Sacrifice -- who has the hard part?

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Jeff Wepner
  • 506th Expeditionary Communications Squadron
KIRKUK AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) --  Sacrifice is a word I often hear bandied about during discussions of serving in the military, and rightly so.

Each of us makes individual sacrifices to serve in the greatest Air Force in the world; many heroes have made the ultimate sacrifice serving our nation. However, my deployment as part of the AEF Blue rotation has reinforced my perspective on sacrifice.

If I had to list all the “sacrifices” I am making due to this deployment, I would come up empty. In fact, I would put forth to you that I have the easy part, working with outstanding professionals focused on accomplishing a critical mission. That commonality forges a strong bond here and helps us focus on the tasks at hand. It also provides us a great avenue for self-satisfaction and sense of accomplishment as we move forward together. Those tangible and intangible aspects of my deployment make it “easy.” So if I have the easy part, who has the hard part? Let me give you a couple quick examples.

Imagine a wonderful, supportive wife who did not have her husband by her side for her birthday, and may not have him by her side for their 20th wedding anniversary. That wife, also the mother of three beautiful teenage daughters, now single-handedly bears the daunting task of maintaining a sense of normalcy in an increasingly chaotic world.

Those daughters also keep a mental scorecard: two missed birthdays and one missed high school graduation due to another TDY already scheduled for next year. Mother and daughters alike already have their fingers crossed for Thanksgiving and Christmas this year.

Are my examples unique? Hardly. As Air Force members, we all share similar experiences with the burdens we place on our families. What makes them unique is that they are my family and I can never repay them for the unwavering support and motivation they provide on a daily basis.

The examples I listed above are only the proverbial tip of the iceberg; for the past 18 years my family members have proudly played a key role in all my Air Force successes and continue to stand tall and do their part to help freedom flourish.

To all my fellow military comrades and their families: a big thank you for the sacrifices you make and the crucial support you provide, upholding the principles we cherish and fostering hope and the promise of freedom around the world.