"U.S.A." FOR SURE, BUT DON'T FORGET "US"

The chants could be heard any number of places around the world...at a baseball game between the New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies.....in front of the White House....on college campuses.....with our troops in Afghanistan and most certainly, at Ground Zero.  U.S.A.!!  U.S.A.!!   The chant of those letters echoed strongly.  It appears that justice, at least in some sort, had been served.  Osama Bin Laden, the man responsible for thousands of deaths on 9-11 was killed, shot in the head and perhaps another one to the chest by Navy Elite Seal Team Six forces.

Now, we must consider what amount of of retaliation we'll see from Bin Laden's faithful.  Much like the analogy of cutting the head from a snake, what will be the reaction of these extremists.  Are Americans around the world prime to another set of terrorist acts?   And what will our military experience?  To catch a glimpse of potential situations, I'll let you in on a conversation between father and son of an experience the soldier suffered yesterday.

Son:   So on the plus side, Osama is finally dead thanks to the Navy Seals, that could be good and bad but only time will tell.  On the downside... The truck I was riding in today hit an IED... it was such a big blast that it picked the 7.5 ton truck off the ground spun it in a 180 degree turn and blew off the whole front end.  We found the motor and front end minus one tire 300ft. in front of us and the other tire was 600ft. to the west in a river and there were parts that were even further away than that.   Good news is that I'm safe, just have a headache the size of Texas and I'll probably be sore tomorrow. The soldier in the passenger seat got medevac'd out on helicopter, messed up his back and the gunner had some cuts on his face but other than that we are all good.

Father:  Praise the Lord!!  Just the 3 of you in the truck?

Son: Yea, no kidding....it had to happen the day Osama dies out of all days.

Father:  You have no injuries other than your headache? Do you go have a doctor check you out?

Son:  Nope I'm all good.  I had to go have a traumatic brain injury test with the medics and I passed so they let me go.

Father:  How many trucks were part of your group?

Son:  5 U.S. trucks and 3 ANA trucks. After it happened we had to wait for about 3 hours until EOD could come do a post blast analysis and they brought a wrecker so we could tow it back.

Father:  Say any prayers?

Son:  Oh yeah!!!

IED's do damage, but they are a cowards way in doing battle     

Okay.  Now, I'd like you to re-read this conversation.....only this time read it knowing that the son/daughter is yours and you are the parent.  Read it slower this time and let your mind sense the danger that existed...how close death was.     

Son:   So on the plus side, Osama is finally dead thanks to the Navy Seals, that could be good and bad but only time will tell.  On the downside... The truck I was riding in today hit an IED... it was such a big blast that it picked the 7.5 ton truck off the ground spun it in a 180 degree turn and blew off the whole front end.  We found the motor and front end minus one tire 300ft. in front of us and the other tire was 600ft. to the west in a river and there were parts that were even further away than that.   Good news is that I'm safe, just have a headache the size of Texas and I'll probably be sore tomorrow. The soldier in the passenger seat got medevac'd out on helicopter, messed up his back and the gunner had some cuts on his face but other than that we are all good.

Father:  Praise the Lord!!  Just the 3 of you in the truck?

Son: Yea, no kidding....it had to happen the day Osama dies out of all days.

Father:  You have no injuries other than your headache? Do you go have a doctor check you out?

Son:  Nope I'm all good.  I had to go have a traumatic brain injury test with the medics and I passed so they let me go.

Father:  How many trucks were part of your group?

Son:  5 U.S. trucks and 3 ANA trucks.  After it happened we had to wait for about 3 hours until EOD could come do a post blast analysis and they brought a wrecker so we could tow it back.

Father:  Say any prayers?

Son:  Oh yeah!!!

THIS......is the reason I have stressed the importance of prayer for our troops in the coming months.  We already knew the 2,800 Iowans who deployed to Afghanistan in October were in for heightened activity by the Taliban in these last few months.  With Bin Laden's death, more attacks, ambushes, IED plants and suicidal bombs can be expected.

When I say, don't forget "us", I say that in full honesty and sincerity for our troops.  I'm well aware people think of our soldiers sacrifice throughout the week.  Some are even praying about.  But we NEED to do more.  Like praying daily.

You could very well tire of me continuing this message.....and if you are, I'm sorry.  No...... on second thought, I'm not.   I'm not going to stop.  You see, the conversation above is between my son, Kristopher and I.   I won't sugar coat any of this.  This is downright scary stuff.  It's taken me to my knees in prayer for  his safety and God's armor of protection all around him.  But I'm not selfish.  The conversation my son and I had could just as easily have been between any other soldier and family member.  I know how close Kristopher came to serious injury or even death......and he is not alone.   He has 2,800 other men and women looking around for something to hang on to.  And I'm sure in moments of being alone, they glance to the Heavens for strength and comfort.

I pray all our soldiers are looking upward, but what about the rest of us?  I believe our message is, WE CAN HELP IN THAT COMFORT.

YGG,

John