So I had to write this thing today.

And it turned out to be a lot more emotional than I'd anticipated. See, at work, we're producing materials for a US Army program called the Freedom Team Salute. I was asked to write kind of a manifesto, from a soldier's POV, about what it means to have a team of people at home (family, friends, co-workers) supporting what they do. It's a very specific piece, for a very specific audience and purpose, so please keep that context in mind.

Even if you don't know a lot about me, you can perhaps imagine the conflict I felt over this. Here's the initial draft. I'm posting it here because who knows how it'll be changed before it's done and this -- unpolished as it may be -- is the one closest to my raw self, and I wanted to save it somehow. Also, since I promised I'd try to write more stuff that wasn't purely fundraising.

This is loosely inspired by the Army song, the USMA Alma Mater and lifelong memories of ceremonies in which hails and farewells were called out over the parade grounds.

( Freedom Team Salute )