End of Hiatus

As you can tell from the date, it's been a while since my last posting here. Things have been kind of slow; one of the many lulls I have encountered thus far in an ocean of "hurry up and wait." But what can I tell you? When it rains, it pours.

A couple of weeks ago, my supervisor, the Director of Emergency Services for the Heart of Tennessee Chapter of the American Red Cross, resigned. His boss has asked me to put my name forward as a successor.

Thinking of the future, the opportunities, and the possible changes that might be coming down the pike are just a couple of things that have been weighing on my mind... Only a few of the reasons I had trouble sleeping last night... The other is this.

In the coming weeks, the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment of the Tennessee National Guard will be shipping out to Iraq. They are one of the largest units in the Tennessee National Guard, if not the largest. Tomorrow, I'll be speaking to them about the ways in which the Red Cross will be there to support them and their families while they are gone. It's what we call a "Know us before you need us" briefing.

In a nutshell, I tell them that The Red Cross will be able to communicate messages from their families to their commanders in the event of an emergency at home; that way, their commanders will be able to make an informed decision about whether or not to arrange for emergency leave for that service member. We will also help to coordinate emergency financial aide for their families in the event that they need it. Then, of course, I tell them how it all works.

But the idea of simply being involved in the process of seeing these brave men and women off into battle, as well as my role in that process, has caused my mind some unrest... I've also been thinking a great deal about my late Pop-Pop, a Navy veteran from WWII. I loved him and admired him, and I miss him to this day. I've been thinking what it might have been like just before he shipped out at the young age of seventeen... Thoughts keep springing up in my head like hops in a pint of beer.

I wish it were my place to tell them how proud I am of them. I wish I could share with them the truly high esteem in which I hold them all. But it's not my place to tell them that I wish wars were unnecessary. And to share with them my desperate hope that nothing goes wrong at home while they are serving our Country overseas would only magnify the emotionality of the whole situation.

So I think all I'll tell them is this:

"The American Red Cross was founded with this very cause in mind; service to our armed forces. The very first president of the American Red Cross, Clara Barton, began doing this work with soldiers and their families as far back as the Civil War. We've been doing it for a very long time, and it is our honor to serve those that serve us. We support our troops. And we honor the sacrifices that members of the armed forces, and their families, make on our behalf... God speed."