A True Leader
One thing that I remember about my childhood was that I never saw a soldier in uniform. Not until I got into high school when the military recruiters would come to speak. Iowa is extremely sheltered from the military environment. It is easy to be against something that you do not come into contact with on a daily basis. Many individuals living in Iowa have absolutely no connection to the military and that is a shame. Thankfully my family was able to live and care for a soldier. He provided for his family by working like I have never seen a person do before. This soldier is my husband and I could not be more proud of him.
My husband would go in every morning to do P.T. and come home for breakfast. He would change into his uniform and head back onto post every day. During normal work life he would get the weekends and holidays off, unless there was staff duty, training exercises, or an upcoming deployment. The soldier does not know what a sick day is. Living on a military installation was one of the best experiences of my life. All the women living on my block knew what deployment was. Those spouses all watched their husband grab their gear and head onto the bus. They waved good bye without knowing if they would see their husband again. The children never quite get adjusted to saying goodbye to their father. Those type of experiences gave us a connection and a bond that will last us a lifetime.
Rest and relaxation was a wonderful two week break during my husbands twelve month deployment. During his Afghanistan deployment he came home to see the birth of his fourth child. Some of my friends are not as lucky as I was. There are spouses that I know who had to have their husbands on Skype while they went through labor. I have one great friend whose husband will be in Afghanistan when she births their second child. That was my reality for the longest time. You never knew where the soldier would be and that was normal. Will my soldier be home for the birth of our child? Will my soldier make it home? Will my soldier be the one who was hurt while on patrol?
When you do not experience these sort of events then it is easy to not care. We are considered the millennials. We are considered the generation of ME. What can I get out of it? How can this benefit ME? Until you experience the military life, then you can never grasp the seriousness of what our soldiers do, and how much they do sacrifice. My husband sacrificed so much for us and never wanted recognition. Wearing the uniform was something that made him proud. That lifestyle has completely changed my mindset and the way I view what I would like to see in a candidate.
I want a candidate who is proud of our country. The candidate must never apologize to our enemy. Our soldiers must be confident with the leadership of this candidate. What we have right now is none of the above. I liken this leader to a toxic cloud of radiation. I want to be excited for our next leader. I want to see real change for the better. I do not want our welfare system to grow and add more individuals to the list of food stamps. I know the abuse and the abuse is rampant. I want a leader who will enforce strict guidelines that will ensure only needy individuals are taken care of. I also want someone who is not afraid to show their faith and be proud. I just want a real leader.
These last several years have been a constant headache for those who work hard, are not appreciated, and treated like filth. Our soldiers deserve better. Our hard workers deserve better. WE deserve better. We need to get our military back up to a safe and secure level that will keep our soldiers from constant deployments. Who could be up for the challenge?
