It has been a difficult time for you and for your families, from long and repeated deployments for those in all four services -- and the associated long separations from loved ones -- to the anguish of those of you who have lost friends and family in combat or those of you who have suffered visible and invisible wounds of war yourselves. But your dedication, courage and skill have kept America safe even while bringing the war in Iraq to a successful conclusion and, I believe, at last turning the tide in Afghanistan. Your countrymen owe you their freedom and their security. They sleep safely at night and pursue their dreams during the day because you stand the watch and protect them.
For four and a half years, I have signed the orders deploying you, all too often into harm's way. This has weighed on me every day. I have known about and felt your hardship, your difficulties, your sacrifice more than you can possibly imagine. I have felt personally responsible for each of you, and so I have tried to do all I could to provide whatever was needed so you could complete your missions successfully and come home safely -- and, if hurt, get the fastest and best care in the world.
You are the best that America has to offer. My admiration and affection for you is without limit, and I will think about you and your families and pray for you every day for the rest of my life. God bless you.
Secretary of Defense - Robert Gates
4 comments:
Best SecDef in some time. Glad he hung around for so long, but sad to see him go. :(
Hot blogging!
I have to disagree and say good riddance to Obama stooge Bob Gates... He cut and gutted the US defenses. Shameful!
Back in my daddy's day, and my granddaddy's day, all the way back to before the first of my family got tired of bowing to some lord or baron, we had a War Department. We didn't have too many wars and the Army was mostly kept busy fighting Indians. When an external war came along, or the War of Yankee Aggression, the Army was used as the bones we built our fighting forces around.
This worked, we won every war we fought 'cept that War of Yankee Aggression (and I think losing that worked out fairly well, at least 'til lately).
Then Truman got the bright idea to close down the War Department and set up the Defense Department. Well, since then we haven't once declared war. We sure have been in a helluva lot of fights, though. Mostly ending up inconclusively or with us on the losing end. During which time we lost a whole lot of good young men (and now women).
Y'all pardon me for thinkin' we ought to go back to The War Department and back to not having a single trooper bust a cap without an actual declaration of war.
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