AS SCOTT AND I ATTEMPTED TO PULL THIS SERIES OF stories of my life together, I often thought, What did I want to accomplish with this work? I set out to attempt to define the panorama of why I felt this country, and the men and women I have trained and with whom I fought side by side, were so exceptional. Have I accomplished this task? That is for you, the reader, to decide. But one thing I certainly feel I have done is to be clear that I have the greatest admiration and respect for those who have been willing to take up arms, and lose life and limb, in the defense of this great nation.
General Mattis had it right.
“For whatever trauma came with service in tough circumstances, we should take what we learned—take our post-traumatic growth—and, like past generations coming home, bring our sharpened strengths to bear, bring our attitude of gratitude to bear. And, most important, we should deny cynicism a role in our view of the world.”1 I ask that you take a moment to think about this simple and yet brilliant message. Three aspects of this quote are particularly important to me: (1) it acknowledges our current and historical losses of life and limb, aka “trauma”; (2) it compels us to learn and grow from this; and (3) it asks us, as a people and a nation, to move forward with this knowledge—but without cynicism.
That is the only way I can get up in the morning and continue my fight to bring this nation back to the greatness I have seen in her past, and of which I know she is capable in the future.
I have no doubt that this great nation is fixable—if each of us are willing to do our part. I hope this story has given you incentive to do yours.