The Sacrifice of Service

After three years as an Active Duty member of the greatest military this planet has ever seen, I've had an epiphany about the sacrifices we actually make.

There is much talk about how much service members sacrifice. It's become almost a cliche when praising those who choose to serve in the military. It's played out in common parlance. It means little anymore in everyday conversation. We just say it.

But the sacrifice is real, though it's not what we normally think of, indeed what I thought of when I heard the phrase. Until recently.

Normally, we think about the serviceman giving his life for his country, and the unique freedom she provides. We are all willing to sacrifice our lives. That's actually what the contract says when we sign up. It clearly states that we are willing to risk life, limb, disfigurement, health, etc to serve in the armed forces. We all know that as consenting adults when we join. We all sign our names saying we are WILLING to make that sacrifice, however remote that possibility is. The Department of Defense is working daily to automate warfare and remove humans from combat. When soldiers must physically engage in combat, work is being done to make them less vulnerable to all types of enemy actions. If all that fails, we have amazing battlefield medical abilities, and very few soldiers wounded in combat die of their wounds. As a result, we have the most effective and resilient military that has ever operated on Earth.

Even in the current conflict in the Middle East, it is relatively rare for a life to actually be lost. For the number of service members in theater, a miniscule amount actually die in combat. That is not to say that the lives lost are insignificant. They are the greatest heroes of my generation, and indeed make the ultimate sacrifice for what they believe in. I've been honored to airlift one of them on the first leg of his journey home. However, few if any of us who sign on the line believe we will actually give our lives in the line of duty. We all know we'll give some, but while we plan ahead for the possibility, no one expects to give all.

So for the majority of us, who aren't killed, or even injured in combat, the real sacrifice comes in things we give up in our lifestyles. Even when we live on United States soil between deployments, we have to lead our lives differently from those we vowed to protect. I've known this from before I was commissioned. I wasn't looking for jobs the way my college peers were. I also didn't have an option in where I would work or what I would do. The Air Force told me where I would go, where I would live, and what job I would have.

Since I entered active duty, I've lived in five residences in four different cities, in three states in two and a half years. I'm told when and where I may travel, where I may live, how I can ride a bicycle. The Air Force dictates virtually every aspect of my life, on and off duty.

I may not carry a gun to or from work for self defense, even though I'm licensed to do so in over half the states of The Union. I may not drive my truck without a seatbelt (not that I would) nor may I ride any two-wheeled conveyance, be it motorcycle or bike, without every conceivable safety device available. Again, I would do those things anyway, but I don't have the option not to.

If I saw a medication advertised on TV, I have to check with the Air Force before I take it. If I want to go visit my family on the weekend- only if Uncle Sam approves. I want to get married? Go ask Big Blue if it's ok.

With the frequency of our deployments, our lives are interrupted constantly. I don't have a family yet, and for that I am lucky, since I have no one to be separated from. Those who have spouses and children literally miss out on raising their families in order to protect them.

Those of us who are single aren't without inconveniences. I cannot have a pet, because I'm not home enough to care for one. I can't attend a concert, shooting match, or wedding for over half of a calendar year, due to my unit's one-to-one deployment schedule. I'm just hoping I can be my best friend's Best Man when his wedding finally happens. I can't even order things online if they'll take more than a few days for shipping. I am on call 24/7/365. I have to leave my favorite hobby- target shooting- at home for months at a time to do my job in foreign lands. It could easily be years if I am assigned to an overseas base.

When Big Blue says it's time to move, it tells me how much crap I'm allowed to take with me. My gun safe is going to take a chunk out of that allowance, even empty. It is far from empty. I cannot stockpile ammo the way I'd like to. I can't make big home improvements the way I'd love to knowing I'm just going to sell the place in a few years, and move on.

We even give up some of our rights under the Constitution, the document we swear a solemn oath to defend, in order to protect her. I did not attend the Tea Party protest in my town this year, because I'm not allowed to exercise my rights under the First Amendment while in uniform, and it was held during duty hours. I cannot keep and bear arms under the Second Amendment while on duty, unless my duties require being armed.

Of course, even after all these sacrifices, I, for one, love my job enough to make them. I love my country enough to make them. The benefits we enjoy are more than enough compensation for what we give up. I would do my job, my duty, for much less. I am paid very well, and I have great benefits. This job, these skills I am accumulating will surely put me in a competitive position for many jobs after my time in the military. Many out there agree with me. After all, I've only been in for three years, but I work with many people who have over twenty years in service to our country. I recently attended the retirement ceremony for a man with 24 years in the Air Force. His oldest child wasn't even as old as his military career. I cannot imagine how much he and his family sacrificed for their country.

It was a truly revealing moment when I realized the Sacrifice we make as members of the military are not just the willingness to give our lives in defense of the Constitution. The real sacrifice is the things we give up for the privilege of serving and protecting her.