It was Thanksgiving in 1991, a time near the end of my tour aboard the USS Elliot (DD-967). We were nearing the end of our three-month Persian Gulf deployment, bored nearly shitless with endless tacking around the warm bathtub known as the Persian Gulf. I was on the far side of the world from my home, sick of looking at skies that were either hazy with desert heat and sand or blackened with the smoke from still-burning fires in Iraq’s oil fields. It seemed the end of my enlistment couldn’t get here fast enough.
In spite of my homesickness, in spite of the boredom of the Gulf, in spite of all the griping I could have been doing that day, I knew down on the mess decks awaited a scrumptious Thanksgiving dinner with turkey, ham, stuffing, and the works. I was healthy and fit and (like my shipmates) took great cooks, air conditioning and my bed with me everywhere I deployed.
Uncle Sam was taking pretty good care of me, all in all. I really couldn’t complain, especially as the news told of people suffering elsewhere in the world. It was then that I whipped out my checkbook and wrote a fat check to a charity. It seemed like the right thing to do.
I don’t share this to brag about how charitable I am. I share it for the benefit of those who might be feeling bad for the men and women out serving today. Uncle Sam takes pretty good care of our servicemembers. It could always do better, of course, but everyone who dons the uniform knows their obligations and that of their country. Each has made an agreement.
In a perfect world we would not need a military. We would not need courageous Americans standing watch on Thanksgiving or any other day. Until the day we get that perfect world, though, rest assured that our men and women in uniform have it under control. They’ve got this. It’s what they agreed to do. They’re very highly trained and good at their jobs.
Your thanks is appreciated but not needed. If you want to show your true appreciation, though, urging your political representatives to provide better care for our veterans would be a good place to start. That, or finding some way you yourself can serve our community and world.