Armed Forces Day 2014

I went to our daughter's high school awards ceremony last night. It was a mind-numbing (and ass-numbing) 90 minutes of hearing one name after another called out to be presented with an award for just about everything under the sun (one student got an award for being third runner-up in the district spelling bee). Still, it was nice to see a bunch of good kids being rewarded for doing something positive.

A few of the awards stood out more than others. One that particularly caught my attention was a young man who received the outstanding ROTC student award. This fellow was introduced as "Seaman ________." He had signed up for the Navy's delayed entry program, and was headed for boot camp shortly after graduation. But that's not the reason he was being recognized.

In addition to maintaining a high GPA and participating in school sports and other extracurricular activities, Seaman X convinced two of his buddies to join the Navy and see the world. They've already signed the papers and left for boot camp. Not only did Seaman X receive his high school award, the Commander in charge of the local recruiting region wrote a letter of commendation to be placed in his official Naval personal file. Plus the young man looked like a recruiting poster image of a sailor. He stood tall and proud, was obviously in good shape, and conducted himself well.

Young men and women like this make our military what it is today. On this Armed Forces Day 2014 we should be eternally thankful for all who have served, are serving, or will serve.