Hey, killa

Hey there, sailor.

That's my brother (and, ew, me) at my cousin's wedding a three years ago.

My brother left for boot camp August 28th, 2002-- the night before I started high school. He went on his first deployment a month after I started college. He's been home for a few months now, but it sucked while he was gone, let me tell you.

I wrote to him every single day while he was on deployment-- it was easy since I could never sleep, anyway. He and his friends (who I also wrote to) all agreed that mailcall was like Christmas morning.

Sailor, please believe that we are thinking of you. (Is it obvious? It feels obvious to me, but I'm not in boot camp.) I know you, specifically, will likely never read this but wouldn't it be wonderful if some man or woman feeling how you felt when you sent your secret sees this blog and realizes he or she is not alone? Wouldn't it be great if we could pair every sailor, Marine, soldier, and airman up with a pen-pal that would write weekly, at least, and send monthly care packages?

Regardless of our views on the war, we must all remember that for hundreds of thousands of Americans, right now the decisions being made in Washington DC are not merely political-- they are personal, as well. The decisions being made in Washington right now are having an immediate and lasting impact on hundreds of thousands of families from top to bottom, coast to coast. Let us not forget that, okay?

These men and women who are in the military, and the men and women who are enlisting as we speak, are too often neglected while they are at war and especially when they return. Can we focus our energy as a country not on tearing each other apart during the next election but instead on healing those who have fought and lost for us?

Please, please, everyone who has been impacted by this sailor-- don't let your message on this blog be the end of it. There are too many people fighting forgotten. Donations to and participation in military support groups has been down since George Bush's "Mission Accomplished" fiasco and that is unacceptable. We have a new tradition, in this country, and as human beings, of loving our soldiers during the early stages of war, feting them with parades and banners, but forgetting them when we're tired of making the effort. There is a huge difference between the men on the grounds and the men holding the reins. Force our government to take care of our soldiers. Force yourselves to care. Please.

With hope,
Ashley
(ajw06@hampshire.edu)