I meant to write this last night.

Yesterday was the anniversary of two important events in my life.

8 years ago, yesterday, I raised my right hand, for the last time, and swore an oath. An oath that I had sworn several times before, but on that day, it was the last time I would swear that oath. On September 19, 2000, I reenlisted in the Army on "indefinite status". That means that I was going to be in the Army, basically, for as long as they would have me.

11 years before that, or 19 years ago, yesterday, I took that same oath for the first time, as I started my time as a Soldier in the active duty Army.

That oath goes like this:

I, Kevin James Robertson, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.

Over the last 19 years, I have been a lot of places, seen a lot of things, made more friends than I could ever have imagined, ... and endured the loss of more things and friends than I could have imagined in 1989, before I took that oath.

I've been to Panama (several years after our invasion), Korea, Germany, Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, Austria, France, and ... yes, Iraq. The "Sunni Triangle", in fact ... just a few short months after Saddam was captured. He was captured in a small town near his home town, Tikrit. Tikrit is where I was stationed.

While there, I made friends ... US soldiers, contractors, and Iraqis. Most came home safe, but some were maimed, and some were killed.

The Army says that I can stay until I have 22 years in service, at my current rank. However, they will allow me to retire as early as when I hit 20 years in service (next September). The Army will allow me to request my retirement date up to 12 months out from my retirement date. So, I am, as of yesterday, in that window when I can request that retirement.

I am proud of my service. I am proud to be a noncommissioned officer in the Army. I am proud to say that I served with people like Command Sergeant Major Steven Faulkenberg, Private First Class Markus Johnson, Specialist Ross McGinnis, and PFC Darrell Lyle (he survived earning his Purple Heart). I am not a hero. I just signed on to do a job, and did it. The guys I listed before, among many others that I have been associated with, are heroes.

As for the elected politicians that have called me, and my brothers/sisters in service "stupid", "thugs", "murderers", "rapists", and compared us to the killers, and torturers of the Nazi regime, and the murderers of Pol Pot's regime, well ...

SPC Joe Cook puts it much more gracefully than I could ever think it, much less, say it:



September 27th Update:

I have had some really great responses to this post. The only problem with it is that I embedded the YouTube video by Specialist Joe Cook. I think his words are worth being able to read. So ...

Thanks to the "Adopt-a-Soldier" program at Rush Limbaugh's site, I have had full access to Rush Limbaugh's site, and full recordings of his show since shortly after the program's inception. A lovely lady named Theresa Beard in Ohio was my first sponsor. Rush featured the audio of SPC Cook's video on his September 11th show. Because it was considered by his staff as one of the highlights of his show, the full transcript of that segment is available on his site.

Without further eloquence, or shameless plugging, here is the transcript of Specialist Joe Cook's video:

Dear Mr. Obama: Having spent 12 months in the Iraq theater I can promise you, this was not a mistake. I witnessed firsthand the many sacrifices made by the people of Iraq. Those sacrifices were not mistakes. Iraqi people are just like us. They want a chance to live in a secure world, free from tyranny, free from terrorism, free to prosper, free to raise their children and pass on a future. Are they better off today than they were in 2002? You bet. I've seen many men sacrifice their lives for the Iraqi people. They died for a purpose, not a mistake. They died giving hope. They died promoting freedom. Do you rescue a fireman just as he's about to save a child? When you call the Iraqi war a mistake, you disrespect the service and the sacrifice of everyone who has died promoting freedom. Freedom carries with it a price. Because you do not understand nor appreciate these principles, sir, I am supporting Senator John McCain for president. He, too, made a huge sacrifice promoting freedom, because he understands the fundamental truth, freedom is always worth the price.

All I can add to that is "Hooah, brother."