Published: May 09, 2008 11:53 am            

Reader: Support troops by supporting their spouses

Editor:

In 1984, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed the Friday before Mother’s Day to be Military Spouse Appreciation Day. Since then, succeeding presidents have continued to honor the spouses of our service men and women. Today, May 9, I want to encourage everyone to take a moment to reflect upon and appreciate all the sacrifices our military spouses and families make every day, supporting our soldiers and airmen.

America’s military spouses inspire our nation with their sense of duty and deep devotion to our country. On Military Spouse Day, we honor the husbands and wives of those who wear the uniform of the United States Armed Forces. The husbands and wives of our service members have made significant sacrifices for freedom’s cause, and they are an integral part of the success of our armed forces.

The soldiers and airmen of the Illinois National Guard could not continue to serve without the support of their families.

When I accepted command of the Illinois National Guard from Gov. Rod Blagojevich in September, I talked about the concept of the three-legged stool: one leg being the service member, the other the employer and the third being the families of these patriotic men and women. Without any one of these three legs, the stool topples. And if the stool of Guard and Reserve support topples, our nation is put at risk.

The military spouses provide crucial support to allow our Illinois National Guard soldiers and airmen to continue to do the important work of our country has asked them to do. The soldiers and airmen of the Illinois National Guard are more vital to our national defense than ever before in our nation’s history. Since 9/11, more than 9,000 of our Illinois Army Guardsmen and more than 3,700 Illinois Airmen have answered the nation’s call. Today, there are more than 600 Illinois Guard soldiers and airmen on duty in Iraq, Afghanistan and other foreign counties like Kosovo.

While our soldiers and airmen are serving, their spouses and family members keep things running at home, taking on tasks that before had been shared between two people. Those jobs are much more difficult than anyone who has not been there can imagine.

I encourage everyone to show their support to our troops by showing support and appreciation to spouses and families of military members who are taking care of the homefront. We could not successfully complete our missions without their support.

William L. Enyart

Major General ILARNG

The Adjutant General

        

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