Good morning , I'm Brigadier General
Don Cornett , commander of the 3/10
Exhibition sustainment command deployed
to Iraq in support of Operation New
dawn . The culmination of Operation
Iraqi freedom during this veterans day
we pause remember the sacrifices our
soldiers , sailors , airmen marines
have made in serving our nation where
and when they were needed from one
generation to the next . Young men and
women have willingly joined the ranks
of America's armed forces aware of
their obligations as citizens of the
greatest nation on earth . They have
served the United States with courage
and commitment . We honor each of
America's veterans who have served so
faithfully and honorably through their
sacrifices . They have secured for
millions of others , the blessings of
freedom , democracy and the unmatched
opportunity that we enjoy in the United
States . The support that we have
received from everyone back home has
been tremendous recently . We've
corresponded with some students from
you know McCoy elementary school in
Tennessee who are curious about the
lives of US veterans , especially those
deployed overseas . They sent us a few
questions to answer about ourselves and
we couldn't think of a better time the
veterans day to answer these questions
and tell you a little more about what
it means to be a veteran .
It starts usually around 5:00 AM . It
ends probably average around 10 o'clock
at night . It's a lot of planning ,
coordinating and Mhm
a lot of work outside with these
vehicles and just trying to clear out
of Iraq . It's a big responsibility
Depending on the time of year . The
climate can actually change rather
drastically right now . During November .
It's not more than 90° during the day
and then gets down to about 70 at night ,
so it's pretty comfortable , sometimes
a little bit chilly . But during the
summertime , Usually starting around
the April may timeframe , it can get
upwards of 140° and that's in the
shade . They say that it's a dry heat ,
but when you sweat , you make your own
humidity so sometimes it can become a
little bit miserable . But we endure ,
we move on .
Well , I can tell you that we have a
cafeteria style environment where we go
in and we have a Kuwaiti
nationals who service food . The food
is very good . The fruit line is always ,
they have fruit cut up . Um they
have rice and oatmeal and
raisins and bananas . So a lot like a
cafeteria that you have at home when
we're in the field environment , we get
to eat meals ready to eat . They come
in a bag like this , you open up the
bag and you'll see that inside these .
For instance , with this one I got
lucky enough and I chose chicken fajita .
So I get crackers . Um
I get tortillas . Yeah ,
I get cream uh with power irish cream
cappuccino . So I can have a warm drink ,
especially if I'm cold . They give us
our condiments with gum and a napkin .
Salt , pepper and Tabasco sauce .
Here's the mexican style rice that they
give us .
Oh and here's our cheese spread .
That's going to go on the fajita . So
it's very similar to what we eat when
we're at home . It's just , we have to
be ready to go in a matter of a few
minutes . So they give these to us so
that we have them on the road in our
vehicles or wherever we're at in order
for us to maintain and our
health and suppress our
appetites .
A lot of camels . I see a lot of camels ,
camels . I've seen a lot of those
recently , obviously since it's the
desert , there are camels . We see
herds of camels strolling across the
desert . But some things you don't
expect to see , we see a lot of goats ,
a lot of sheep because there are
farmers here and that's what their job
is . But what you don't expect to see
very often our dogs and cats and here
on my basic cam pair of john , we have
lots of dogs and cats . In fact , the
american Red Cross has animals that we
can go visit if we need a pet fix . We
can go visit their dogs and cats that
they have that are treated safe and
okay for soldiers to pet and hold .
I get to talk to my wife every day um ,
In the morning I go to the local MW are
those are open for 24 hours so I can
call home whenever I like . Um we
talked for about 20 , minutes and then ,
and in the evening when I'm in my room
in my barracks , I can get on the
internet , they have wifi in the rooms
and and I can talk with her on skype
and see my daughter the other day we um
we had story time , which was real nice
right before she took a bath .
I would recommend joining the military
to anybody that has a dream to
do something big . The military has
given me an opportunity to actually
pursue my lifelong goal of being in the
broadcast and news industry . My father
introduced me to the broadcast and
radio industry When I was in
kindergarten , I learned how to do
various things within the audio studio
And from that .4 , that's exactly what
I wanted to do . I attempted to do the
exact same thing in college , came into
a few hardships , but the military gave
me an opportunity to actually go and
tell the soldiers story from the
viewpoint of the soldier .
This is my second deployment to this
area . My third deployment overall when
I was in Iraq , the Iraqi people that I
met and worked with on a daily basis
were very receptive to having the
americans there . They were happy to
have us there and they were happy that
we were finally giving them the
freedoms that they had waited for for
so long . In fact , in the time I was
in Iraq over that year , the school
population jumped by millions . We
built a lot of new schools and gave the
opportunity for kids like yourselves
who have never been to school to go and
learn and finally be able to be
productive members of their society .
From my viewpoint , I don't believe
it's a war so much as it is a
supporting of the Iraqi government .
We've been working with the Iraqi
government now for the past eight years
and helping stabilize their country and
helping defend themselves and
between what the Iraqi government and
the United States have been doing over
the past eight years . I believe that
the Iraqi government is more than
capable of handling their own sovereign
nation , the security of their people
and moving forward to a great and
democratic society .
I think that gets back to how much so
many of us care and love our country
for what chance has offered us and the
families prior to us as well as our
future generations , the chance to live
in peace , the freedoms , we enjoy the
chance to walk our streets safely , the
opportunities it presents for us to
fulfill our dreams . And I think that
in time for us to maintain that when
there are times that the country has to
be defended , it's my obligation as
well as others to step forward and make
that sacrifice to defend the country so
that those that come after us are able
to enjoy the same benefit
returning from a deployment after not
seeing my family for an entire year .
There's got to be the greatest feeling
in the world . Um it's getting that
first touch that hug kiss . It's a it's
the thought that always last uh in my
memory and uh something I'll always
cherish . I hope we've given you all a
better idea of what it's like to be a
veteran , Especially one deployed to a
combat zone . Today is a day to not
only commemorate those serving in the
armed forces but remember those who
have paid the ultimate sacrifice for a
nation they loved so deeply . We
appreciate all the support that people
back home have been giving us as we
wrap up our nation's mission in Iraq .
The soldiers of 2 30 the sustained
brigade and the 3 10 X fishery
sustainment command . Send their love
to everyone back home in the States . I
especially like to send my love back to
my son in law and daughter kevin and
heather hess and unique . Oy as well as
my wife Mira in Aurora Nebraska . My
son Brandon in Kansas city Missouri .
Thank you all very much God bless happy
veterans Day