"High Flight",
John G. Magee on September 3, 1941
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
of sun-split clouds,-and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of-wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air....
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark nor ever eagle flew-
And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God
United States Air Force Academy
The Cadet Prayer
Lord, God of hosts, my life is a stewardship in Your sight. Grant me the light of Your wisdom to the path
of my cadet days. Instill within me an abiding awareness of my responsibility toward You, my country and my fellow man.
I ask true humility that, knowing self, I may rise above human frailty. I ask courage that I may prove
faithful to duty beyond self. I ask unfailing devotion to personal integrity that I may ever remain honorable without compromise.
Make me an effective instrument of Your peace in the defense of the skies that canopy free nations. So
guide me daily in each thought, word and deed, that I may fulfill Your will. May these graces abide with me, my loved ones,
and all who share my country's trust. Amen
USAF Security Police
Lord, you have called up to be guardians of a nation founded on your principles. Whatever our tasks as
Security Police men and women, we do them to serve you and our nation. We are proud to accept the responsibility of this high
calling. We dedicate ourselves to our vocation, and ask for guidance and courage in aiding our people to live with dignity,
in safety and peace.
We know that true security comes from your presence, so we pray with the psalmist:
You bless those who obey you, Lord;
Your love protects them like a shield.
Use us, O Lord, as shields for your people, reflecting your security and peace. AMEN
Prayer of the Air Force Wife
Dear God, I am proud to be wed to one who defends freedom and peace.
My challenges are many and I pray for your love and guidance to meet them.
Special to me are the symbols representing my religion, country, community & home.
I pray for the wisdom and grace to be true to their meanings.
You are the symbol of my religious beliefs and the source of my strength.
Because my life is full of change, I cherish the solid and constant spiritual foundation
that you provide. Help me Lord, to be an example of your teachings.
My national flag represents freedom.
Let me never forget, or take for granted, the hope it shows to the world.
Bless those who have made sacrifices for freedom.
As I enter the gateway to a military community, guide me to reach out to others
and keep it a wholesome place.
May my charity be given without thought of personal rewards.
My wedding ring represents eternity and never ending love.
Let me celebrate all of the joys of our togetherness & find comfort in them
during times of separation.
I pray also that we are spared the ultimate sacrifice of duty to country.
My house is a symbol of our family and its unity.
It is a place where we share memories of the past and build dreams of the future.
Make willing my heart and hands to do even the smallest tasks that will make
our house a better home.
Thank you God for being with us as we live in the Air Force.
Please grant us your continued blessings, increased strength and infinite guidance,
as we live to your honor and glory. Amen.
~ Author unknown ~
Lords Prayer For The Military Wife
Lord, Grant me the greatness of heart to see,
the difference in duty and his love for me.
Give me the understanding to know,
That when duty calls he must go.
Give me a task to do each day,
to fill the time when he is away,
And Lord when duty is in the field,
Please protect him and be his shield.
~ Author Unknown ~
SISTERHOOD
I am a military wife, a member of that sisterhood of women who have had the courage to watch
their men march into battle and the strength to survive until their return.
Our sorority knows no rank for we earn our membership with a marriage license,
traveling over miles or over nation to begin a new life with our soldier husbands.
Within days we turn a barren, echoing building into a home and though our quarters are
inevitably white walled and unprepared, we decorate with the treasurers of our travels,
for we shop the markets of the world. Using hammer and nail, we tack our pictures to the wall and our roots,
to the floor as firmly as if we had lived there for a lifetime. We hold a family together by the bootstraps and raise the
best of the "brats" installing into them the motto, "Home is togetherness," whether motel, guesthouse, apartment or duplex.As
Military wives, we soon realize that the only good in "good-bye" is the "hello again". For as salesmen for freedom, our husbands
are often on the road, leaving us behind for a week, a month, an assignment. During the separation we guard the home front,
existing till the homecoming.Unlike civilian counterparts, we measure time not by age but by tours married at Tinker, baby at Elmendorf, a promotion in Korea. We plant trees and never see them grow tall,
work on projects completed long after our departures, and enhance our community for the betterment of those who come after
us. We leave apart of ourselves at every stop.Through experience we have learned to pack a suitcase, a car or hold baggage
and live indefinitely, from the patches we have sewn and silver we have shined, our hands are always ready to help those around
us.Women of peace, we pray for a world in harmony, for the flag that leads our men into battle. Will also blanket them in
death. Yet we are an optimistic group, thinking of the good
and forgetting the bad, cherishing yesterday while anticipating tomorrow.Never rich by monetary standards,
our hearts are overflowing with a wealth of experience common only to those united by the special tradition of military life.
We pass on this legacy to every military bride, welcoming her with outstretched arms, with love and friendship, from one sister
to another, sharing in the bounty of our unique, fulfilling Military way of life.Written & (c) by Debbie Guisti * Special
Thanks to Penny Peterson for letting me know the Author of this wonderful Sisterhood Poem! **
The Military Wife
The good Lord was creating a model for military wives and was into his sixth day of overtime when an angel
appeared. She said, "Lord, you seem to be
having a lot of trouble with this one. What's the matter with
the standard model?" The Lord replied, "Have you seen the specs on this order?
She has to be completely independent, possess the qualities of both father and mother, be a perfect hostess
to four or forty with an hour's notice, run on black coffee, handle every emergency imaginable without a manual, be able to
carry on cheerfully, even if she's pregnant and has the flu, and she must be willing to move 10 times in 17 years. And oh,
yes, she must have six pairs of hands." The angel shook her head. "Six pairs
of hands? No way." the Lord continued, "Don't worry, we will make other military
wives to help her. And we will give her an unusually strong heart so it can swell with pride in her husbands achievements,
sustain the pain of separations, beat soundly when its over-worked and tired, and be large enough to say, 'I understand,'when
she doesn't, and to say 'I love you,' regardless."The angel circled the model of the military wife, looked at it closely and
sighed, It looks fine, but it's too soft." "She might look soft," replied the Lord, "but she has the strength of a lion.
You would not believe what she can endure." Finally, the angel
bent over and ran her finger across the cheek of the Lord's creation.
There's a leak," she announced. "Something is wrong with the construction. I am not surprised that it has
cracked. You are trying to put too much into this model." the Lord appeared offended at the angel's lack of confidence. What
you see is not a leak," he said.
"It's a tear." "A tear? What is it there for?" asked the angel. The Lord replied, "It's for joy, sadness,
pain,disappointment, loneliness, pride, and a dedication to all the values that she and her husband hold dear.""You are a
genius!" exclaimed the angel.The Lord looked puzzled and replied, "I didn't put it there."
~ Originally Written As "When God Created Mom's By Erma Bombeck~
Song of the Air Force Wife
I'm the wife of the "Man in Blue"
And I like the Air Force, too.
He's my joy and he's my pride
And I am his "Dependent Bride."
Yes, the "Man in Blue" made me his wife
And I joined him in his global strife.
I'll tell you now wedding vow
With this barracks bag, I thee endow.
He said he'd show me all the world
And a magic carpet he unfurled.
The "Man in Blue" led a traveling life,
And I'd go along as his "Dependent Wife."
Now something seems to have gone awry
For all his journeys are TDY.
I stay at home like a good wife should
And learn the joys of motherhood.
I'm to the children both mother and father
Till I don't know whether I'm one or the other.
I work and worry both night and day
To keep things going while he's away.
I cope with things I never knew
And wait right here for my "Man in Blue."
Who can't understand just what in life
Has made me his "In-Dependent Wife."
~ Author Unknown ~
THE AIR FORCE BRAT
What Is An Air Force Brat?
Air Force brats come in two sexes ... boy and girl.
Sometimes they come in pairs and in some cases, more.
Usually, they are found traveling in family packs, for an Air Force brat does spring
from a breed noted for its productiveness.
Now an Air Force Brat can be a source of delight, or in many cases, despair.
He is an acrobat who breaks his arm on the packing boxes the day before the move.
She is the tubby little invalid who just recovered from the mumps in the back seat
of the mini van without ever feeling sorry for herself.
He is the toughest kid in the new neighborhood, that is until he has proven himself.
She is the shy little miss, timidly trying to explain her Japanese robe and European
style shoes to the folks back home.
He is the boy who when the teacher says, "Our geography lesson today will be on
Germany," raises his hand to inform her he was born there.
Now an Air Force Brat sometimes looks frail, but he isn't.
These kids are made of some pretty stern stuff.
His life is plagued by a shot needle and he gets immunizations for diseases
the other kids never heard of.
By the time he starts to school, he has traveled more miles than many people do in a lifetime.
He accepts changes in stride because he knows that home is where the family is.
Places change, friends depart and the houses are different,
but the Air Force Brat secure in the knowledge that God and family are constant in his life.
Early in his life he learns that soldiers do not cry, so that when Daddy is overseas,
this is the little lad who bravely tried to take over as head of the household.
She is the tender little lady who creeps into her mother's bed to comfort her,
then stubbornly refuses to sleep in her own bed when Daddy comes home.
At retreat you can spot an Air Force Brat a mile away because he is the five year old
who solemnly places his right hand over his chest as the flag comes down.
On Memorial Day, she is the Brownie who plants the flag on a military grave
with personal knowledge of a family friend who never came back.
These Brats are found all over the world playing with children of other lands.
Language is no barrier and childhood ... well, childhood is their bond.
They are often arrayed in bits of Air Force clothing or mothers high heels.
He is the general with stripes on his sleeves, and she is the angel of mercy
sticking pins in her dolls.
To create an Air Force Brat, God combined the courage of a soldier,
the love of a mother and the faith of a child.
To this, he added the humor of a puppy, the fickleness of a playful breeze and the
cussedness of a first sergeant. But in life's low moments, when Daddy comes home
exhausted from two weeks in the field, and mommy's back is aching from unpacking boxes,
who is the dirty faced angel who sets the example with a grin?
Well, you guessed it by now ...
The Air Force Brat of course.
And God Bless Them All.
~ Author Unknown ~
