Freedom Friday

Let's talk about 12 Sept 2001 for just a minute. A CIA paramilitary guy got off a plane in Karachi. An aging Air Force Senior Master Sergeant hugged his kid and left for Hurlburt Airfield on the gulf coast. The FDNY and NYPD were, at the time, conducting search and rescue operations. They'd soon become search and recovery. 3/75 started gearing up. Wills were written and signed. Cars sold. Leases terminated. Bar tabs paid. Strippers hugged. Dogs given away. There was a war on. The U.S. Navy, doing Admiral Halsey proud, moved heaven and earth to get all the carriers ready for action. TLAMs were checked and double checked. The Air Force, after not being allowed to plaster Tehran, Baghdad, Pyongyang, and Kabul the day before, geared up for a conventional fight. To include the above mentioned reservist who knew all the ins and outs of the MH-53E Pave Low III. And over the course of the next couple of weeks we kicked the ever loving hell out of the Taliban and Al-Quaeda. The near entirety of the U.S. military was unleashed against our nation's enemies. The Coldstream Guards, Her Majesty's Own, played the Star Spangled Banner at the changing of the guard outside of Buckingham Palace. A few years later, I wore a FDNY patch on my plate carrier. Danny wore a backwards Yankees hat under his MICAH. I refused to condone the American league and couldn't support the Mets. And that's all there really is to say about 12 Sept 2001. And that's all we need to say about it. Because as a Nation we came together. And on 9/11 a lot guys didn't say anything that didn't need to be said. A janitor, who was an Eagle Scout, followed a group of fire fighters up because he had keys. A rugby player and an accountant decided that they'd give it the old college try. And won our first victory of the GWOT. A former Rhodesian national policeman, who wore the big yellow patch just like Uncle Cart, did his level best to ensure his head count was correct. When he came up a couple short, he went running back into hell to do his duty. A senior fire fighter started heading up when the recall was issued and his head count came up short. Mister Luke knew what he was talking about when he preached the importance of an accurate head count.