on receiving 2 packages & 26 cards on the eve of the 231st birthday of the Corps

Dear Family, Community, and Friends:

My deployment was very predictable. Having volunteered initially, I was then committed to service as a Marine. Marines are defined as warriors, and our profession is war. It is what we expect. My service is based on a solemn promise, an oath, that I will stand ready to defend the Constitution and obey lawful orders—to fail in this is to fail America, and to break my oath. For me NOT to serve would have been dishonorable. As a professional (well compensated, I might add), I will give my utmost in the performance of my duty—whether my service is noticed or not noticed. This is simply what I have sworn to do. The adversaries of freedom know about me. They know about my training, they study my capabilities, and they exert every effort to defeat me on the battlefield. They know where I am strong, and they know where I am vulnerable. To the adversaries of freedom, I am a formidable but calculable element.

You, however, are not predictable. One of the freedoms I am most proud of defending is your right to remain uninvolved in this struggle against the adversaries of freedom, to even oppose my service in it. My desire is that my involvement in this contest will permit you and your way of life to remain unharmed and unchanged by it. However, you have chosen to do the unexpected. You deliberately got involved. Every unanswered MOTO mail you unselfishly sent; every newsy email you have typed; every encouraging card you have mailed; every caring package you have prepared and shipped; every act of service you have performed for Sheryl and Joshua in my absence; every one of these gifts has increased my ability to serve with spirit, honor, courage and commitment. Every minute of heartfelt intercession you have spent praying for an end to this strife has assuredly done more to bring it about than all my months of service. You have done something that the adversaries of freedom CANNOT counter on the battlefield. Without pronouncing judgment on this conflict, without condoning the conduct of war, you have sacrificed in a meaningful way to bring dignity to service personnel and speed the end of the Global War on Terror. To the advocates of Peace, you are an affirming but most incalculable supporting element.

Thank you so very, very much. Unlooked for, you have upheld me. Unasked for, you have encouraged me. In short, you have been the hand of God ministering to me. My mettle, perhaps, has been tested; yours has been proven. I thank God for your love.

Semper Fi, Jarhedjon