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It’s my turn to wait
on the home front
By James Stavridis
ThroughouT my four decades in The navy, i sailed on
my fair share of deployments, in both peace and war. Most
were at least six months long, and during most of my time
at sea, there was no reliable communication from the ship
to my home—just scratchy HF transmissions over radio sys-
tems using military protocols to conduct the conversation,
e.g., “I love you, over.” Some of my deployments were relatively
benign “show the flag” cruises with a variety of liberty ports
along the way. Others were combat missions throughout the
ongoing war on terrorism in the Middle East and Afghanistan.
During all of those deployments, my wife and our two
daughters on the home front worried about and waited for
me. For the vast majority of military personnel, I suspect, the
forward deployments were simply integral to the career we
had chosen. I didn’t overthink the risks or the separations,
but dealt with them as steadily as I could. If I’m being honest,
I had only a vague sense of how the stresses of those long de-
ployments affected my family back in home port, but I never
fully appreciated how much they worried
about me—until now.
Today’s war against coronavirus is not
my fight. But my daughters both grew up
and married physicians, and one of my
girls is a registered nurse herself. So, sud-
denly I find myself not the one forward-
deployed in danger, but the one at home
worried about my children as they face
this “invisible enemy.” I find myself at
home awaiting word from them each day
and worrying if they are O.K., if they are
still healthy. In my mind, my family mem-
bers are representative of the millions of
men and women who are putting on those
N95 masks, elastic gloves, face shields and
gowns—armoring up—and going into combat day after day.
The vast majority are stalwart, brave, relentless and uncom-
plaining warriors on behalf of all of us. I worry desperately
about all of those medical warriors, and especially those in
my own family who are sailing in harm’s way.
As we sAy to our military personnel in this country, we should
be saying to them, “Thank you for your service.” One thing I’ve
learned about those in the medical profession is how hard they
work. And not just in the time of coronavirus. They work hard
studying endlessly, doing demanding practical internships and
residencies, learning the hard way about the consequences of
decisions they make, and dealing with the sheer physical work
of nursing and doctoring. The other thing I’ve learned is how
much they care—about their patients, about outcomes, and
about the country and its health.
The second thing I’ve learned being on this side of the de-
ployment experience is that as citizens we should be pushing
our elected officials to properly equip
these medical warriors. After the ur-
gency of dealing with the virus passes,
there will be time to build truly stra-
tegic stockpiles (ventilators and per-
sonal protective equipment) for the
next pathogens. When I was forward-
deployed, I counted on having the right
equipment in hand, and my nation
never let me down. That cannot be
said for the medical warriors of today.
We can and must do better.
Third, I’ve learned how impressive
this millennial generation is turning
out to be. We are justifiably proud of
our WW II “greatest generation,” most
of whom are at greatest risk from this
virus. But I have come to know the
millennials well. It is a big generation
of 75 million Americans who in my
experience are deeply concerned
about having a positive impact on
the world; think selflessly about civic
responsibility and the greater good;
and are unusually willing
to serve others. Many
deployed and fought
in the military in the
“forever wars,” and many
more have chosen paths
of service. I suspect that
this millennial generation
will become a so-called
hero generation, not only
for its leading role in
overcoming coronavirus
but for facing other
challenges as well.
As I sit at home social-
distancing, my days of
forward deployments are in the wake of
my life’s voyage, but I am privileged to
watch my family members go forward
into the fight for our nation’s health and
economy. I am deeply proud of what
they are offering to the country, how
they fearlessly step into the flow of his-
tory despite all the personal risks it en-
tails and, above all, how willing they are
to serve us. There are so many ways to
serve this country. But in this time of
true emergency, we should be particu-
larly glad for our medical professionals,
and thank them sincerely and constantly.
Stavridis was the 16th Supreme Allied
Commander of NATO. His latest book
is Sailing True North
Admiral Stavridis
with his wife Laura,
rear, and their
daughters Julia, left,
and Christina
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COURTESY JAMES STAVRIDIS
