shape, and we are there for you when you are not in good
condition. We need to continue to keep our great nation going, and believe it
or not, all of us make this happen. The ones who never faced combat, the
battle hard veterans, the burnt-out leaders, the neophyte beginners. We are in
this war together, young and old.
If you cannot have the strength to
keep from harming yourself for you, would you do that for me? For others? For
our country? For another soldier who is struggling to find the hope?
This is not a pep talk just to say
these things, this is a plea to help us win the war, to fight the battles that
keep us from triumph, to assist in our side coming away as the winner. The
losses that bring defeat to our lands and shores need to be faced, moment to
moment, day to day. We will be victorious, and we need you. We want to attend
your funerals as you are aged and ripe with life’s toils and joys, both extremes
of emotion, plus the normal middle times, are necessary to get there. Can you
take that journey with me, with us? Can you live to be an old military vet? I
challenge you to take on that training, that career path, that life goal. Be an
old man or a woman. Make it past those doldrums, make it past the barriers of
pain, and live on soldier!
We need you.
We could talk about a lot more
things: we do our lectures, our resilience trainings, we hear sermons and
talks, we read books and dialog with therapists and professionals. At the end
of the day, we simply wish to say: We want to win the war. Your presence is
noted and appreciated.
Fight on.
No comments:
Post a Comment