Pain and suffering is how character is defined. If life was easy and all that we have was provided and not earned, nothing would be appreciated. Life would be without value. I believe that the world is good again. The evil empire has been defeated and righteousness has returned as our hero. Congratulations to the Boston Red Sox - World Series Champions.
Life around the camp has definitely settled into a rhythm. All the unknowns are gone, all the questions we had before we departed have been answered and now, more than ever, the team is focused and ready.
We celebrated Halloween yesterday thanks to the generous support of the families, friends and sponsors. As I toured the tents yesterday, I saw no fewer than 20 Halloween masks out and in use. I think this speaks so highly of the men committed to the cause. They are warriors at heart, strong in their resolve to accomplish the mission, but remain America's jovial, spirited youth. We also enjoyed a barbeque of hamburgers, chicken and steak fajitas and BBQ pork ribs. LCpl Kempher has turned out to be a magician with some frozen government chow and some burning logs.
As you know, we now have CBS embedded with us to cover the unit. They will be with us for an undetermined length of time. It has been great. During the first three days, Marines from this company made the CBS news every night. While most people are slightly intimidated by the press and some have tainted opinions, I will tell you the crew we have are righteous, committed professionals. I have no hesitancy having them embedded in the company. Their presence has been a force multiplier.
Having a crew from CBS is a positive experience for all us on many different levels. First, I firmly believe that it makes the Marines feel more appreciated. Our families, friends and sponsors have been phenomenal in their support and CBS merely adds to that momentum. These young kids who are 8000 miles from home, without question, now know that America cares enough about what they are doing to embed a crew from the one of the largest media organizations in America. And they are with our company alone. Second, it enforces the feeling that we are part of something larger than ourselves. We are writing a chapter of our nation's history that our future generations will read about and respect those that answered the call and committed themselves selflessly to the fight for what is right and good. Third, it reinforces what I tell the Marines all the time - they are heroes. They know the impact of seeing Marines on TV, full of confidence, their resolve forged and honed like steel, individually self-admitting focus on the mission at hand. They know the impact this has on America, on fellow Marines and on our adversaries. We all have sat on the sidelines and watched Marines go into harms way and wonder if we had what it takes. We all wondered if we would live up to the legendary prowess of the Marines that went before us.
We all wondered if we could be as inspiring to future generations of Marines and produce the envy of fellow of Marines who were not in the fight feel just as we all felt when it was not our time. The presence of CBS embedded with this company, answers all those minute feelings of self-doubt that we may have. My (our) Marines are heroes and CBS will help us tell their story. That was the Ying - this is the Yang. My opinion remains the same - please do not get tied to the nightly news. Remember they are marketing a story. Marines sitting around playing Madden football on their play station, taking long afternoon naps, doing daily maintenance on their vehicles, playing soccer, walking to the internet and phone center, reading mail and opening packages is not a story you will see on the nightly news - but that is the situation on the ground. Remember - we had a bar-b-cue yesterday and the talk of the crowd was the annoying motion sensing scarecrow I posted in front of the COC that yelled at everyone who walked by. Our favorite webmaster has created a link to the CBS news and every time Kim Dozier (CBS correspondent) reports and is televised, Caressa will post a link. So watch the story from there but focus on seeing our Marines.
One lesson I will definitely take away from this experience is that the world is full of good people. It is too bad all the bad and evildoers get all the press. I equate it to the good cop-bad cop paradigm. All you ever hear about are the bad cops but you rarely hear about the miracle workers our policemen are on a daily basis (except for a brief few months after 9/11 when they received the recognition they deserved). But all of America is like that in every profession and every walk of life. The media may get a bad rap at times but I personally am impressed with the integrity and commitment of the reporters who are imbedded with us. But more importantly, I am impressed with all of you and all of the citizens of our great nation. The outpouring of support has been overwhelming and humbling. This war has been going for a few years now. Far longer than I ever believed America's attention span to be. But America is without question still out there supporting us. It is amazing to receive the voluminous, random letters and packages from people all across the country, from all sectors of life that just want to do their part.
We have built (what we call) the Apache General Store. We have received so much material support that we are unable to keep it in our personal spaces. In the spirit of taking care of one another, whatever excess each of us receives, instead of hording it, it is provided to the Apache General Store. Now our Marines have an opportunity to go the "store" first before they go to the PX. Of course, everything in our store is free. But the bottom line is we could not have done this without you. My hat is off to you. Great events do not make great people. Great people make great events. We have a great country and it is not because of us, it is because of you. Without question, our families and friends have a harder job then we do. We chose this profession and accepted the consequences. All of our loved ones have to deal with a greater hardship and sacrifice than we do. We chose to do this and we are surrounded by people who made the same decision and there is a great deal of comfort in those circles. Whatever connection you have to your Marine, you have to get through this because of decisions we made. You are my heroes and you are extremely appreciated.
God Bless America and Pray for Peace. Apache 6
Semper Fidelis,
Capt John F. Griffin