I recently received a comment on my last posting, Nothing New Here, from a friend and brother who I will simply call "J" that I agree with and would like to share with you.
This is what he said at the very end ;" I think that you're about 0300 on a twenty-four watch. Stay the course my friend".
Now at first glance it might sound like an insult but for any of you who have served in the military and have been on duty for 24 hrs, or more ,straight, you know that the worst time is the hours between 0200 and about 0500. Every thing is generally quiet and the last of the drunks have made it back to the barracks and you are freaking tired. In my old unit no one who was on duty slept. We went to work all day and then reported for duty at the barracks as the duty NCO, in my case, or the actual sentries who walked the posts. By the time you got to 0200 you were usually wiped out and there wasn't enough coffee in the world to keep you going. I usually spent my time on my feet either just standing or walking the posts my self just to stay awake. There were a few times I remember actually falling asleep while standing and leaning on the wall. Tired does not begin to express it. Once it got to be about 0500 though the barracks would start to come back to life and I found that I could usually get to the end of the duty with out to much trouble.
So to say that I am at about 0300 is about right. I am tired and a bit cranky around the edges. I have stood my watch faithfully, doing my bit to keep the wolf from the door and the bad guys from our shores.I have served king and country, I have helped stare down the Soviet Union and fought against terrorism, just as some of you reading this have. But I have had about enough of all the BS that is currently going on in our nation. I am tired of watching the American dream slip away from so many people ,including my family, because we were lied to and scammed by bankers and politicians alike. No one has been arrested for it and no one has been prosecuted and yet they stole billions of dollars. I am tired of illegals getting benefits while disabled Vets get nothing. I am tired of people telling me what I can say, or believe for that matter or even what I can eat. I am tired of a government who makes it a point to violate the constitution and bill of rights and then tell us it's for our own good, I am even more tired of those who allow it to happen. I am tired of writing to my representatives or congressmen expressing my concerns over many of these issues only to be ignored. This list could go on.
I love my country. I love what it used to stand for, but I am indeed tired of what I see as an endless up hill battle with forces that seemed to be stacked up against us.
It is indeed 0300 my friend, but despite how tired I am, I am still on watch.
Semper FI.
When I am at the proverbial 0300 in life, I think of the men at Valley Forge. Their names are mostly unknown, yet their feats will stand the test of time. How must they have felt on the bitter cold nights with their feet wrapped in rags, chewing on leather for lack of food, bodies stiff, faced against the largest empire in the world and yet they stayed. Could anyone have blamed them for slipping quietly into the night to go to their warm hearths at home? Would I have had the strength of conviction to stand as they did?
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that when our time is done and we report to Chesty Puller we can proudly say, "I stood my watch" to which he'll promptly reply "So what, you wanna medal?"...and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Semper Fi!