It’s Veterans Day as well as Military Family Month, and that has special import during this week of turmoil and division in our country.
I am comforted by remembering that, regardless of the election—regardless of any election—there are still those who believe in our country and wish to serve it in many ways, not least of which is through military service.
This year, we can also celebrate the lifting of the ban on military service by openly transgender people. It is my hope that the Trump administration will find it too difficult to roll back the progress made to allow LGBTQ people to serve, and that the military will stand as an example of inclusion and integration. No, I doubt things are perfect there yet—but as far as I can tell, our service members are following orders and there has hardly been chaos in the ranks since LGBTQ members have been allowed to serve openly. I dread the thought that the new administration would ban LGBTQ people from serving or that it would turn a blind eye towards harassment of them by other service members. That is not how to build a unified fighting force.
My spouse Helen, a former U.S. Air Force captain, wrote a guest post a couple of years ago about her experience serving under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. She was still in the inactive reserves when we met, but left the service shortly thereafter, as she explains in her piece. I hope you’ll go read it if you haven’t already.
While Helen, our son, and I have never had the experience of being a military family, we have other family members and friends who have. It’s a life with particular challenges, as President Obama explained in his proclamation for Military Family Month:
Behind these courageous Americans stand spouses, children, and parents who give up precious time with their loved ones, bearing the burden of long deployments and difficult moves, and oftentimes putting their careers on hold….
Our military would not be the greatest in the world without the strength and support of the loved ones who stand alongside our men and women in uniform. While our service members are fighting to secure the values we cherish and defend our homeland, their spouses keep their households running, sometimes through multiple deployments. Spouses of those in the military are often forced to relocate across our country or around the globe, leaving behind jobs they love and sometimes struggling to find new employment. They are our fellow citizens and neighbors; in their service to their families and their country, they represent the true strength of America.
It is also my strong hope that any changes in foreign policy by the Trump administration do not lead to our service members being deployed to lash out at some perceived insult or bolster someone’s ego. The U.S. military should never be used as a personal bullying force. That would be the ultimate in disrespect to our service members and their families.
Here’s to pride and progress, then, but also to the country we all believe in and serve in many different ways. Our service members and their families represent love of country, dedication, perseverance, flexibility, and self-sacrifice. Those are qualities we can all bear in mind as we face the times ahead.