Independence Day

This is my 4th Independence day in the middle east. 1999 (Saudi Arabia), 2002 (The Sinai, Egypt), 2004 (Baghdad), and 2008 (here).
I’d rather spend it at home with family and friends but voluntarily I spend it here.
At home my 4th goes like this. On the night of the 3rd, my daughters and I take little flags and put them in front of every house on our street. We do this for all major holidays. When the neighbors wake up they see a street lined with Little American flags it really looks good.
We get up early and Sherrie, the girls and I go run/walk in the Firecracker 5k, a huge event in Shreveport. Then we come home, chill out, and wait for the evening when we get with our fantastic friends and neighbors and blow up fireworks (keeping the injuries to a minimum) and in general have a great time. That’s my idea of a great fourth.
Holidays overseas are a bit different. We try to make the days special by keeping work to a minimum but the missions don’t stop. We’ll start the day with a 4 mile run around the base. Usually there will be special food in the chow hall, probably steak and ribs. There will be a few fun activities planned but we are limited by resources and where we are.
There are no fireworks displays although someone always manages to shoot off a flare somewhere. We have the biggest assortment of real pyro here but we save that for the real deal. Celebratory fire is not authorized.
As you know our country has been able to celebrate our independence for over two hundred years. Soldiers serving in Iraq, especially those of us who were here in the first couple of years, feel proud that we have helped a country gain its independence. No matter what our politics are we have done that. Iraq is fighting hard against many opponents to keep that independence and they are demonstrating that they are capable of governing and securing themselves.
I was here during the first free national elections in 2004. You may remember the photos of all the ink-stained fingers. I was here that day and it was truly one of the proudest days I have had…ever.
Initially Iraq didn’t fight for their independence, we gave it to them. But they have been fighting for it ever since. We have sacrificed a lot for their freedom. Iraqis have sacrificed even more. That doesn’t always come out in the news. One day things will settle down and Iraqi families will get to spend a quiet day to mark their independence.
Eventually I’ll get to celebrate our American Independence day back home with my family. For now I celebrate it with my military family…voluntarily…like I’ve done several times before.
Take a little time this year and think about that. What we have, what we’ve fought for, what we’ve earned, and what we continue to sacrifice for. It’s not just watermelon and fireworks. It’s who we are.

SABER 02,
Out.