I want to thank the
American fighting forces for the freedoms which so many
take for granted.
I want to thank them for going on long deployments to inhospitable places where they become targets of opportunity for the enemy.
I want to thank them for their willingness to fight and die in order to carry out the desires of our country's leadership (however capricious.)
I want to thank them for completing their missions throughout history, often while operating with inadaquate, obsolete, or missing equipment.
I want to thank them for putting up with bad food, cold tents, foul water, frostbite, heatstroke, and all of the other indignities they must endure in the process of performing their vital tasks.
I want to thank them for sacrificing their freedom so that I can enjoy mine.