December 29, 2004

THANK MY RECRUITER

The other day, Ken of RebelRouser emailed me and said that he wanted to blogroll me but that he didn't know my story and didn't know if he should file me under military or civilian. I explained my story to him and said that I was therefore a civilian. He then emailed back with something that has had me glowing for a week:

Make no bones, you're in the military and you are not a Civilian. As far as
I'm concerned, you're a Soldier. I think this is something Americans need to
realize, and I think you are just the person let them know.

And then he invited me to join his new blog.

Now writing under the name Nasty Dawg, Ken has started a group blog called Don't Thank Me, Thank My Recruiter. He has gathered active duty and veterans from all branches and ranks to blog together, and he wanted to fill the dependent angle as well. That's where I come in.

Everything is up and running, virtually overnight, so I was the last one to report for duty. Please check out Thank My Recruiter; I think it will be an interesting exchange.

Posted by Sarah at December 29, 2004 09:55 AM
Comments

And you thought you weren't a "journalist."

Posted by: Mike at December 29, 2004 12:44 PM

RebelRouser (or, I guess, Nasty Dawg) is what we call "good people" where I come from.

Posted by: CavalierX at December 29, 2004 01:36 PM

Sarah:

You didn't know?! You didn't know that you were as much a Soldier as your Hero?! My goodness, young (I can say that) lady! We here in the States who have had slightly similar life experiences in our pasts (Navy, 75-81), realized from the start that you are one of those who are heroic in her own right: You, a wife, have given us your husband. We own him, not you. We (through the chain of command) can send him wherever we need, including into harm's way, and all you can do is say, "aye-aye, sir" (my Navy bubbling up again), and salute. THAT makes you just as much a soldier as your husband. And for that, you have my unqualified total gratitude. Thank you, Sarah; you understand what is at stake. You serve. You ARE my heroine.

GBY,
Jim Shawley

Posted by: Jim Shawley at December 29, 2004 03:25 PM

Congrats Sarah. Kudos to you. Anyone who is married to the military I would say IS military and don't you forget it! Got the new blog linked.

Posted by: Toni at December 29, 2004 04:38 PM

I was going to say what Jim did, but he's done it so much better than I could. All I can add is: Ditto! You are definitely "soldiering on" in your own military role, and you've been doing it VERY well!

--Beth

Posted by: Beth at December 29, 2004 08:48 PM

Would I call you a "Soldier"? I wouldn't, only because I would reserve the specific title to Soldiers. Not to say you're more or less, just a matter of definition. But would I call you "Military" with pride in my inflection? Yes, I would.

As per your comment to my ACR entry on Thankmyrecruiter.com, I'd like to collaborate with you on something to help out ROTC advocacy and the perception of the military on campus. I'll e-mail you when I can figure out how to phrase the question properly.

Posted by: Eric at December 31, 2004 12:32 AM