An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

When duty calls

  • Published
  • By Col. Gary Goldstone
  • 375th Airlift Wing commander
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  My thoughts this week have been with the 4,000 Marines in the Helmand province of Afghanistan, who are there in an operation to stabilize that area, which is a key region in upcoming elections and a center of Taliban activity. Their job is to restore Afghan governmental services and protect citizens from the Taliban. 

Their missions have been met with resistance and airstrikes and casualties have followed. Despite that, they press on, along with NATO forces and soon with additional Army forces to help secure the area for August elections. 

It strikes me how different the holidays are for each of us, depending on where we're at with our lives and in our careers. Spending the July 4th holiday on some hot, dusty, barren soil is a far cry from lakeside barbecues and neighborhood fireworks displays, but these Marines, and all our servicemembers who are currently serving there and around the world, press on with perhaps just a passing "Happy 4th" to each other before moving out. 

The days spent during deployments can run together and seem like "Groundhog Day" ... much like movie character Phil Connors who relives the same day, every day. However, he is able to move on with his life after he learns a valuable lesson about making the most of the time given to him. For many of our servicemembers, however, they already know how precious that time is - away from family, friends and loved ones. Yet, they go. They serve, and we depend on them to carry out the mission for our nation. 

One Air Force sergeant in Iraq writes that commanders at his base work to ensure motivation remains high, and that is done by making sure Airmen understand what their roles are and how they're contributing to the successes there. 

"It doesn't matter where you work, every Airman is critical," said Col. Glen A. Apgar, 407th Air Expeditionary Group commander. "If you ask an aerial porter what they did today, they probably tell you that they pushed a few pallets or loaded a few passengers. But, really what they did was deliver critical supplies or troops to the fight. Supplies or troops that, if not delivered, would impact our nation's mission in Iraq. The people of Iraq owe their freedom and future to them. They are teaching local firefighters how to fight fires effectively. They are teaching local security teams how to disarm an improvised explosive device." 

I echo the commander's words that what they do ... and what we do here at home directly impacts the missions in Afghanistan, Iraq ... wherever our men and women are serving. Our job as leaders are to help them understand those roles and provide the necessary training, equipment and resources to do those jobs. Yet, we still depend on them to leave whenever duty calls and be the ones to execute those missions precisely. 

I'm grateful to serve with so many who are willing to set aside their personal lives to perform this special service. I'm even more grateful for the families who stand beside them and support them in these efforts. Another July 4th has passed and more holidays are around the corner. Those Marines will still be patrolling the dusty roads and our Airmen will still be executing the missions in the air and on the ground. Thank you for answering the call to duty and Enabling Combat Power!