Armed Forces Day 2021

For the last ten years of my time with the Marine Corps, I was responsible for drafting messages from the Commandant to the entire Corps (ALMARS=All Marine messages) on topics of a historical nature.  Such topics as wishing units happy birthdays, veterans day and Armed Forces Day.  They were short, and I couldn't get too creative, which was a bummer.  This year, since I'm not drafting it for the CMC, I'm going to write my own because TODAY is Armed Forces Day 2021.

What is Armed Forces Day? "Armed Forces Day is a special holiday for people all over the world to come together and thank the men and women of the United States Armed Forces. First conceived by President Harry S. Truman, the holiday was established in 1949. The creation of a single day celebration for all five branches of the United States military made sense due to its recent unification under the Department of Defense."

Don't confuse it with Veterans Day or Memorial Day, which have similar, but not the same meaning.  Truman's intent was to have ONE day to honor all the various services, each service still honors their own day of creation, but this day is for we citizens to pay tribute to the various services.

While I work for DoD, I am not a hawk; nor am I a dove.  I believe we need to have a well-equipped and well-trained military, for defense and for humanitarian reasons.  Sometimes the military is the only one that can get to the scene rapidly enough to quell the situation—be it man-made or nature-made.  Our nation’s military has been vilified and glorified, and everything in between since the day it was created.  There are some bad apples, but the good ones far outshine the bad, in my book.

 

Our military has often been the first experience other nations have with the US.  In places like Bangladesh, our military are heroes for the herculean efforts that were performed during some of the worst natural disasters.  The residents of that nation love our military. Operations Sea Angel I and II are the reason.  Other nations have mixed feelings about our military, places like Haiti.  Haiti saw our military in some its darkest hours; in the early 20th century, the relationship wasn't the greatest.  However, in the 1990s and early 2000s, it was our military that helped the Haitians though natural disaster and political turmoil.

The members of our military are human beings, and being human they aren't perfect.  But in a pinch, I'd rather find myself with American Marines, Soldiers, Sailors or Airmen coming to my aid than any other service in the world.  Why? Because I've had the honor and privilege to know so many of them and I know in the hearts of the ones I've met, they are honorable, courageous, loving, and fierce.   I choose to disregard those who do not uphold those values.

 

Today I don't interact a great deal with the active duty military, but let me tell you about one who I know pretty well (although in many ways he remains an enigma to me), my brother, "Dave" (as he likes to be called) who is currently serving member of the US Army.

This is how I remember him.  A smart kid, who loved to get into trouble and who (I swear) loved to get me spun up for the fun of it.  He's seen his share of crap while in the service, from shit tours to sandy/hot places, to the Army jerking him around.  He's done things I would never do, helped people who didn't speak the same language and didn't trust Americans.  

My brother has seen war, and what it does to people.  He's come home with the "badge of military merit" and lost comrades in arms.  To me, he is one of the reasons I will always advocate for our military.  I know that if I were in trouble, be it a bar fight I started, or any other situation where I needed someone to have my back, he'd be right there.  I also know that he loves fiercely--his family, friends and other loved ones.  He is honorable to the core of his being, and has served our nation through our longest wars.  This has left its mark on him.  

He can make me laugh like nobody, and I've shed some tears with him as well.  I always love spending time with him and want nothing more than for his health and happiness.

Of course, this is what I want for all our active duty service men and women.  I want them to feel proud of their service, feel loved by those they care about, and feel honored by our nation for their many sacrifices on our behalf.   Is that too much to ask for their decision to give their life, if it must come to that, for us all? They signed the dotted line for many reasons, sometimes it was for money to pay for an education,  sometimes it was to get away from where they were, sometimes the simple act of wanting to do something larger than themselves.  Whatever the motivation, they knew that it might come time for them to give the last full measure of devotion, and for that I honor the men and women like my brother who currently serve.

While Armed Forces Day is set aside to honor current serving, I would be remiss if I didn't include those who have served with the same courage, honor, commitment, devotion, and hardships.  Today I am going to spend the day with one of the best I've ever known.  He's 98, a veteran of three wars, and has recently lost his wife of many, many decades.  I am humbled by his friendship; I am filled up by the knowledge he has given me freely over the past 25 years and my heart breaks for him as he goes into this final chapter of his life.

 

So folks, on this Armed Forces Day, hug someone you know that has the uniform on (don't randomly hug someone, that might not turn out well), and let them know you have THEIR back should they need it.  To my brother ("SSG Badass"), thank you for your service, thank you for your friendship,  thank you for all that you are to our family and please know you are loved, respected and valued.  I couldn't have picked a better brother.