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Show Page 2A On Thanksgiving Day remember: we have a lot to be thankful for By Lt. Col.Tim Brawn 34th FS Commander It is early November in Southwest Asia as I put pen to paper and turn my thoughts toward Thanksgiving. By the look of things, one can hardly imagine that Thanksgiving is the weather has not approaching appreciably changed since our arrival, there are no trees to monitor the changing color of leaves during this time of year and not being able to share the time with family and loved ones will undoubtedly tend to make things like just another day at work. What motivated those Puritan American settlers so long ago to not only pause and give thanks, but to do so when by the look of things there was not much to be thankful for? The circumstances behind the Thanksgiving feast of 1621 were a far cry from the celebrations of today. Samuel E. Morison and Henry S. Commager report in "The Growth of the Ameri- - YbuVe in Fighter Country Commentary the military continuously stand ready to protect that way of life others fought so hard to build. " "We in can Republic" that half the company of travelers died the first winter. "No group of settlers in America was so by experience and equipment to cope with the wilderness as this little band of peasants, town laborers and shopkeepers; yet none came through their trails so magnificently." What was Morison and Commager's assessment as to why these people faired so well? "They ardently believed, and so greatly dared, and firmly endured" The end goal of a way of life based on the Bible, in a land free from the king of England's imposed religious conformity drove them on. They were able to proclaim, as indeed one of the early settlers did write "it is not with us as with other men, whom small things can discourage, or small discontentments cause to wish themselves at home again." They sat down at that first Thanksgiving feast grateful both for the provisions they had been ill-fitt- Lt, Col. Tim Brown Commander, 34th Fighter Squadron ed blessed with as well as for the opportunity to establish a new way of life. I see much we can take to heart both from the character of these people as well as from their experience. Though not establishing a new way of life, we in the military continuously stand ready to protect that way of life others fought so hard to build. We too must ardently believe in the importance of our task. Yet belief without action is not enough. We dont just tell other nations what we believe, we back those words with be it deployments, humanideeds tarian relief efforts or ultimately, .combat. When the time comes, we as individuals, and as a nation, need to be willing to take those risks to ensure the security of our country. Acting out - to "so greatly dare" made our country great; we must never lose sight of it. . Finally, as we put those beliefs into action you can bet hardship and sacrifice will be involved before the goal is reached. In the midst of the effort however, let's not doubt why we begun the battle in the, first place. We must firmly endure the goal well established in our minds and '. hearts. With this in mind, I have a lot to be grateful for on Thanksgiving day. Though far from home, I have the privilege of acting out first hand our nations shared beliefs. For that I am truly thankful. On behalf of all the Ram, I wish you and your family 'the very best this Thanksgiving. our beliefs ; the Army now Hoo-a- h: By Lt. John Thomas Chief, Public Affairs, Deployed Here I am in Panama, supporting Operation Safe Haven providing temporary living facilities for about 10,000 Cuban boat people. I'm getting the chance to experience this new "purple suit" military. As you probably know, "purple suit" is an inexact metaphor used by military leaders to refer to the color you might get by blending Air Force blue, Army green and the host of colors worn by the Navy and Marine Corps. I first tried on my purple suit in Southwest Asia. Both then and now, I've learned a lot about the Army and Navy, and also about the Air Force. We're better than I thought at some things, worse at others. It would probably make more sense to call these "BDU operations" since all the services now have battle dress uniforms. And the splotches on BDUs paint a more realistic picture of a joint operation like this one. We Lt learns it's kind of coexist in the fabric of the operation, not so much blending together to make purple. Each service is certainly unique. And joint operations are often more splotchy than purple. Here in Operation Safe Haven we have an Army commander, an Air Force deputy commander and about equal parts of Air Force and Army, Navy people and even a smattering of Marines. We may not be "purple" but we are truly a "joint" operation. And rather splotchy. The day I arrived in Panama, we Air Force folks learned we would not be staying in the Air Force billeting just down the road from where we would work. Dragging our stuff away from very comfortable-lookin- g rooms, we were told we would "sleep on site." Problem was there was no Irving area on site, not even a tent. We were left to fend for ourselves. An Army colonel looked at me like I was an alien when I brought this little problem to his attention. He didn't see a more than just a grunt problem. "Boy, you really are Air Force, arent you," he said. "I've slept in worse conditions than this," he told me. Sad thing is, I'm sure he was right He had. And Ihadnt Difference No. 1: The Air Force slogan "people first" are not words that are found in close proximity to each other in any Army regulation. And if it's not regulation, it doesnt happen. Want to know the approved way of breathing? Ask any good Army NCO. They'll quote you the reg, chapter and verse. And it may not be the way you are used to breathing, so be ready to adapt. Lesson learned? Stay out of trouble, ask someone who knows. After a few days we Air Force people finally put up a tent by ourselves. It wasn't a pretty sight and then some Air Force Civil Engi-nee- rs came by to help, thank goodness. Even then, the tent leaked, it was hot and we realized we forgot to put the liner up with the tent (Heck,, I didn't even know mere was such a thing as a tent liner.) We wanted to know if we could tent air conditioner. An Army get a lieutenant colonel all but slapped me on the back, laughing at my joke. He'd never heard of a tent air conditioner. Trouble was, I wasnt joking. Difference No. 2: The Army operates much better in the field than we do. Most of our Air Force bases didn't even have mosquito netting to issue us before we left. Compared to the Army we are Cub Scouts. I suggest we amend that Air Force slogan to read: People first, as long as they're not in field conditions. Lesson learned? Get to know your Army neighbors, they'll take care of you if you are smart enough to ask. Early on here, I witnessed a disturbing scene. It was an Army captain "training" a fellow airman. He was a staff sergeant The captain was talking to him as if he were a and was assigning him a task suitable for any first well-train- ed grader. " See Army, page 3 Fighter Country H edited. prpard and provided by the 388th Fighter Win Public Affairs Office. Submit editorial copy to : 388 FWPA (Bid 120, Room 13) by the first Friday of the month for that month'i issue. For more Information. caB the public affairs office at . . 1 777-320-0. CoL Den Dick Commander, 388th Fighter Wing 1st Ltjohn J.Thorms ChkCrubtcAffbirt TSft Deri J. Ernst NCOiC,NbtcA(Jbirt AlCAImee Croben dtor Fighter Country is a supplement to the Hilltop Times, published by Morfiedia, Inc, a private firm in no way connected with the US.Air Force, under exclusive written contract with the Ogden ALC Public Affairs Office. This commercial enterprise Air Force newspaper is an authorized publication for members of the US. military sen vices. Contents of Fighter Country are not necessarily the official views of, or endorsed by the US. Government, the Department of Defense of the Department of the Air Force. Unless otherwise Indicated, all photos are US. Air Force photos. Advertisements contained herein do not constitute endorsement by the Department of Defense, the US. Air Force or HillAFB Everything advertised is available without regard to race, color, religion, sex, or other nonmerit factor of the purchaser, user or patron. |