Looking Back-the Military-and a new take on war

As I look back over my trip, I try to recollect the things that have stood out to me the most..the things I will remember, the things that will change the way I look at life and the world. A trip like this should change you if you were paying attention along the way. One lasting impression for me is my take on the military. I have always been aware of the men and women of the military, mostly from afar, other than having gotten to know many wonderful veterans that I have met here at Del Webb. Also, living in a military city like Charleston has allowed me to meet many service men and women, but I never really got to see them do what they do so well as on this trip. The personnel that helped us along the way with our journey could not have been more professional or courteous. I do not know which challenge would be more difficult...commanding the Pacific Fleet during wartime, or having to deal with gray-haired retirees that have been sitting in a plane terminal for three days to a week trying to get a free flight to parts unknown....I think that the Pacific Fleet would be less of a challenge. But all complaints were handled with poise and restraint. And on board the plane they treated us so well, not like we were a nuisance. After all, we were really just hitchikers! The big thing for me was that the trip really made the war real for me. While we were sitting at McGuire AFB in New Jersey waiting for a plane to Germany a large group of men and women came in the door, about 20 of them, looking oh, so young. They had on their clean fresh desert khakis and their guns over their arms. The noise in the terminal came to a hush as they walked in. They were not joking and carrying on as you would expect young people to do, they were serious and somber. They sat down as a group and talked quietly among themselves, waiting for the call. When their flight was called they rose and filed up the stairs, and disappeared into their gates......we all watched them go. It was obvious that they were being deployed. I could not help but think of their mothers...and of how young they were, and how brave. They were not compelled to go, they volunteered. Their country comes first, not all of the other distractions that life has to offer others their age. I wondered how many of them may not come back, and knowing that, they go. The war became really real to me right then, and I thought of how many had gone before them. One of our flights back had a box in the cargo section marked "Personal Effects-Please Expedite"...the war is real, and I am ever so grateful for the men and women who are ready to sacrifice all to protect us....at the ultimate price. God Bless and protect each and every one of them....