As I sit here feeding my daughter, I reflect on the most cowardice attack on our country ever. After three tours in Iraq and an upcoming one to the Stan coupled with all the rhetoric that has accompanied there wars I have seen the American people change. This is not a post to tout my service, this is to tell the story of what happened on that day, half a world away.
I was stationed in Germany and we were going into a divisional level field exercise. The 1st Infantry division was training. Were woke up at the butt crack of dawn, as we always did when going to Grafenwhoer (sp?). The five thousand men and women of the 4th Aviation Brigade departed in multiple convoys to take the four hour trip. We grumbled about how the Army can make something, which should only take an hour and a half, be so painful. We arrived and there was flurry of movements on the ground as we began to set up the cammo net and tents.
I was in charge of setting up the brigade TOC (Tactical Operations Center) coms. I remember how the S3 staff officers would always give me crap about when NIPR would be up (nonsecure internet) so they could check their email. One of these was Captain Christopher Siefert. The day progressed as field set up always does, so much to do and not enough people to do it with.
I do not remember what time my girlfriend (now my wife) called me with tears in her voice as she told me. As she told me, it was like a cold knife sinking deep in my soul. The whole brigade was finding out at the same time. We did not stop the work but the typical complaints disappeared. Everyone got deadly serious. We were given time to swing by the division TOC to get some of the news feeds coming in. Those images seared in only feeding the anger welling inside of all of us.
Our brigade chaplain was asked to speak that night during the shift change brief. Our chaplain was normally pretty reserved but not this night. He gave his prayer beseeching God to give us the opportunity to "send the bastards who were responsible straight to hell". He was extremely animated, and his prayer was laced with words not typically heard from a man of the cloth. He summed up our collective thoughts in that prayer so well, I do not remember what he said anymore but I remember it striking a chord deep within which resonated through out the brigade headquarters.
Ten years later I still remember how I felt that day. Captain Siefert was killed when a traitor rolled some grenades into his TOC in Kuwait. The friends I have lost and the time away from my family, is it worth it? Damned right it is! I am proud to have the opportunity to live in our great nation and the privilege to defend her.
V/R
SSG Tom Glaser
edited to fix typos from iphone
