'Great' day can't compare to life for deployed members Published Nov. 20, 2006 By Cmdr. Scott Rader 8th Flying Training Wing Vance Air Force Base, Okla. -- I've had a great day today! It started when I woke up at 5 a.m. to eight cups of freshly-brewed coffee all over my kitchen floor because when I set the automatic timer on it last night, I forgot to put the coffee pot underneath the filter. When I came into work, my "in" basket had five Officer Performance Reports sitting in it and one of them was already past due. The first thing I did was try to fire up my computer, but it was not working correctly and I had to call the information management folks for assistance. Thankfully, after half an hour they were able to fix it so I could log on and answer the 34 new e-mails in my inbox. I had several meetings today, one with the 71st Operations Group commander and two others with the 71st Flying Training Wing commander. One of my two wing meetings was a commander's review in which I was recommending the commander eliminate a student from pilot training. Those are always difficult for me because I like to help young officers achieve their goals, not tell them their dreams of becoming a U.S. Air Force pilot or Naval aviator will not be realized. Lastly, because of my immense administrative responsibilities, I was unable to go flying today in a brand new T-6A Texan II. I wrapped up the day with a late night in my office completing only the most urgent administration duties and left the rest for tomorrow morning. I got home late and was only able to spend a few precious moments with my daughter before it was time to hug and kiss her goodnight. I was so exhausted from my demanding day I could only talk to my beautiful wife for an hour before I also hugged and kissed her goodnight. As I laid in bed thinking about my day, I said a prayer of thanks for allowing me to be at home with my family and not in harm's way. I also said a prayer for the safety and well being of all our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines deployed around the world in support of the Global War On Terrorism. I can only imagine what your day was like today and the difficulties you faced just trying to live through another day while executing the mission with extreme professionalism, courage and dedication. You live in extreme heat, patrol in a hostile war zone, eat Meals Ready to Eat, live in tents or in cramped spaces aboard ships, separated from your loved ones, with no reliable way to communicate with them except the sporadic mail that comes with a deployment to a combat zone. You do this all and much more while being shot at by an opposing force consisting of criminals, thugs and international outlaws refusing to obey the Laws of Armed Conflict and the Geneva Convention. You are the point person engaged in the life or death struggle against worldwide militant Islamic terrorism. The fate of western civilization may well depend on the success of your mission and the outcome of the GWOT. My responsibilities pale in comparison to yours and my most demanding tasks are merely trivial when compared to what you do on a day-to-day basis. Relatively speaking, I truly have had a great day. God bless each and every one of you.