Straight Talk: Patriots' Day and MoMC

  • Published
  • By Col. Stacy L. Yike
  • 66th Air Base Group commander
HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. --  Patriots' Day is here again! This time of year always serves as a reminder of what an incredible opportunity we have to live here in the birthplace of our great nation; the first place in America where the ideals of democracy and the freedoms of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness were founded and fought for.

Wearing the uniform is a great honor for me. I had the opportunity to choose my career and chose an occupation that called on me to defend American ideals and freedoms. But in 1775, we didn't have a profession of arms or a Supreme Court. In fact we hadn't even documented those freedoms yet. And it definitely wasn't "someone else's job" to defend what individuals knew was right. It was up to each and every person to come together to defend those beliefs.

Defense of our nation's core liberties remains the responsibility of each and every American today, and it is nice to have events like Patriots' Day to remind us why. I hope you will have a chance to get out and celebrate in some of the reenactments and other festivities. Check out these links for more information: www.hanscom.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123295507 and www.nps.gov/mima/patriots-day.htm.

It is also the Month of the Military Child. What a great time to recognize that our kids are patriots, too. 

Life in the military has many special rewards, but brings some unique challenges, as well. As adults, we recognize that we made that choice and it helps us cope with the good and the more difficult. But our kids didn't make the choice for this lifestyle, so we spend some time this month and throughout the year for some special ways to help our children understand how to cope with the unique challenges of living in a military family, as well as to celebrate our children's overall awesomeness!

Check out these links for upcoming events this month at www.hanscom.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123295740.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend (and have already finished your taxes) enjoying the beautiful weather and renewing your patriotic spirit at some of the local events. Thanks for everything you do for Hanscom, the Air Force and your nation.