Blessed by my Retirement, yet many heroes are not allowed to have theirs

I wrote this post on my personal Facebook profile after my retirement was completed. I understand that this sounds nuanced and I wrote it intentionally as such. Censorship is real and I am too exhausted to try to fight or lose my presence online. If you are at all in this same situation, or know anyone who is, know that you are not alone. My prayers are with you. And The Battle Belongs to the Lord alone.

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

Ephesians 6:12

We took this picture two days before my retirement this summer. Change is hard. Putting on that uniform for that last time was hard.

But this family, they are my rock. This man, who stood by my side for 17 of my 20 (and a half) years. These kids who mostly thought their mom was playing Soldier. Love them more than anything.

20 years — and I am moving on to a new chapter in my life. Retirement at 39! It’s bittersweet! This is a big deal and I feel, — proud.

But this has been a hard road. Many — much much more brave and noble than I could ever even pretend to be — have walked this path — and MANY are fighting still.

By the Grace of God alone did I receive my rightfully due retirement and my honorable discharge. I know many other Soldiers who have not been so fortunate and my heart aches and grieves and laments for them. It is so wrong it’s hard to even comprehend I have to write the words. God be with them and grant clarity and peace and solid answers for them and their families. Protect them and provide for them. — This fight matters so much more deeply than any I was ever a part of overseas. My heart and soul breaks for these warriors. My comrades in arms.

I joined the military because I believed in this country. I believed our enemies. But I am not so naive as I was that fateful September day. Some incredibly hard truths have been learned along the way. But my love for our Constitution and what it stands for still hold true in my heart. I pray that we will put God and His Word first.  I pray we get back to what our Nation was founded on. I pray that evil and corruption and injustice is exposed and destroyed. But not if knowing those truths distract us from our Living God and our families — holding them close and being there with them is what truly matters. 

I have been blessed by the people I’ve met and served under and with, I have been challenged, and I have grown. Want to see the world and meet people from ALL walks of life? I will miss my military life. I will miss the people. I will miss what I thought was. But I am grateful.

And here is just a very small portion of a friend’s recent post, she goes on to talk about family members who are facing discharge because they don’t want to receive an un-FD A-approved gene therapy drug.

With Top Gun coming out and Memorial Day this past weekend, I’m a little worked up. We say we celebrate and honor our heroes, but do we even know what they’re facing right now? And are we willing to stand in support of their rights the way they do for ours?

We love it when it’s Tom Cruise disobeying his chain of command. We cheer for him and spend our dollars to be entertained by the whole spectacle. But when it’s real men and women, we’re silent.

NOT ONE religious accommodation request in the Army has been approved. NOT ONE. Religious exemption requests can be for a number of reasons, mine was because aborted fetal cells are used in, and contain DNA from, this and other Vs. I actually personally had a medical V exemption for my V an thr ax related injuries from my deployment in 2004.

I chose to seek a religious rather than another medical exemption because I was pursuing an Honorable discharge, which I did receive, and I am so, so thankful for. If this has at all made you want to celebrate our Veterans, then speak up for them. They need us all.