Recognizing Personal Sacrifice

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- What does personal sacrifice mean to you? Is it being separated from friends and loved ones for an extended period of time? Is it losing the convenience of having your own personal space and not having to live and work with hundreds, maybe even thousands of your closest friends?

Every Airmen, Soldier, Sailor, Marine, joint and coalition warrior serving in their respective armed forces has their own definition of personal sacrifice, whether they are back at home station, training and preparing to deploy or are currently deployed in support of a number of operations across the globe. Personal sacrifice cuts across all services, components, and ranks.

As Airmen warriors the Air Force Core Values, Integrity first, Service before self, and Excellence in all we do, are the foundation of our Air Force culture and who we are as Airmen. Of the three core values, Service before self holds the greatest amount of personal sacrifice and tells us that our professional duties as Airmen warriors take precedence over personal desires and motivations. We are volunteers, and as such we truly understand that duty comes first over everything else and that personal sacrifice is part of our commitment. Whether you're flying or repairing aircraft, processing passengers and cargo, or caring for our injured personnel we all make personal sacrifices to uphold a greater calling to support and defend our freedoms and way of life.

Let us not forget that there is no greater personal sacrifice that we as service members must endure than the sacrifices our families and friends make while we are away. They deserve our undying compassion and gratitude for taking on the herculean effort of being mother, father, mediator, and friend all at the same time. We grumble about our six on and one off, 24/7 operations tempo. However, our family and friends must remain on task 24/7, typically operating seven on and zero off. They take care of the family, the house, and the finances while not always having the luxury of a day off to relax, unwind, or do something for themselves. As service members we must never stop recognizing the people in our lives who have labored and toiled during our absence, who have had to make great personal sacrifices, and who have accomplished this without complaint or regret.

This Memorial Day we took time to recognize those service men and women who made the ultimate personal sacrifice in defense of our nation's freedoms and liberties with official ceremonies, celebratory running events, and parades in their honor. In saying that, I encourage everyone to take a moment to honor and recognize those family members and friends who make incredible personal sacrifices to support us each and every day. Personal sacrifice is something everyone associated with the military knows and does, whether family member or service member they are true heroes and deserve our deepest and most solemn appreciation.