I am writing from the airport in Frankfurt this morning. Saturday morning we got up and said our goodbye’s to Sergeants’ Doug Page and Reggie Stovall. We had such a good time getting to know these guys and hearing their stories. We’ll keep in touch and make sure we send them care packages from time to time. We boarded another C130 and once we got situated the pilots found out that we were athletes and asked if we wanted to join them in the cockpit for thge flight. Only one could fit at a time and I lucked out and got the first short flight (that and my hand went up the quickest when asked if anyone wanted to head up there).

The pilots and navigator were all based out of Texas (I couldn’t miss the Longhorn visor the pilot wore under his headset). They fly for up to 18 hours at a time throughout Afghanistan and Iraq and anywhere else they’re asked to go. It was a short flight but what an incredible view. It was another clear day. We passed over Kabul at one point and then settled in over the snow covered mountains. These guys stay at the ready looking for anything going on below to make sure no one is shooting at the plane. It’s a little sureal sitting up there and watching them go about all of this as if it’s just another day at work, which, for them, it is.

Next we had a 5 hour flight to Qatar and took photos with the crew as we left. We were hoping to get more time with our friends, and first escorts, Parker and Willets. Unfortunately our flight delays earlier in the day left us with just enough time for them to get us from one aiport to the other for our flight to Frankfurt. We caught up in the car on the way and there were plenty of hugs and goodbye’s as we headed through security.

As I sat on the plane I thought about the people we met and the things we learned during this trip. We had a wonderful opportunity to see and do a lot of things that no civilian ever gets to do like riding in a Blackhawk, learning to shoot at a gun range in Sharana and getting an upclose view at F15’s and A10’s. However, what I’ll take away from this experience the most are the people we met and their neverending courage, generosity, strength and humanity. I have had the greatest opportunity to represent my country through sports. And i know how special that is and how wonderful and humbling that can be. I have always known that these men and women that fight for our freedom, help others less fortunate and protect our country are amazing people that deserve our respect and support.

This trip, has given us a much closer look at the human side of this war and what these men and women go through on a daily basis. Something as simple as a hot shower, a hot meal, a roof over their head or a warm blanket at night, they don’t take for granted. Not once did I here anyone complain. They joke about the walk to the latrine with flipflops in the snow. Their eyes light up with ice cream on Friday’s or when the chocolate chip cookies come in but they never once had a “poor me” attitude. They see and do things that no one else wants to do and they they do it all for us.

Lately I’ve heard a lot about a loss of heroes and role models. It’s something I’ve had many conversations with others about, especially parents looking for a good influence in their childrens lives. Well, look no further, these men and women that give their lives to represent our country with no gold medal or million dollar paycheck, these are our heroes.

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 13th, 2008 at 8:12 am and is filed under shannonmiller. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.