They serve us

My son’s father in law took this photo while serving in Afghanistan as a US Air Force escort, in 2010.
These men and women are in battle against an enemy that is very hard to see; they hide in caves, the travel by foot at night, and they cloak themselves in local garb so as to melt into the fabric of society and local culture.
Our US Service Personnel rarely hide. They have no one hunting them. They are not targets. They don’t need to as they are not the ones who are invoking atrocities upon the innocent and they are not planning to wreak havoc or mayhem in the name of Jihad. Our soldiers, airmen, seamen, and marines, all took an oath to “protect our nation from all enemies, both foreign and domestic”, and in doing that, they are ALL volunteers. No conscripts, no forced-service entry, no draftees. All are there because they want to be. But do they want to be flying in a vulnerable craft, hanging halfway outside, while scouring the desert for signs of enemy activity? Who knows? They are willing and able and highly trained and highly motivated to secure the region from all threats. The protect us and the serve us, even though they don’t know us. The love their country. They love freedom. They love us. The serve us.