"We make war that we may live in peace."
-Aristotle
"Let him who desires peace prepare for war."
-Vegetius
"We are going to have peace even if we have to fight for it."
-Dwight D. Eisenhower
"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
-George Orwell
"The nation which forgets its defenders will itself be forgotten."
-Calvin Coolidge
"In war there is no substitute for victory."
-General Douglas MacArthur
For too long now I have stood by and allowed others to speak their minds, to revile and disparage against the leadership of this country, the war we are engaged in in the Middle East, and the military. That is their right as citizens of the United States, a right that I defend day in and day out as a member of the very same military they tear down at every opportunity.
For those out there who believe that we are just some massive war machine, warmongers bent on destruction and chaos, let me say one thing: You will never find more people wishing for peace in this world than in the military community!
War is an ugly business. But there are forces in this world that drive our human societies to engage in it nonetheless. War has existed for the whole of written history, and it existed long before. If you are of a religious belief, the book of Revelation speaks of War in Heaven, between the forces of God and those of Lucifer, who became the Devil.
Do I wish for peace? Absolutely! Everyday I pray for the end to hostilities and the safe return of our troops to their homes. Do I wish to see our forces 'cut and run'? No! It may take more time than we would like, and there will be casualties, but there will be no peace by us turning tail and giving free reign to those who seek to terrorize, brutalize and advocate anarchy.
Those we are fighting want nothing more than the utter destruction of all things in the Western World. They are willing to kill every American, and they don't care if you were for or against the war. So go ahead and continue to rally and raise your voices against the war, and against those who stand between you and the destructive forces of terror. We will continue to protect you, and your rights... to the last full measure!
"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."
-John Stewart Mill
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Monday, September 11, 2006
5 years...
I recall the day vividly. September 11, 2001. I had arrived at Goodfellow Air Force Base, San Angelo, Texas, a couple months before, to begin my technical training for the Air Force. At the time I had actually been in the Air Force for 2 years, and had enjoyed it immensely. I thought I had a grasp of what the military was all about.
I had been sitting in my class for hours, and was definitely ready for a break. Petty Officer Bergreen, our instructor (POB G, as we liked to call him), could tell that most of us were drifting and allowed us to take a ten minute break. So as usual, we all drifted out to the lounge area of our schoolhouse, to sit and watch the news, or play chess, etc.
As I stepped into the lounge, I knew something was wrong. The room was filled to near overflowing, but it was deathly quiet. On the television, CNN was running live footage of the World Trade Center, its one tower spewing smoke. I wondered what had happened, but didn't dare ask in the silence. Minutes passed as everyone stared.
It wasn't long before we all were horrified to watch the live feed of a second airliner ram into the other tower, the flames erupting through the other side. Tears flowed freely from even the most hardened eye in the room. The significance of the event magnified exponentially.
At the end of our break our instructor came into the room. He had seen the same footage in the teachers lounge area. He knew what was occurring, understood the significance. Yet he herded us into our room, reminding us that our training didn't stop because of these events. We needed to continue our training if these types of actions were to be stopped.
Our base went to Force Protection Condition (FPCON) Delta, which meant a total lockdown of the base. In fact we were not even allowed to leave our building for many hours after the attacks. There was a lot of concern and speculation, as our base was with training focused on military intelligence.
The day continued on like that. Breaks were spent in the lounge watching news coverage of the attacks over and over. More news continued to pour in... the attack on the Pentagon, Flight 93. And conversations hinged on the events for days to come.
Do I remember wher I was on 9-11? Absolutely! It was a day I can never forget. My understanding of my postition as a member of the United States military underwent a significant change. My understanding of the world, and my standing in it has never be the same.
May we never forget the events of that day, or the sacrifices made.
I had been sitting in my class for hours, and was definitely ready for a break. Petty Officer Bergreen, our instructor (POB G, as we liked to call him), could tell that most of us were drifting and allowed us to take a ten minute break. So as usual, we all drifted out to the lounge area of our schoolhouse, to sit and watch the news, or play chess, etc.
As I stepped into the lounge, I knew something was wrong. The room was filled to near overflowing, but it was deathly quiet. On the television, CNN was running live footage of the World Trade Center, its one tower spewing smoke. I wondered what had happened, but didn't dare ask in the silence. Minutes passed as everyone stared.
It wasn't long before we all were horrified to watch the live feed of a second airliner ram into the other tower, the flames erupting through the other side. Tears flowed freely from even the most hardened eye in the room. The significance of the event magnified exponentially.
At the end of our break our instructor came into the room. He had seen the same footage in the teachers lounge area. He knew what was occurring, understood the significance. Yet he herded us into our room, reminding us that our training didn't stop because of these events. We needed to continue our training if these types of actions were to be stopped.
Our base went to Force Protection Condition (FPCON) Delta, which meant a total lockdown of the base. In fact we were not even allowed to leave our building for many hours after the attacks. There was a lot of concern and speculation, as our base was with training focused on military intelligence.
The day continued on like that. Breaks were spent in the lounge watching news coverage of the attacks over and over. More news continued to pour in... the attack on the Pentagon, Flight 93. And conversations hinged on the events for days to come.
Do I remember wher I was on 9-11? Absolutely! It was a day I can never forget. My understanding of my postition as a member of the United States military underwent a significant change. My understanding of the world, and my standing in it has never be the same.
May we never forget the events of that day, or the sacrifices made.
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