Airmen must dig deep to find courage

  • Published
  • By Col. Jeanne Meyer
  • 60th Judge Advocate commander
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Although I recall reading about the speech Marine Lt. Gen. John F. Kelly gave to commemorate Veterans Day in November 2010, I did not read the actual speech until I stumbled across it again recently. The speech is powerful and passionate. Kelly's story is even more compelling and an excellent piece to consider as we finish Wingman Week.

Kelly had only one request of the officer introducing him prior to his speech: "Please don't mention my son." His son, Marine 2nd Lt. Robert M. Kelly, was killed four days earlier by a land mine while leading a platoon of Marines in Afghanistan.

Kelly did not reference his son during his speech, but spoke of the sacrifices made by the military since the events of 9/11. He spoke specifically of two Marines standing watch at the gate of a Marine outpost in Ramadi, Iraq. The Marines could not have been more different - one "dirt poor, mixed-race kid from Virginia with a wife and daughter," and one "middle class white kid from Long Island." Kelly points out that if they had not joined the Marines, they would never have met and become "brothers."

Security cameras and witnesses relayed the following: As the Marines stood guard, a large truck sped through the jersey walls toward the gate, where it stopped and detonated, killing both Marines. All the Iraqi police posted at the gate fired and then ran for safety. As Kelly told the story, for the six seconds it took from the time the truck entered the alley until it detonated, the Marines fired nonstop. They never stepped back. They never even shifted their weight. They fired until the truck was forced to stop and exploded in front of them.

These two Marines, along with 2nd Lt. Robert Kelly and every other Soldier, Sailor, Airman and Marine, stood together. They supported and protected each other and their fellow Marines to the very end.

We just finished Wingman Week at Travis, where we focused on the importance of healthy relationships and promotion of Leadership Pathways. Every one of the four domains of the Comprehensive Airman Fitness is evidenced by the actions of the two Marines in Iraq: mental (awareness, decision making); physical (endurance, strength); social (teamwork); and spiritual (perseverance, purpose).

To that list, I would add courage. Not only the courage that our military displays in combat, but courage to take care of our fellow Airmen, the courage to speak up when you see someone doing the wrong thing and courage to take on the challenge of protecting, mentoring and developing the next generation of Airmen. We owe that to ourselves, our fellow Airmen and the nation we serve.