[BITList] Off Topic ? - US Military

[John Feltham]

I can't imagine any of our Pollies' wife saying this about our Service  
men and women - can you?




"Bursting with pride" : Michelle Obama on the military

This is what the First Lady of the United States of America has to say  
about the military. The complete text can be read here (Courtesy USA  
Weekend).

As I take on my newest role -- first lady, I'll be thinking about what  
that promise means to all those whom I've had the humbling privilege  
to meet these past two years on the campaign trail: Americans across  
the country who opened their doors and hearts to share their stories  
with me stories I carry to this day.

I particularly cherished my visits with military families all across  
the country. I met so many strong and inspiring military spouses eager  
to share their stories, their dreams for the future and the unique  
challenges they face because of their families' selfless service to  
our country.

And if there's one thing I learned, it's that when our servicemen and  
women go to war, their families go with them. I saw how they take care  
of each other, heard how they fill in whenever the system fails and  
discovered that the trials they faced always were matched by the hope  
they shared that better days are still ahead.

The simple 35-word oath my husband will take and the peaceful transfer  
of power it completes makes it easy to forget that the great fortune  
of our citizenship isn't free at all. It's a responsibility inherited  
only because generations of Americans have fought and bled and died  
for it.

So as I watch Barack take that oath, I'll be thinking especially about  
those members of our American family who stand guard across the world  
and the loved ones who await their safe return. Because even as we  
mark this moment in American history, there still will be empty seats  
at the dinner table; there still will be spouses struggling to juggle  
roles and responsibilities; there still will be children who mark the  
passing of a birthday without Mommy and toddlers who know their father  
only by a grainy video stream from a far-flung corner of the globe.

My husband and I are deeply grateful for the sacrifices that these  
families make to protect all American families. And we join them today  
and every day in praying for their loved ones and their safety. They  
don't ask a lot in return, just a Washington that understands the  
challenges they face as part of their extraordinary commitment to our  
country.

My husband understands that commitment, and he will ensure America  
lives up to its end. As military families join us on Tuesday, in  
person and in spirit, I want each and every one of them to know that  
for as long as I have the tremendous honor of being your first lady,  
your voices will be heard, you will have an advocate in the White  
House, and the American promise you preserve always will extend to  
you, too.

All of us can learn a fundamental lesson from our military families:  
You don't need to wear a uniform to serve your country. We all have  
something to contribute to the life of this nation.

Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. And to honor the legacy of a man  
who believed that everybody could be great because anybody can serve,  
my family and I will spend the day performing activities in service to  
others. And we'll ask all Americans to join us in making an ongoing  
commitment to serve their community and their country, because in this  
new season of hope, that's the only way we'll begin renewing America's  
promise for all who reach for it and all who defend it as one nation  
and one people.

On Tuesday night, my husband and I will tuck in our daughters like we  
always do. Their bedrooms will be different, their home unfamiliar.  
But they will drift off to sleep protected by that same sacrifice that  
has kept all of our families safe and safeguarded our freedom for  
generations -- the sacrifice of our men and women in uniform and their  
families.

For that, we could not be more grateful or more proud.


ooroo

If you don't hear the knock of opportunity - build a door.

Anon.