Honoring our military and their families throughout the year

Those who have served, are serving or will serve our country in the future must understand our country supports them in their selfless act to serve and protect the freedoms we enjoy. Many times individuals sometimes take the liberties and freedoms we have for granted while not understanding what it took to have what we have now. Individuals who came to this country in the beginning were looking to change their lives for the better. It was not easy but the freedoms we have today are the result of those who dared to stand up for the principles in which they believed. Our Constitution we have today with all the amendments are the results of those actions.

The future of the military in these economic times is unknown at this juncture as there are financial issues facing our country. Keeping a strong military and making sure they have what they need for their own protection and the security of the country must be considered in any budget proposal. While the President has his own agenda which is presented in the State of the Union message each January what he wants does not mean it is what he will get from Congress.

Congress basically looks at the President’s proposal and evaluates the objectives he has put in place. Honoring our military and their families should be a priority. Over the years many have made the ultimate sacrifice and we must honor that sacrifice in all we do as individuals and the actions of Congress.

It has been said the strength of our military has an impact in the rest of the world though sometimes it is not what we would like. Additionally a comment or statement has been made suggesting there can be peace through strength. It is true the military over the years has changed and there will undoubtedly be changes in the future. The key consideration when making changes in the structure or organization of the military is to make sure the changes are being made for the right reasons regardless of the costs involved. True costs must enter the picture but we must not cut our military short in supplying the funds they need to perform their responsibilities.

We have military in several foreign countries and the recent event in Libya has brought the reality for the need to protect our military and those representing us in our embassies to the extent possible. Whether we had the proper protection in place in Libya is yet to be decided upon the results of the investigation now being conducted in Congress. Protecting those who serve us through our embassies is important to avoid future events such as the one in Libya. Granted the host countries have some responsibilities but if they do not have the capability to protect our embassies then we as a country have the responsibility to protect them.

Our military over the years have been involved with numerous events. Examples involve such events hurricane relief and rescue efforts, unrest in foreign lands, special assignments. The primary focus of the military is to protect us from those who would do us harm if they had the opportunity. Citizens across the country should honor our military every day not just once a year. When we see military personnel or know of an individual who has served us we need to let them know we appreciate their sacrifices and the sacrifices of their families. Honoring our military also means honoring military families. Let us as citizens make every effort to honor these individuals and ensure Congress does as well through the decisions they make through legislation they create.