Another year has gone by and I’m sitting in a middle eastern
desert, reflecting on the birth of our nation.
I landed in Kuwait a few weeks ago, on my way to the
‘Stan (still in route). I saw the dust, I felt the heat,
I smelled the “smell”, and the last four years of my life seemed to disappear. It was like I never left this place: I never went back to the fire
department, I never had my bionic
surgeries, we never bought our house or raised our kids. All of it, disappeared. That was a little disheartening.
Under the airplane in the Kuwaiti heat (about 110 degrees
F), I spoke with a young soldier who was deploying for the first time. He said he felt the blast of heat as the
flight attendant opened the door, and thought to himself that the engines were
really hot. He stepped out the door walked down the gangplank and thought, “wow,
I can really feel the exhaust from those engines.” Not till he got to the bottom of the stairs
did he realize it was the air that was hot, not the engines. I smiled and chuckled a little bit, then
said, “Welcome to the desert, son.”
This is my third time in the gulf. My experience this time
has been so much different than any other tour I have been on. It is eye-opening. It is also extremely
rewarding to see the fruits of our labors, and the positive, sometimes life
saving, impact we have on the soldiers doing the fighting in the wadis and
villages in Afghanistan.
My gratitude to all those who have sacrificed so much to
make the "land of the free" a reality - yesterday, today and
tomorrow, not only to the soldiers who fight, but the families, especially the
wives (spouses), who stay home and maintain the home front. That is the hardest job of all.
And to all my brothers and sisters in arms down range-keep
your heads down and your powder dry...
Remember my friends, Freedom is not free…
Happy Independence Day.
