Operation Iraqi Freedom... over.

The Iraq war is over. I've been thinking about it, trying to understand how I feel, trying to process the past 8 years in a way that conveys how much was lost compared to how little I feel was gained.

My father fought in the first Gulf War. And as I grew up, he went other places, but for some reason I never thought about it. He was one of the first in Afghanistan and went to Iraq for OIF as well. My friends died in Iraq, I lost so many people I loved there. I worked at LRMC, watching Vets suffer from so many different wounds and causes. I wondered how to keep strong then and now, I wonder how to validate all the costs versus the rewards. Are there any rewards when we leave a war as if we never did anything at all?

Yes, we got some justice for the people of Iraq who were persecuted and killed relentlessly by Saddam. And yes, we captured alot of insurgents and put them away, allowing a new government to form in it's place, mildly corrupt versus the outlandishly corrupt one that stood before. Yes, we built schools, roads, hospitals, gave the Iraqi people more freedom than they had known in Saddam's time. I just wonder for the American men and women who served and died, what did we gain? People claimed we fought for oil but, like most conspiracies, that one died on it's own path. They claimed we were the corrupt ones and we weren't. People protested the wars and the funerals of our Soldiers and Marines, Sailors and Airmen. People wasted their right to freedom and abused it by slandering the names of the men and women, blaming them for the war in the first place.

I have always said if you disagree with war, you should still support the men and women fighting it. They didn't choose a war to start but they sure as hell were going to fight to win. I just wonder where the win is, if there is any at all. It's a solemn feeling, remembering those that died in combat and those that came home and died by their own hand due to the PTSD they suffered from unseen war wounds. I pray it's worth it.

Even Steve wonders if it was worth everything. We talked about it and both of us feel this uneasy feeling about leaving. Hoping we didn't leave too soon, hoping the evil doesn't sprout from the ground where good men fought and died. Hoping that the loss of life is worth the freedom for the children that will grow up there. Will they know how much we fought for? Will the Iraqi people forgive us for our wrongdoings, when we obviously are not perfect, and thank us for our actions that were just and mighty? So many questions still linger as there is no longer a war in Iraq to fight. So many possibilities, bad and good, fill a future that no one can know.

As I think about the loss and the ending of a war, I hope you remember the Troops who fought in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Whatever happens, remember them and their families. This War cost more than just money, it cost lives and it cost people innocence. Children grew up faster because their fathers went to war, Children became adults when they recieved the news from the Military that their loved one was dead. Wives became widows, husbands became widowers. Mothers and fathers became childless. Pets became ownerless. That's the true cost of war. Please remember them.

Bin Laden's Death

Recent world events have caused an uproar in the world but in our world, the military community, our concerns and fears are increased. Many of us have loved ones deployed and many will have theirs deployed soon. We know that the death of our greatest enemy means the fighting will be worse until we finally destroy the terrifying beast, Al Qaeda, and we know we will because we must.

We are Americans and we never stop. But we are more than Americans, we are the American Armed Forces and the families. We go through what other families never even consider. They don't watch the news with any of our concerns. They don't worry the moment the words "Army/Marines" and "Deployment/Afghanistan" appear on the news. We are the ones who spend days attempting to keep busy and nights alone and awake, trying to fight off the empty ache of loneliness. Our joys are phone calls and letters and the ever-so rare skype dates. We are thrilled by a package arriving containing something useful instead of something sweet. We fall in love over and over with the same man, the same man who fights for all of us, even those who don't care.

Those men and women who serve our country are the only reason America still stands. Our government has failed us over the past few years, and, it seems, only gets worse as time goes by. We need to change this but in order to do that we must wait. We must be patient and we must stay united and strong. It is our jobs as the American Military and those that represent them when they are off fighting. We must be strong and we must carry on, carrying the burden of our entire country in this fight against hate, terrorism and enemies of our Men and Women. This isn't just a fight between countries anymore. It's a fight between men who have lost their brothers and friends, it's a fight that has gotten personal. We will win because we have always proven that our determination will always outlast anyone else's.

Now as the future becomes the present and our new futures are being formed in Washington even as I type this, I believe that we will survive and we will win. The women of the Armed Forces, the wives, fiances and girlfriends, are the backbone of this small percentage of Americans and it is they who shall endure the second hardest job in the Military. Some raise children alone and some are spending the happiest times of their youth waiting for their prince charming to return. We all have a role that is far too underappreciated, sometimes, even by our men who fight.

We know we do not suffer the same wounds, physically or mentally, but I believe our test is more of an endurance of mind and will. We learn to survive alone. We learn to fix the clog in the sink, fix a pipe, paint, play baseball. We learn how to be alone with children because sometimes no one can help us. Sometimes we are too far away from loved ones to have any family, so we forge friendships and bonds. We create a sisterhood that surpasses any sorority that could exist and it is us who face the media, the scruntity and the vast array of emotions that comes with our position among the waiting.

Now, Bin Laden is dead and whether or not you celebrate that fact, our lives will change. Already alert levels are raised and we find ourselves waiting and wondering "how will they get us back?" We hope that it won't happen but anyone foolish to think that isn't thinking about the situation. Islamic extremists are infuriated with the American Government and our Military. Regardless that this terrorist initiated our vengence in 1993 and furthered the cause in 1998 with the USS Cole bombing and finally attacked our Homeland on September 11th, 2001; they are angered by the death of their, for all-intents and purposes, King.

We have cut the head out of the best, let's hope it doesn't grow back too many heads and until we know what the future holds, I beg of all of you to carry yourselves with dignity and strength. Remember that you represent him and in his world, that means his career and his life. Pray for our Servicemen everywhere. Pray for our Heroes and pray for America. We are at the precipice of change. What happens now will determine everything. God Bless America and God Bless her People.