The Life of a Soldier

   I met a man last week who made me realize just how hard being a Soldier really is. I know that they face the hardship of a war zone but there is so much more to it than that. This Soldier has been at Fort Bragg for 15 years, is married, has 2 sons in high school and a 4 year old daughter. I don't know his life story, how long he has been in the Army or what his career has been like. I do know that right now, he is doing his residency at Womack Army Medical Center.
   In the course of our brief conversation, he told me that he recently returned from a year of training in Texas. Now, for those of you who don't know, Fort Bragg is one of the biggest Army posts in the world. We call it the 'center of the Army's universe'. My objective in saying that is to point out that this place has a ridiculous amount of people and even more resources. Womack is recognized as one of the best Army hospitals around. Yet, even with all of these resources available right here at home, this Soldier still had to go all the way to Texas for a year.
   In the glass-half-full perspective, you can say that he's not getting shot at, he can call when he wants, possibly come home on a weekend or his family go to him. There are good things about being State-side. However, this Soldier still missed an entire year with his family. He missed birthdays, Christmas, his wedding anniversary, his sons' football games, etc. There are so many precious moments that he will only remember through pictures.
   Now, let me be clear, I am not comparing a year in the States to a year in Iraq or Afghanistan. In my opinion, Iraq or Afghanistan is much harder. When your Soldier is in the States, both of you can sleep well at night because you know he is safe. He has a bed, a pillow, hot food, and, if necessary, you can get to him in an emergency. My point is simply that a Soldier makes sacrifices no matter where he is or what he's doing. Whether he is in Iraq, Afghanistan, or the United States, he still aches to be with his family. He still cries at night because he missed his wife's birthday again. He still has to watch his daughter's ballet recital on video and try to teach his son how to run a 'Flea-Flicker' over the phone.
 The life of an American Soldier is a sacrifice. Period.