Imagine applying for an employment opportunity that took you away from your family, put you on call for 24 hours a day, and required you to sleep at the work site. The food really isn’t great, the job sites are not safe, and there isn’t a whole lot of vacation time. Incomes are low, and many positions will require families to supplement their paycheck with food stamps. Sometimes you get shot at while doing your job, and other times you are required to use weapons against those who would use them against you. And everyone who has never actually done your job will have an opinion about how, when, where, and why you will do what you do. You have to be very passionate, or a little bit crazy to want this position.

Thankfully, I’ve met several members of the United States Military that are a little of both. Thanks to you guys for everything you have done and would gladly do to keep your friends, family, and neighbors safe from harm. Thanks as well to your families, who also give up a lot and somehow get less recognition than you guys do, which seems impossible. Thanks for standing up to everything you face that we’ll never even know about. Thank you.