Random Wednesday

This morning, I logged in and saw something that really struck me, the Taliban celebrating their third anniversary with a parade at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. Bagram is a place that I, along with many of my friends, know all too well. Most of my deployments were in the CENTCOM theater, and it feels surreal to think about everything that has happened there and what’s still going on in that region.

I vividly remember the day the towers fell and how it changed the world overnight. In the days that followed, several of my classmates, friends, and family members raised their right hands to serve. I joined the cause shortly after and haven’t looked back since.

Since graduating high school, our nation has been at war with extremists and terrorism. This fight has shaped my entire adult life. With deployments and TDYs taking me around the world, I’ve spent my entire career trying to make this world just a little bit safer, using the knowledge, skills, and abilities I’ve developed over time. I still remember being deployed in the CENTCOM theater, launching missions into Iraq, when I heard over the radio that the war was over and the name was changed to Operation New Dawn. How things were going on the Afghanistan front, I'd never thought I’d witness the end of that war in my lifetime.

In late 2020, I found myself in Northern Afghanistan, part of one of the last close air support missions in the CENTCOM theater. Serving with the 124th Fighter Wing as an A-10 Warthog Mission Systems SME, I earned the nickname “Sheik” from my friends and colleagues because I wore a shawl as my face covering. It helped me comply with COVID restrictions but, more importantly, shielded me from the wind storms and the sun. Seeing the Taliban now holding parades at Bagram, a place so many of us called home for longer than we ever imagined, feels surreal.

Northern Afghanistan is a place of rugged beauty if you take a step back to really see it, as long as your base isn’t under fire and the C-RAMs aren’t filling the sky with lead or streaks of tracers at night. Haha! (A little dark humor to my fellow vets)

As I look back on everything we’ve accomplished, sacrificed, and experienced for this nation, both in and out of uniform, I’m reminded that nobody truly wins in war. But on this random Wednesday in 2024, I’m grateful to still be in the fight. There’s meaning in knowing we gave our all and continue to do so today.

There’s so much happening in the world right now—wars, conflicts, rising tensions, and escalations—that even the media can’t keep up with it all, or maybe they choose not to, given how overwhelming it is. But through it all, one thing that stands strong is our nation’s military, its intelligence community, and the industry that supports them.

Today, I felt the need to share something positive because I’m sure I’m not the only one who saw that parade and felt a mix of emotions. Take a moment to be proud of what you’ve done, and let’s keep moving forward, making sure our members come home safe and helping our allies do the same.

Here’s to those who’ve served and those who keep answering the call.

Happy Wednesday, everyone.

Remember our ethos! "In God we trust, all others we monitor, jam, or deceive."

-Crows