When Tyler and I moved to Fort Bragg we struggled with living on-post or off. Ultimately we decided to live off-post in a quiet neighborhood in the historic district of Fayetteville. We love our little home, but at times there are definitely things I miss about being on-post. I miss not hearing the PT cadences as the troops run in the morning and the bugle calls at 5 pm every afternoon, but lately I have gotten my fair share of Army noises in the form of artillery.
Clearly, the Army does not use or support the cannon seen above, but it will make the point. I can tell that summer is approaching and training season is here because I hear loud booms, my house shakes and my windows rattle at all hours of the day. Imagine having rolling thunder at any time of the day, without the wind, lightning and the rain, some that lasts for mere seconds and some that rolls on for hours on end.
The other night as I laid in bed, holding my sleeping, teething toddler, listening to the booms and rumbles from post, I wondered if this is what women in war-torn countries feel. Did the women during the Civil War hold their babies and pray that the troops wouldn't come any closer? Did Korean women or Afghan women do the same in more recent times? And then I stop .. and I just praise the good Lord that I don't know what that is like. My heart does not know what it is like to have my home, my family, my life endanger on it's own turf. I have the
privilege and confidence that these booms and rumbles will not approach my home, that they are simply practice for our troops.
The last few days and weeks have been full of budget-cuts and news articles defining the military member's lives as "lavish," but I think we so often forget that as Americans, ALL AMERICANS, we have it so well. What a
lavish benefit to not worry that cannons and tanks will roll onto your front lawn and begin to destroy everything you know and love. What a
privilege that you, my fellow American, do not have to serve in the military between high school and college because there are others who will
graciously volunteer.
My family was called to serve. The Lord knew before Tyler and I were born that this would be our life, and we are
honored to serve in this capacity. But before you are quick to revoke benefits, question whether or not troops are still away from home or complain that the Department of Defense has too "lavish" a budget ... think of the
privileges bestowed on you and your loved ones in the form of no draft, no "must-serve" commitment, and most certainly no war on your precious doorsteps.
** Caveat .. this is not intended to be a public battle, just thoughts that have swirled through my head recently. I genuinely believe there is fat to be trimmed in the Dept. of Defense and our government as a whole; I would be the first with a red pen on the budget if they'd let me.**
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