'It's a great day'

The following is a transcript of Robert Tackett’s Veterans Day address at Waseca High School:

It’s a great day!

Well, good morning, Everyone.  And it is a great morning! Thank you so much for allowing me to speak here today.  And thank you to each and every one of our veterans who have made this day possible!  Do we have any veterans here today?  Raise your hands, Vets!  Let’s give them a big round of applause and appreciation!  Thank you, my Brothers and Sisters!

Veterans Day is a day to humbly remember our Veterans who have served and are still serving to keep our country free from those who wish us harm.  You can thank the Veteran for their service or you can ask to hear one of their many stories about their service.   Every Veteran has their own unique story to tell, and they do not always have someone to tell it to.  You can be that person.

Every day that I wake up and have a chance to breathe fresh air, it’s a great day.  Every day that I wake up to feel my aging body’s aches and pains, it’s a great day.  Every morning when I wake up and remember my loved ones who are no longer with us, it’s still a great day.  Every morning I wake up to the freedoms we have and can freely exercise, it’s a great day.  And I will tell you that no matter how bad things have been in my past, and they have been pretty bad sometimes, I got through it.  And getting through those difficult times makes the next day a great day!

It is an absolute honor to be here today.  I would like to talk to you about how my military career has impacted every aspect of my life.  People always tell me I have such a positive outlook on life and they ask me how am I able to always be so positive?  I have been witness to many horrible atrocities.  I have done some very horrible things myself. And yet, I maintain a very positive attitude towards life.  My career in the military has definitely helped change my outlook on life for the better.

I first joined the US Army in 1986 when I was 17 and my mother signed a waiver for me.  I joined as a Healthcare Specialist.  Or, what is respectfully known as a Combat Medic!  My first unit was an air defense artillery unit with the Big Red One, out of Ft. Riley Kansas.  I then went to the 816th Station Hospital out of Binghamton, New York.  From there I went back to my home state of California and joined Charlie Company, the first of the 160th Infantry.  I stayed with this unit for the remainder of my career in the National Guard.

I was activated to the Los Angeles Riots in ’92.  I saw a lot of strife.  A lot of hurt people. I also saw a lot of hope.  A lot of Love.  I saw a community heal after devastating losses; that community came together to say “Enough. It’s time to heal; it’s time to learn from our mistakes and it’s time to improve our situation.” This is a lesson we can all learn from.

One thing the military loves is training!  The military really pushes its training programs.  It should.  Lives may very well hang in the balance.  I have always done quite a bit of extra training, myself.  I practiced my first aid skills all the time.  Every chance I got, I was practicing my IV placements–in the dark, on my family! I practiced splinting, and bandaging.  I practiced everything I could think of to be the best.  If anyone yelled “Medic!”  I came running.  I wanted them to know I was there and they had the best chance of living when I was the one who answered that call.

My military service has impacted my life so strongly that I know, without a doubt, that if I had not had the opportunity to join as a young adult, I would not be here today.  I grew up extremely poor and we moved around a lot, from home to home.   Joining the military gave me some stability, provided me with some structure to build upon.  And taught me how to grow into a responsible and independent adult.  For that, I will always be grateful. 

Being a military veteran has helped shape my life in ways that are very difficult to explain.  Those brothers and sisters I served with have my utmost respect and love.  They are and always will be my family.  They have promised to protect you and your family at any cost.  That is not a promise to take lightly.  And that is not a promise for you to easily forget.  I learned at a young age that the world is not fair.  You will also learn this difficult lesson.  Hopefully, it won’t hurt too much.  My lessons always seemed to hurt, though.

Some examples of my life lessons: once I stepped into a minefield and needed my battle buddy to guide my steps as I walked backwards to get out.  I have held my fellow soldiers as they passed into the next world, when my efforts were in vain and there was nothing I could do except comfort and ease their passing.  I have been chased through dusty alleyways by the Taliban of Egypt.  I have helped infants breathe when they have had pneumonia by providing breathing treatments and antibiotics to clear their little lungs.  As the Triage NCO of our CASH in Iraq, I once cut off a soldier’s leg after he was mangled in an IED explosion.  I have been shot in the face during a convoy ambush.  I have looked through my sights at the enemy as I pulled the trigger.  I have had the Bedouins of Egypt bring me their children when they were deathly ill or injured, because they trusted that Allah sent the best to aid them.  I have survived numerous mortar attacks covered in dust and debris and still answered to screams of “Medic!”  I was there for the bombing of Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, in 2005. I answered that call to help from more than  200 wounded civilians: men, women and children. 

Through my military service I have traveled all over the US, New York, Washington, California, Texas, Kansas, North Carolina, just to name a few.  I have had the opportunity to travel to other countries like, Spain, Germany, Amsterdam in the Netherlands, Kuwait, Egypt, Israel and Iraq.  These travels have opened my eyes to the world and helped me realize how great America is.  This greatness needs to be protected and nurtured so we can continue to grow and do great things for our own citizens and for the world.

My time in service taught me to be the best I can be.  To try harder than everyone else.  To be the one who is looked to for guidance, for help.  My time in service has given me the confidence to handle the worst situations you can imagine.  My time in service has given me the strength to bear any burden and the fortitude to never quit.  As a medic I have learned the empathy to help my fellow man.  I am extremely proud to be called a veteran. 

And now that I am out, I continue to serve my community.  The military has taught me and other veterans to be prepared, so I provide free first aid classes to those who understand how important it is to be prepared.  The military has taught me and other veterans to always be ready, so I provide free self-defense classes to those who wish to protect their families and loved ones. The military has taught me to look out for those weaker than myself, to defend our future, to keep our freedoms secure.  The military has taught me and other veterans to be leaders among the less fortunate, so I and others like me work to reduce the number of veteran suicides through outreach programs.  I have been fortunate to learn many things that books cannot adequately describe. I have experienced things that many will only dream of.  You have to live the life to really understand. So I ask you, do you dare walk on the razor’s edge?

So, when you talk to your family member who may be a veteran, please give him or her the utmost courtesy.  When you see that grumpy old vet wearing his faded cap and jacket, please show respect and dignity. They have made sacrifices for family and country that you will never know. Sacrifices including their time, missing out on family milestones, weddings, births and graduations, the things you take for granted.  They may be missing some body parts and they may bear some scars that catch your eye.  They have sacrificed their emotional and mental health to do indescribable things.  So please give veterans your patience and understanding.

If you would like to be one of the elite, one of the few to answer that call to serve, if you would like the opportunity to suffer and sacrifice so that others may live in freedom, join us.  If you would like a chance to improve every aspect of your life and the lives of those around you, join us.  If you would like to live on the razor’s edge, I would challenge you to see if you are up to joining one of our fine military organizations.  If you do raise your right hand to swear yourself into military service, it will be a great day!

Thank you again for your time.  If anyone would like to talk to me after this event, I will be close by.

Take care and God bless.