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Heart of success: Being thankful for military families

  • Published
  • By Maj. Katrina Curtis
  • 90th Contracting Squadron commander
As the holiday season approaches, we remember the things we are thankful for. In the month of November, there is Thanksgiving and Veterans Day, but November is also military family appreciation month.

The military family is the heart of the success of our military and its Airmen. The military family is not just the spouses and the children of the service member, but their parents, siblings and friends. The military family are the people who are there through every move, job change and deployment.

Our families are resilient, tough, caring and a multitude of other great things. These families are as tough as anyone can be. They live through holidays and birthdays with and without us. They change schools, say goodbye to friends and careers, and buy or sell houses when we are gone, or they are finishing up the last minute issues that come up. They do this knowing in a few years they will be packing up and doing it again. They serve our country just as we do, maybe even more. Every day we know what has to be done and where we are going to be, whereas our families are left guessing what time we will be home and how they could contact us in case of an emergency. They are the ones left to get everyone to school, run the house, and have faith that everything will be ok at the end of the day.

Military families have a way of always sticking together. Whenever one family is going through a tough time, other families will pitch in to help them out - from mowing lawns when someone is deployed to delivering meals when someone is sick or had a baby. They stick together, and by doing so, make themselves even stronger. Spouses and children alike make lifelong friendships with every move. Each move is bittersweet, your family has to leave the friends they made over the past few years, but look forward to the many new friendships that lie ahead.

Our families are the rocks that give us stability. They are always there for us whether it's our parents, spouses, children or friends. They listen to our complaints and make sure we are taken care of.

So the next time you talk to your friends and family, thank them for what they do. For they are the reason we can be the best military force there is.

Robert L. Gordon III said, "A strong nation is made up of strong families; among the most resilient are our military families."