Congresswoman Heather Wilson, First Congressional District of New Mexico
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| Part-time Soldiers, Full-time Professionals |
November 10, 2003 |
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Dear Friends,
Last week I had the chance to visit a New Mexico Army Guard unit that has been called to active duty and is serving near Washington, D.C. They are citizen soldiers in the best tradition of New Mexico. One is a recent UNM graduate who is going to be a kindergarten teacher when her duty is up. Another works at Intel. Their commander is a financial advisor for Merrill Lynch whose wife is running his business while he is gone.
They are serving alongside a welder from the shipyards of Gulfport, Mississippi and a college teacher from Oregon -- also members of their state Army Guard units.
They walked me through their mission and how they do their jobs. They are part time soldiers, but 100% professionals and we are so lucky to have them. The Guard and Reserve are indispensible in the war in Iraq and in the ongoing war on terrorism.
For some, this is just another deployment in a long career. For the younger ones, this service will help shape their lives. The young men and women serving in the military today are the not-too-long-ago teenagers with cranked headphones attached to CDs in their backpacks who wouldn`t roll out of bed on a weekend for anything. Today they are shouldering tremendous responsibilities, making life and death decisions and performing with that combination of courage, character and compassion that we take too much for granted. They are the kind of young people that make you choke up with pride because of who they are and how they conduct themselves.
Our newest veterans are earning that title today. They`ll come home different people. More responsible because they have exercised responsibility. They will be leaders in their communities and valued employees in the companies where they work. We are very lucky to have them serving us today and we will be very fortunate to welcome them home.
Wish you were here,
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