The U.S. Armed Forces has played a significant role in my life and has influenced it greatly.  I was raised in a small town that is centered around a naval base; many people live in this area because of the base.  I was raised by a man who served in the Marines, the Army and then retired from the Navy, and later retired as a civilian employee working for the Navy/Department of Defense.  My paternal grandfather retired from the Air Force, and my dad spent some time in the Navy.  I was married to someone for 11 years, and he was in the Army.  I worked for the Army as a civilian employee.  The military has always been a major part of my life, so I understand that the service members and families deal with a lot of military family specific issues.  I hold the utmost honor and respect for these men, women and children due to that reason.

The men and women of the Armed services live a life much different from the rest of the world.  They have accepted a duty that commits their entire life to our country.  They sacrifice A LOT to do the jobs that they do.  They go into foreign lands and are put in harms way to fight for our country.  Not only are they put in harms way, but they miss a lot of things - births, graduations and many other special moments in life that are very important to them.  My ex-husband was not present when our oldest son was born because he could not leave the training that he was in on the east coast; being there for the birth of his first son was a very special moment for him that he had to miss due to his duty.  Even deaths/funerals of loved ones are often missed due to being stationed far away from family or being away on deployments.  They don't only leave their hometowns and loved ones, but they also have to leave their spouses and children as part of serving their country. 

As a former military spouse, I would also like to acknowledge the family members and the many sacrifices that they also make.  They, too, play a role in serving our country.  The family members also leave their hometowns to be stationed in foreign lands away from everything that they know.  Often spouses give up careers and higher education is sacrificed due to the many moves and constant transition.  Between all of our moving around, I completed four years of college attending six different colleges.  At one point in time I was in Germany attending a CSU Chico course online at 3:00am my time.  Those things were not very difficult to do, but I had to make those adjustments if I wanted to finish college.  But not only do the family members move away from their own families, but then the service member often leaves the family there alone due in foreign territory for constant training and deployments.  The first time we moved to Germany, my ex-husband had to leave to Bosnia about one month after we arrived.  The second time we moved Germany, he had to leave to Iraq about a month after we got there.  I am grateful for my Army family that became our family and support as we moved around.  Military children often move schools and have to make new friends and adjust to new situations.  The service member leaves and comes back, and each time the family has to readjust to the given situation.  There is constant change and instability, which only makes military life much harder.  

I would like to say thank you to the many sacrifices that our armed service members and their families make daily.  Memorial Day is our federal holiday in the U.S. for remembering the men and women who died while serving in the armed forces.  The price of life is the greatest thing a person can give.   To the armed service members and also their families:  I SALUTE YOU.  (Salute:  to pay respect to or honor by some formal act, as by raising the right hand to the side of the headgear; to express respect or praise for; honor, commend.  Dictionary.com).  Thank you for all that you do, paying the price to serve and protect our country.  God bless you.