My Shipmates, my airmen, my Soldiers and Marines

My Shipmates, my Airmen, my Soldiers, my Marines. You are my brothers, my sisters, my family and my friends. As of this moment, we've lost 7,503 of our fellow brothers-in-arms. Countless others have come home injured, missing body parts or just not the person they used to be. While our country may choose to only acknowledge our sacrifices on certain days of the year, we see and remember it every day.

We remember our friends that didn't come home. We remember seeing our brothers die. We see the widows. We see the hundreds of children who never will meet their fathers. We see the thousands upon thousands of families constantly torn apart. These homes that are "broken" homes because of the "D" word. Not divorce. Deployment. Sailors, Airmen, Soldiers and Marines who don't see their families for most of the year if not 18 months. Instead, they visit lands of people that hate Americans. Home is a tent or ship. Home is an email or letter. Home is a far away. Home is full of wives having to be mom and dad for way too long. Home is full of children who, despite not having a constant 2 parent home, grow up well balanced and behaved. Home has a family who doesn't know if he really will come home. Home has grandparents having to be mommy or daddy all over again because the real mommy or daddy is Deployed. Moms are Deploying and not able to watch their babies grow up. Moms and Dads are out there not knowing if their children will know them when they are finally able to come home. Sometimes, Mommy or Daddy don't come home. These families are given just a few months to pick up the pieces and make new lives for themselves.

No matter what we fight for, we remember that we are fighting. Whatever our political views, when we are told to go, we go. We grab our guns. We jump in our planes. We board our ships. We fly our helicopters. We go. The risks are high. The danger is there. We go. Our spouses, who didn't take an oath, fight with us. They fight at home. We don't need a day to remember what we see, do, and lose. We remember everyday. We don't need a ticker on CNN to remember we are losing brothers and sisters. We look around our workcenters and remember who's missing. We look around our homes and remember who's missing. We look around camp and remember who's missing. We remember our families. We remember our orders. We get the job done.

Written by

La'Kiesha Shevokas