The Phone Call

The sun has rested behind mother earth leaving us with the dark of night. Windows are opened allowing the crisp night breeze flow through the room. The night sounds lifeless were it not for the crickets outside chirping away. With the air’s peacefulness, disruption from the outside world erupts with a phone call–a call no one wants to hear.

Sound of a sniffling nose and a hand wiping tears from the caller’s eyes, a voice cries out; “We lost three.” The statement was in reference to three of America’s best and brightest Air Force warriors. “Who were they,” I asked. Only one name was blurted as the other two were still unknown within the community.

A small conversation entailed comforting the caller. There was no time for my own sobering grief simply because I knew the fallen. My friend on the other end of the line lacked some of the mental training I had–my time could come later, she needed a shoulder to cry on. It was critical to compartmentalize my own thoughts and do my best to bring comfort and ease across the phone line as I heard my Godson and his sister enter the room. The children didn’t need to see their mommy in such distress.

Only seconds passed, the children were asked to go downstairs to play, and an eruption of hysteria imploded–“I am so scared. I am so scared that he will do something stupid. I am so scared that he will volunteer to keep going out. His time is short, but with XXXX (name excluded due to security reasons) gone, this will make him want to go out and kill these bastards.”

It’s difficult comforting someone when their thoughts are as accurate as these. The caller was right, our best friend is one of the best and brightest America has to offer, and members on his team had recently fallen. But I know my brother fighting this war. He is the best and he is the best not just because of his training and plethora of deployments conducting direct action missions inside Afghanistan with SEALS and U.S. Army SF– no, he is the best because he knows how strong his support mechanism remains back here in the States. His support mechanism is his strength.

How does anyone comfort such persons in these trying times? How do we give them that warmth of a hug when they need it most yet are half way across the country? How do we make sure their emotions don’t impact the babies in the home? It’s tough, and it sucks but we do our best. This was my phone call.

This weekend, we lost many special operators. Taliban or mechanical failure, it doesn’t matter how they were killed. What matters is that they were, and they all have families of their own. The families need assistance, they need comfort, and they need assurance that their sons, brothers, and or teammates will never be forgotten.

The debt crisis continues, yet so does this war. Some have made incredible sacrifices while others just move on as if nothing is wrong. Politicians on the right and left continue with their agendas. Yet very few realize many are suffering today. News has covered this tragedy with the most updated insight available yet there is another side to this tragedy very few are covering–the phone calls.

Many are in tears, sad, angry, and confused. The phone call described was not the only one this weekend. It is certain that others too received a similar call.

Maybe it would behoove all of us to stop for a minute and forget about our nation’s debt crisis, unemployment, or any other political conundrum. This is a time to pray, a time to pray that Saint Michael opened heaven’s gate allowing entry for some of America’s greatest warriors so they can now serve as the guardian angels to those who remain behind on this God forsaken earth. They shall never be forgotten.

Kerry Patton is the Co-Founder of the National Security Leadership Foundation, a non-profit organization pending 501c (3) status. He has worked in South America, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Europe, focusing on intelligence and security interviewing current and former terrorists, including members of the Taliban. He is the author of “Sociocultural Intelligence: The New Discipline of Intelligence Studies” and the children’s book “American Patriotism.” You can follow him on Facebook