As Americans pack up for a busy weekend of vacation plans, thousands of military service members continue to protect the United States at duty stations around the world.
On Thursday and Friday, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks made personal phone calls to thank those serving overseas during the Christmas season, according to a press release from the Department of Defense. .
The military’s top brass thanked the men and women for their service and sacrifices at home and abroad, especially during this time.
Austin and Hicks also acknowledge the “enormous sacrifices” military members and their families make throughout the holidays.
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Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin delivers remarks during the US Naval Academy Graduation and Commissioning Ceremony at the Naval Academy May 26, 2023 in Annapolis, Maryland. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
According to the press release, Secretary Austin spoke with service members from the following units:
- The 494th Expeditionary Fighter Generation Squadron of the US Air Force. Airmen from this unit are maintenance professionals responsible for all flight-level launches, recoveries, and ongoing operations wherever the Strike Eagle is assigned to deploy.
- USS BOXER of the US Navy. USS BOXER is the flagship of Amphibious Squadron 5 and is currently underway for amphibious and marine integrated exercises in the Pacific.
US military personnel and volunteers prepare for the arrival of evacuees at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. (Photo at Ramstein Air Base) (Ramstein Air Base)
According to the press release, Deputy Secretary Hicks also spoke with service members from the following units:
- US Marine Corps ‘V22’, 2d Battalion, 2d Marine Division. Marines from this infantry battalion are forward deployed to serve as a Ground Combat Element in support of US Indo-Pacific Command Global Force Management requirements.
- The US Space Force’s 5th Space Warning Squadron, Detachment 5. Guardians from this unit provide strategic and theater missile warning to the US and our international partners.
- Task Force Marne of the US Army, 3rd Infantry Division. Soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division are deployed to Poland to work with NATO allies and regional security partners to provide combat-ready forces to V Corps.
US Air Force pilot Brad Lynch stands in front of an Air Force A10 fighter aircraft during a media day for the International Air Force Maneuver Air Defender 2023. (Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Throughout his term, President Biden along with First Lady Jill Biden, have marked major holidays by taking time to call on members of all six branches of the military.
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On Thanksgiving, President Biden shared with X that he spoke with members of the military, calling them “the best of us.”
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“This Thanksgiving, Jill and I reached out to members of our Armed Forces to offer our heartfelt thanks for the sacrifices they make every day to protect our freedom,” the president wrote in a post on X. “They are the best of us.”
US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden read Twas the Night Before Christmas while visiting the Children’s National Hospital in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, December 22, 2023. (Julia Nikhinson/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The president and first lady on Friday also carried out another tradition during their third annual visit to Children’s National Hospital.
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The first lady read Clement Clarke Moore’s “The Night Before Christmas” before the Bidens chatted with the children and their parents.
“Jill and I spent a lot of time here — just like you parents did — with our kids, because of their circumstances,” Biden said. “You know that old expression, ‘where there’s life there’s hope.’ I hope you kids come back when you get out of the hospital and hang out with the other kids, so you know what it’s like.”
