My Country

Yes, I am going to be conceited and say I come from the greatest country in the world. Now, I wanted to wait a couple days or weeks before I started getting into topics like this on my blog, however the time and opportunity has presented itself for me to make this statement and justify it. 

There are a lot of things about this country that make it the greatest. The most important of which, at least to me, is that safety and security it provides to me for the simple fact that I am an American. I know that no matter where I go, whether it be Spain or Austrailia, Germany or The Netherlands, or in this specific case the Indian Ocean, that I am protected for the sole fact that I am an American.

Now I am not saying that I won't be in harms way, nor am I saying that I won't get hurt or even potentially killed, what I am saying is that I know that if I am in danger or in trouble, that my country will not stand back and let me be. They will do whatever they can to protect me and safely rescue me.

It is with that said, that I owe a great deal of gratitude and appreciation to those who serve in our military. Those who have chosen to put down their life before mine, so that I may live. Those that have chosen to protect the ideals and freedoms of our nation and those who have given up everything, so that Americans can live freely. 

The reason I say all of this is because of the heroic rescue of Captain Richard Phillips of the Maersk Alabama. Having been taken captive by pirates, the track record show that he would most likely not make it out of the situation alive. The United States Navy intervened and did everything they could to protect Capt. Phillips and ensure that he made it home safely. They were obviously successful, with the order from President Obama to use lethal force if there was imminent danger, the Navy Seals were given the order to eliminate the pirates holding Capt. Phillips. With skill and accuracy that can be found no where else, the seals elminated the threat to Capt. Phillips and brought him onboard the USS Bainbridge, saving his life and preventing further distress. 

There was another instance in which the Navy was crucial in saving the life of a 14 year old from Illinois. Her family was on a cruise 500 miles of the coast of Baja California. Unfortunately for the girl she suffered a ruptured appendix, something that can be fatal if not quickly treated. Having no way to treat her or get her off the ship, the ships captain put out a distress call, to which the USS Ronald Reagan responded. The immediately changed course and headed for the cruise ship, not having enough time to quickly get to the ship, they sent out a helicopter to recover the girl and her mother and bring them to the ship. Once onboard the girl was immediately taken into surgery where her appendix was removed and she recovered quickly. Without the intervention of the Navy in this case, the girl would most likely have died.

So it is with this that I say, my country is the GREATEST. And with that comes the fact that when people make statements like "We have decided to kill U.S. and French sailors if they happen to be among our future hostages." You better be damned assured that we, the United States of America, will kick your ass.