Military Mom #4
When I was growing up, the most respected men were those who chose to serve their country – those who joined some branch of service or supported the armed forces in some way. It was considered to be expected of every man when he reached a certain age, to ask himself, “How can I serve my country?” These men were held as the men of greatest honor and respected by all. But any more, men ask themselves more and more, is my country a country I want to serve? Taking for granted they don’t have to choose to serve if they don’t want to and with the history of many of the past wars, it has been questionable as to whether it is honorable to fight for their country especially when the reasons for the fighting are debatable and/or questionable. (But what war isn’t – really) So now, many people who believe in their freedoms no longer see them as something they need to fight FOR, but see war as unnecessary and serving their country as a matter of choice therefore many do not feel obligated to join. The respect is gone along with the feeling of oneness and that ‘only the real men sign up with the military’ is a thing of the past. Now we have those who believe in our country and are willing to fight and those who believe in our country but don’t see that their freedoms are really being threatened and therefore refuse to fight. Many believe it is just the bureaucracy that says that war is necessary because they have ulterior motives. So who can you believe? It is not just a matter of ‘Too many chiefs and not enough Indians’ but who can you trust in leadership with the decisions that are being made especially on the war front.
I am a military mom. I did not sign up to be in the military, my son did. He enlisted knowing full well that that is what he wanted to do, war or no war. There was no war when my son signed up and I just thought of it as his choice of occupation; a choice every grown man needs to make for himself. I had no idea that once the war started just how much I would have to be involved too. Because my son IS in battle, I now see my country from my son’s perspective. The people who live around me have many faceted opinions in which I am not able to participate. But for US, war IS a fact of life, and I stand with my son in HIS STAND to be a part of our country at war. I think of our military as an honorary society, so to speak, who still believes in its country and how it operates. My opinion and belief in my country has changed drastically.
To the people outside of the military – they can’t really realize how much the heart of a mother (or any parent/spouse) is put to the test. Nor do they realize that when he leaves, you must be behind him; to see that his bills are paid, his house is occupied / kept up, his vehicles kept in running condition, and nothing happens to his property while he is gone or if it does at least someone is there to take care of it. My son was married and his wife then was the responsible one, but she left him for a better life and now it is up to me.
I have become a different woman since my son joined the military – and I’m glad. I have a better understanding of our country, a much better respect for how it works and those who are put in charge of making it work as well as those who carry out their instructions. I realize now how rank in the military is a must and not knowing everything that is going on can not be avoided. The military has a system that is able to get things done and done quickly without questions. No questions are asked nor are any explanations needed; a soldier must simply be willing to act when commanded to do so. In time of war, things need to be done, and done “right now’; that’s why throughout history there has been rank in the military – because it works. AND it works well (or it would not have passed the test of time). The military has taught my son how to take orders – orders that could determine life or death. Any person who is willing to do that for others, deserves respect, no matter what the opinion of other Americans.
If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to email me at mom_military@yahoo.com.
