I want to wish all of Team Edwards and their families a safe enjoyable Memorial Day weekend. Memorial Day is a time of remembering and reflection. As we enter the holiday, I wanted to share a few of my own reflections.
My family and I have had the great fortune to view Memorial Day Ceremonies at hollowed places like Arlington National Cemetery and then to walk amongst the markers of the fallen warriors from the Civil War all the way to those who more recently fell in places like Afghanistan and Iraq. We have walked the ground at Gettysburg, Pearl Harbor and Normandy and sensed the enormous weight of history borne there.
We have also participated in small town Memorial Day parades in the Midwest that lasted only a few minutes but brimmed with patriotism. What I have learned is that this country takes seriously its charge to always remember the ultimate sacrifices that our Armed Forces have always made on our behalf.
My other reflection is of the unending line of Americans who volunteer to serve. This week alone, Chief Richards and I had the great privilege to welcome home twelve Airmen who just returned from their seven-month deployment to the CENTCOM AOR. While deployed they ensured that the rapidly evolving tactical situation was underpinned with airtight security. We also were equally privileged to welcome the newest and youngest Airmen to Edwards and were recharged viewing the excitement in their eyes at all the possibilities that the Air Force and their chosen career fields had to offer them.
Enjoy your well-deserved weekend. Take a moment in your own way to remember those who gave their all. And lastly, take the time to rest and prepare for all the challenges ahead that will require the safe return of us all.
I want to wish all of Team Edwards and their families a safe enjoyable Memorial Day weekend. Memorial Day is a time of remembering and reflection. As we enter the holiday, I wanted to share a few of my own reflections.
My family and I have had the great fortune to view Memorial Day Ceremonies at hollowed places like Arlington National Cemetery and then to walk amongst the markers of the fallen warriors from the Civil War all the way to those who more recently fell in places like Afghanistan and Iraq. We have walked the ground at Gettysburg, Pearl Harbor and Normandy and sensed the enormous weight of history borne there.
We have also participated in small town Memorial Day parades in the Midwest that lasted only a few minutes but brimmed with patriotism. What I have learned is that this country takes seriously its charge to always remember the ultimate sacrifices that our Armed Forces have always made on our behalf.
My other reflection is of the unending line of Americans who volunteer to serve. This week alone, Chief Richards and I had the great privilege to welcome home twelve Airmen who just returned from their seven-month deployment to the CENTCOM AOR. While deployed they ensured that the rapidly evolving tactical situation was underpinned with airtight security. We also were equally privileged to welcome the newest and youngest Airmen to Edwards and were recharged viewing the excitement in their eyes at all the possibilities that the Air Force and their chosen career fields had to offer them.
Enjoy your well-deserved weekend. Take a moment in your own way to remember those who gave their all. And lastly, take the time to rest and prepare for all the challenges ahead that will require the safe return of us all.