Spare a thought for GIs serving

This holiday season, please take just a little time to remember those who are serving in our armed forces.

They are doing what they are trained to in places no tourist wants to go. They are working long hours on carrier flight decks at sea. They are pulling patrols in Afghanistan. They are performing battle drills deep under the surface of the ocean in submarines. They are flying high in a refuel tanker awaiting a flight of hungry F-18 jets. They are rescuing fishermen off the coast of Sitka, in pitching seas during a winter storm in a UH-60 Jayhawk helicopter. This job does not stop for holidays.

Oh, many will be on leave or have Christmas Day off. Then again, many will not. They will instead be making sure our nation’s defense is ready for anything. It can be one of the loneliest times for many in uniform. I remember those times well. I remember being far away from family in Germany in the Cold War years, and in Iraq during a very hot war in 2004.

I sang Christmas carols freezing my butt off on guard duty. On one Christmas Eve in Germany as a young PFC, I worked an 18-hour shift repairing broken vehicles and one case of a blasted HUMV on a Christmas Eve years later as an aging NCO in Iraq. Yet I would do it again without complaint. Well, maybe a gripe or two, as it is right of all GIs to pitch one or two.

Yet without these men and woman pulling those duties day in and day out, 365 days a year this country would be in dire straights. Keeping this country safe is a year round endeavor. Many are far from family, friends, mother and apple pie. These are the best of Americans doing the hardest of jobs. I should know, I served with some of the finest during my stint in the U.S. Army.

So while you are settling down with your family this Christmas please pause for a moment. Maybe say a special prayer, a thought or two with only the best of vibes towards these fine men and women of U.S Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, Reserves, National Guard and the Coast Guard.

Wish them well. Pray for their safety. Hope they all come home from their missions soon. Most of all thank them for their selfless service to this nation and your freedom. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all serving in the U.S. Armed Forces and to their families. The same goes out to you, the reader.

Wasilla resident Daniel D. Grota retired from the U.S. Army after more than 21 years of service.