Veterans day

It has been observed by behavior science that the words themselves as we hear account for as little as 20 percent of what we interpret when communicating.

It was a cool winter Friday morning, like today, in 2007. My job at MHAFB was with the Air Warfare Battlelab and we were at the morning briefing. The phone rings and Whip one of our deployed team members called with a cheery hello every one. We all tried to fill him in on what's going on back home.

His voice gave me uneasiness as we all exchanged in a pleasant conversation. As he started to describe what his mission was and after about 10 minutes the hair started to stand up on my arm. The sharpness and tone of his voice hit me the hardest. The words were right but everything else told me something was very wrong. I was thinking about his newborn son and three other kids at home with his wife.

God, please bring our brothers and sisters back home as soon as possible. Many who cheerfully do some of the most difficult jobs imaginable! Please bless those current and future veterans with peace and comfort.

Another day of reflection is in order.