What #militarymon Means to Me

To me #militarymon is not about one person or one branch of the Armed Forces. It is not about one blog, who tweets or who retweets the most. It is so much bigger than that. #MilitaryMon is about Supporting Our Troops in every aspect, from those who work behind the scenes to the ones who are engaged it the War on Terror. It is about bringing awareness to Support our Troops and the sacrifices that they make to ensure our freedom. It is about saying "Thank You" to our Veterans. It is about showing respect to the families of our Armed Forces and thanking them for their sacrifices as well. During #militarymon people from all walks of life, with different political views, different religious views as well as different personal views and social status all come together for one goal and that is to show their support. It is about supporting our Allies who walk side by side with the U.S. Armed Forces. It's about bringing awareness to all the Organizations and the hard work they do for Our Armed Forcecs. It's about Soldiers (past and present) sharing their stories with us. It is about ideas for care packages, letters and needs that need to be met. It is about bringing awareness of what our Troops do besides fighting on the battle field. #MilitaryMon is about showing the strength and the hearts of our brave men and women in all branches of the military. #Militarymon gives our Soldiers the recognition that is denied to them by the media. It is about Honoring our Fallen Warriors and never forgetting their sacrifice. My life has been blessed by the people I have met thanks to #militarymon.

Stop and think!

While engaged in a conversation at the grocery store a few days ago my converstion was interrupted by an un-welcomed comment. This person and myself were discussing how hot it was outside and we really hated complaining about it because our troops had it so much worse than we could even imagine when this kid probably 18 or 19 years old, interrupts and says, "its not as bad for them because they don't have to deal with the humidity". Needless to say this did not sit well at all with me or the other person I was talking to. If this kid in his white shirt, jeans and tennis shoes, who pushes a grocery cart, who is in the heat no longer than 5 minutes before going back into an air-conditioned store is going to say something as stupid as that deserves my wrath. After I thanked this kid for interruping my conversation I asked this him to explained to me how dealing with the clothing, boots, body armor, 80lb back pack, carrying a weapon walking miles in the desert while looking for terrorist, is not that bad? He gives me this dumb look like what do you mean? So I had to put it in simple terms for him. Humidity or no humidity this is what our troops do everyday. They can't just sit down because they get hot or because they are tired. They have to keep on keeping on. They don't have a grocery cart to carry their necessities, their backs are their grocery carts. Again he says, but they don't have the humity. Ok, by this time I am "hot" and it had nothing to do with the heat or the humidity. I asked him if he was really that stupid or was he just in denial. I told him if it wasn't that bad and if he was so concerned about the humidity then maybe he should join one the branches of the Armed Forces and go where there was no humidity. I quickly recanted that statement. The manager came and we went into his office where the conversation continued for a bit longer. Needless to say the manager apologized for the kids interruption and stupid remark. It's really sad that we get so caught up in our everyday lives that we don't stop and think what our troops endure everyday to assure that we can go on with our lives without being in fear. We can get in our cars and go to the grocery store and not fear that some terrorist is gonna put a bomb in front of the store where we are shopping. To often we forget how lucky we are to be American's. Thanks to our troops I was able to use my freedom of speech to defend those who gave me that right. I decided that I would push my own cart out because I didn't want this kid to get over heated because of the heat and humidity.

Worry in Silence!

As I sit here reading so many blogs and stories from Iraq and Afghanistan I have to wonder, "WHO IS THE ENEMY"? Our soldiers are faced with this challenge everyday. We hear about Police in Iraq knowing about bombs being planted, children being sold in Afghanistan to become suicide bombers, militants posing as soldiers, women being recruited as suicide bombers. How do our soldiers deal with this? How do they identify "who is the bad guy"? Are our troops any safer since the "pull-out in Iraq cities" or are they in more danger? As the mother of a soldier I can tell you this is just one of the many questions that play in my head every day. I surf the internet for information because the news agencies feel that we don't need to know I suppose (don't even get me started). I honestly think that our soldiers are less safe now than before and this should be a great concern for everyone. We can't really say whats on our minds because of OpSec so we sit and choose our words carefully. So you worry in silence trying to put on a happy face while you are crying inside. I really get tired of people telling me not to worry yet no one can tell me how to do this. When soldiers first deploy everyone is wanting to know if you have heard from your soldier or how is your soldier doing. But after a few short months (which seems like an eternity) the questions are no longer asked. For those of us who have loved ones engaged in the War on Terror those question never end. For those who support our troops these questions never end. How do you comfort your soldier when he says to you "Mom, I just wanna get out of this shit-hole and come home"? It takes all the strength you can muster not to start crying when you tell him "I understand and I want you home too"! But really how can we understand? We are home where for the most part we can tell who is the enemy and have all the comforts that some take for granted. I know I am rambling here but that is how my mind works. So many questions playing through my mind like one of those songs you just can't get out of your head. So to those who say don't worry, until you can tell me how to do this, please stop saying that. When your only child goes into a war zone and you find a way not to worry please fill me in. Until then, I'll will sit here and worry in silence and pray for all our troops as I have been!

My Soldier

While taking part in #militarymon, someone made a comment that stated, " Soldiers don't die for their county, they die for they paycheck." I was overcome with emotions and actually had to step away from my computer to regroup myself. So here is a little insite on my Soldier. My son always wanted to be in the military. He started talking to recruiters at the age of 16. While other boys his age were doing what boys do, he was studying, reading any and everything he could find on the military. He decided on the Army because his Dad was Army as well as many others in our family. He received his diploma at the age of 17 and on that day he celebrated. He did not celebrate because he was "out of school" but because now he was able to go into the Army. On that same day at about 4pm an Army Recruiter knocks on my door. As we sit at the table discussing what my sons future would be, the Recruiter asks my son "Why do you want to be in the Army" and to this my son replies, "I already serve God and I want to serve my Country so that freedom or our freedom is never taken away!" Needless to say the Recruiter sat back with a look as if he could not believe what he was hearing. The Recruiter's reply was, "I have been doing this for almost 20 yrs and I think that is the first time I have ever heard that." My son did not ask what his pay would be, he did not ask for anything other than the opportunity to serve his country. I cannot say why others have enlisted in the Armed Forces, I can only speak for my son. Ten years ago I had the decision to make, to sign or not sign. I chose to sign because he wanted to do something honorable for his country. My son is now deployed in Iraq along with thousands of other Troops. So when someone says "its only for a pay check" they have no clue what they are talking about.

Fallen Hero's

I was sitting here thinking about how the deaths of some seem to be less acknowledged than others. Ed McMahon, Farrah Faucett and Billy Mays died and we heard very little. Our fallen warriors that have died in battle didnt get acknowledged as much as the above listed. Michael Jackson, Anna Nicole Smith, Steve McNair~all 3 deaths surronded by controversy captured the media attention! What happened to priorities

Men and Women of the Armed Forces put it all on the line everyday for us. The families of these men and women make sacrifices for us just as well. All to often two simple words "Thank You" go unsaid. "Thank You" means so much to those who protect our freedom and cost you nothing.

With all the media frenzy surrounded by the death of Michael Jackson, the media has neglected what his important to most of us American's. I am not saying this just because my son wears combat boots and is deployed now, but as a citizen of the United States of America. My local media covered the MJ frenzy as if he lived in my neighborhood. The town I live in is so small I doubt he ever even passed through. However, in my small corner of the world, there are many many Hero's.

You would think the media would have it's priorities right. You would think they would give our Fallen Hero's the same media coverage. While MJ dominated the air ways our young men and women of the our military were fighting a "battle from hell" in Afghanistan but you would have never know by listening to the news. Does the media think that turning a blind eye or a deaf ear make the war go away. I personally would like to hear about the War on Terror. After Sept. 11th this country came together as one. The color of skin was not a factor but that too soon faded. On 9/11 most of the world mourned with us. Now is seems to me as some have forgotten what we are fighting for.

It is very upsetting that the media has turned its back on the very ones that are protecting their freedom of the press!