Thank you for serving your country

  • Published
  • By Maj. Clint McCommon
  • 572nd Global Mobility Readiness Squadron commander
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  There are many reasons why each of us first chose to serve in the armed forces and, for each of the reasons; there are other reasons why many chose to stay.

We are all serving during some really tough times, and I really appreciate those who are so bravely staying the course.

I joined the Air Force after the first Gulf War. During that time, our military was only involved in short-lived regional crisis. Many assumed the threat of a major war was far removed.
More importantly, there were very few of us in the Air Force that were ever put in harms way.
Living in the Air Force was, in comparative terms, comfortable. Although we had to tolerate the annoyance of returned tours supporting Operations Northern and Southern

Watch, we did not have to wonder when the next mortar attack was coming. Looking back, maybe that is why our personal readiness standards seemed more relaxed, both physical and operational.

I believe this was due to a lack of a common cause, which the events of 9-11 violently threw in our face.

Sept. 11, 2001, changed the Air Force in many ways. Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom required the Air Force to fight in ways never required in its history.

We are now not only on the front lines, we are inside them, fighting side by side with our fellow service members more than ever before.

We fight on a battlefield that has no defined lines, no readily identifiable enemy, and no idea when the next explosion may take our friends away from us.

No longer do we support the war from bases hundreds of miles from the nearest enemy. Any one of us may come face to face with the enemy.

Air Force personnel who never dreamed of being on a battlefield now man gun positions on convoys in Iraq. Most of us never believed this would be possible pre-9/11.
I am honored to serve with the many men and women who signed up after 9/11.

I admire the decision each of you made, knowing before you signed up that you would be put in harms way. You knew that you would spend multiple rotations in dangerous locations. You joined to fight.

For those who re-enlisted since, your decision is even more honorable. You know first hand the mission at hand, and you bravely raise your hand for another tour.

Despite the all of the challenges of military service today, you bravely stay and proudly serve. We love our country and we love the men and women who fight the war on terror with us. I have no intention to quit until the job is done, and I am glad to work with the many that feel the same way, and I thank you.

Let's remember those who sacrificed so much for us this holiday season, and remember those who are still risking their lives over there while we enjoy the holidays in the states.

For them, thanks just do not say enough.

In today's Air Force, every man and woman is a vital member, even when not deployed. We must continue to do our part to keep the home station mission moving. It is amazing to think that Air Mobility Command is launching an aircraft every 90 seconds from locations across the globe.

Every little bit we do here lends that much more support to our service members fighting the war abroad.
The people of our country need us and our fellow service members need us. I hope each of you is a proud to be in the Air Force as I am in this critical period of American history.

Regardless of your politics, there is no argument that we have risen up from the ashes of that dreadful day and brought the fight to the enemy.

We now fight them on their turf, far away from our own homes. Although every loss is tragic, we have executed the war on terror on two different theaters of battle while minimizing our losses.

Let us not forget that in WWII we lost 60,000 men winning the battle for Philippines alone. We are so successful in what we do that we sometimes lose perspective in the true costs of war.

We are fighting the good fight. The war on terror will last longer, and we will more challenges in the future, and a clear victorious moment may impossible to determine.

But, we have the skills, the courage, and the resolve, and we will win this war because right is on our side.

I thank all of you who stand with me to serve when people need us the most.