Sean, son of COO Pat Riley
Communicating. Hard to fathom how this has changed for me over just the past few weeks. In a world of social, paid media, smartphones, blogs, and sophisticated iPhone applications, my oldest son, every third or fourth day will send me a simple text message to let me know he is OK. Why? Because he is in sunny Afghanistan, a part of the most recent summer “surge” of US troops there assigned to the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, which means he gets to look for “bad guys” and draw them out of hiding by getting shot at. In short, he is a target.
Yet, he loves what he does: Soldiering. He can’t wait to pull his desert boots on and “get busy.” So, once or twice a week I get an eight to 20 word text. Simple, in code. Probably all the time he has. His job is to keep his squad or 10 other American souls alive and bring them home to their loved ones. So, he must pause when he can, find cover, wipe the sand and sweat from his hands, prop his M-16A1 ever close to his chest and punch out, “…….news..from stan dad. two day hump into badlands. OK….trbl on 1st day. all good. hot..118..luv Sean.”
Translation: I am an American Soldier. I will never accept defeat. I will never leave a fallen comrade. I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life. I am an American soldier.
