Was thinking your starting this news letter was impressive and your writing was impressive. As great as those things are it pales in comparison to the sacrifice you were willing to make for the rest of us. It will never get old for me to say thank you for your service. This is not a standard line, it is heartfelt message from someone who raised two children in this Republic, and absolutely appreciates what you have done.
Thank you. I went back and forth for a couple of weeks about writing this, honestly. In the early years of my military career I was blessed to rub shoulders with a lot of elite soldiers, and I picked up on their heavy sense of silent professionalism, the idea that "if people know what we're doing, we've failed the mission." But I felt compelled to, in what way I could, give voice to those who are still out there performing a mission that few Americans understand and far fewer appreciate. I believe very strongly in the principle of deterrence and there are few things in life I am more committed to than keeping faith with our allies. The Kurds, especially, are studs and we need to stand by them. So, in the end, I stepped out of my comfort zone and went ahead and wrote this. I hope I did a good job making it about those still in harms way rather than myself. I wrote and re-wrote quite a bit trying to strike the right balance of telling a compelling personal story but pivoting to a broader consideration of all those who have stepped forward to serve.
Was thinking your starting this news letter was impressive and your writing was impressive. As great as those things are it pales in comparison to the sacrifice you were willing to make for the rest of us. It will never get old for me to say thank you for your service. This is not a standard line, it is heartfelt message from someone who raised two children in this Republic, and absolutely appreciates what you have done.
Thank you. I went back and forth for a couple of weeks about writing this, honestly. In the early years of my military career I was blessed to rub shoulders with a lot of elite soldiers, and I picked up on their heavy sense of silent professionalism, the idea that "if people know what we're doing, we've failed the mission." But I felt compelled to, in what way I could, give voice to those who are still out there performing a mission that few Americans understand and far fewer appreciate. I believe very strongly in the principle of deterrence and there are few things in life I am more committed to than keeping faith with our allies. The Kurds, especially, are studs and we need to stand by them. So, in the end, I stepped out of my comfort zone and went ahead and wrote this. I hope I did a good job making it about those still in harms way rather than myself. I wrote and re-wrote quite a bit trying to strike the right balance of telling a compelling personal story but pivoting to a broader consideration of all those who have stepped forward to serve.