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Week# 23: Sacrifice

According to Websters Dictionary, the word sacrifice means.., to suffer loss of, give up; to sacrifice of oneself or one's interest for others or for a cause or ideal. All I can say is that sacrifice is definitely in the eyes of the beholder! This past week, I had the distinct pleasure and up-close honor in participating with the equipping of one of the Armys finest, in the newly assigned combat unit of the 3^rd Brigade Combat Team (BCT), 10^th Mountain Division. More than half of its members have been battle-hardened from previous deployments and combat operations, while the other half still had that innocent sparkle in their eyes; ready to push out and ready to do something extraordinary.

Not a single soldier, veteran nor rookie, would have considered this time, this moment in history, a sacrifice. Those brothers-in-arms were mission-driven and well-prepared. Every soldier I talked with understood what was at stake. And most-importantly, prior to rolling out those gates for the next 12 months, those troops got the opportunity of a lifetime; they saw the reason why. There was no doubt these men, as much as many of us, had already been subjected and exposed to negative media stories, arm-chair quarterbacks with both political and military analysis, family and friends questioning their loyalties and sanity for volunteering, and who will ever forget the anger and painful memories of September 11, 2001.

But the reason why came, when the early morning of the MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protection) vehicle drivers training was conducted. The training course has the obvious challenges they will most likely see throughout the countryside (rolling hills, ditches, loose stones, mud-holes, etc). But what I dont think many of the soldiers were planning to see was the local village children walking to school in the distance. They would have multiple layers of clothes and some even carried backpacks donated by so many generous church organizations from home. A nearby village, that until Americas finest secured the area, was subjected to random acts of violence and insurgent activities. Now the school is open and the children walk in safety and maybe with a little added confidence that those young troopers are close enough to give any bad man a really bad day.

The 3-10 BCT is the first of many units conducting what we refer to as RIP/TOA. The Relief in Place/Transfer of Authority is similar to any known shift-change in the civilian sector; only with a military focus and much more intense. Soon, in the June timeframe, the men and women of the 101^st Airborne Division, whom Ive stood alongside with since my arrival this past August, will be changing out with the infamous 82^nd Airborne Division.

For many of us here, you will simply not hear us use the word sacrifice. Dont get me wrong, we hear it and see it a lot; from our leaders, letters and care packages supporting the troops, and mostly from family and friends. But as I stated earlier, sacrifice is definitely in the eyes of the beholder! How can anything be considered a sacrifice if what you are doing is something you love? Sure, there have been times when Ive told myself that I do this so others wont have to or so my children wouldnt have to, but those times have been few and far between. My love for the Army has evolved, not so much because of what we have done in the past, but more so because of what we have the capability of doing now and in the future. Our Armed Services do so much more than simply fight our wars; a mindset I wish many more of our fellow citizens would share.

Major Robert Miceli