[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 21 (Friday, February 17, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S1456]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        ESSAY OF AIR FORCE CADET

  Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I received a letter from the director, 
legislative liaison of the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, on 
behalf of the Air Force Chief of Staff. He called to my attention an 
essay that was written by a fourth class cadet at the U.S. Air Force 
Academy. His name is Joseph R. Tomczak. I was moved by this essay to 
the point that I want to take my time this morning to read it to 
Members of the Senate because it articulates, in a very succinct way, 
why our young people today look to the Armed Forces as a career, and 
why they make the decisions they do to fight for freedom and to fight 
for this country.
  We all greatly respect all people who take the time to serve in our 
Armed Forces, whether it is during a short enlistment period or they 
make it their lifetime career. This essay is well stated, and I think 
not only does it speak as to why a cadet would decide to serve in one 
of our academies--in this case, it happens to be the Air Force 
Academy--but it gives us insight as to why people would pick the Armed 
Forces to serve in during part of their adult lifetime or why they 
would dedicate their entire life to a career in the U.S. Armed Forces.
  So here is the essay. It is titled, ``Winter Break.''

       So after our sunburns have faded and the memories of our 
     winter break have been reduced to pictures we've pinned on 
     our desk boards, and once again we've exchanged t-shirts and 
     swim suits for flight suits and camouflage, there still 
     remains the question that every cadet at the U.S. Air Force 
     Academy in Colorado Springs has asked themselves at some 
     point: Why did we come back? Why, after spending two weeks 
     with our family would we return to one of the most demanding 
     lifestyles in the country? After listening to our friends who 
     are home from State or Ivy League schools chock full of 
     wisdom about how our war in Iraq is unjust and unworldly, why 
     would we return? And after watching the news and reading the 
     papers which only seem to condemn the military's every 
     mistake and shadow every victory, why would we continue to 
     think it is worth the sacrifice of a normal college life?
       Is it because the institution to which we belong is 
     tuition-free? Anyone who claims this has forgotten that we 
     will, by the time we graduate, repay the U.S. taxpayer many 
     times over. in blood, sweat, and tears. Is it because the 
     schooling we are receiving is one of the best undergraduate 
     educations in the country? While the quality of the education 
     is second to none, anyone who provides this as a main reason 
     has lost sight of the awesome responsibility that awaits 
     those who are tough enough to graduate and become 
     commissioned officers in the U.S. Air Force.
       I come back to the academy because I want to have the 
     training necessary so that one day I'll have the incredible 
     responsibility of leading the sons and daughters of America 
     in combat. These men and women will never ask about my 
     academy grade point average, their only concern will be that 
     I have the ability to lead them expertly--I will be humbled 
     to earn their respect.
       I come back to the academy because I want to be the 
     commander who saves lives by negotiating with Arab leaders . 
     . . in their own language. I come back to the academy 
     because, if called upon, I want to be the pilot who flies 
     half way around the world with 3 mid-air refuelings to send a 
     bomb from 30,000 feet into a basement housing the enemy . . . 
     through a ventilation shaft 2 feet wide. For becoming an 
     officer in today's modem Air Force is so much more than just 
     command; it is being a diplomat, a strategist, a 
     communicator, a moral compass, but always a warrior first.
       I come back to the Air Force Academy because right now the 
     U.S. is fighting a global war that is an away game in Iraq--
     taking the fight to the terrorists. And whether or not we 
     think the terrorists were in Iraq before our invasion, they 
     are unquestionably there now. And if there is any doubt as to 
     whether this is a global war, just ask the people in Amman, 
     in London, in Madrid, in Casablanca, in Riyadh, and in Bali. 
     This war must remain an away game because we have seen what 
     happens when it becomes a home game. . . I come back to the 
     academy because I want to be a part of that fight. I come 
     back to the academy because I don't want my vacationing 
     family to board a bus in Paris that gets blown away by 
     someone who thinks that it would be a good idea to convert 
     the Western world to Islam. I come back to the academy 
     because I don't want the woman I love to be the one who dials 
     her frantic cell phone call while huddled in the back of an 
     airliner with 100 other people seconds away from slamming 
     into the Capitol building. I come back to the academy because 
     during my freshman year of high school I sat in a geometry 
     class and watched nineteen terrorists change the course of 
     history live on television. For the first time, every class 
     currently at a U.S. Service Academy made the decision to join 
     after the 2001 terror attacks. Some have said that the U.S. 
     invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan only created more 
     terrorists. . . I say that the attacks of September 11th, 
     2001 created an untold number of American soldiers; I go to 
     school with 4,000 of them.--And that's worth missing more 
     than a few frat parties.

  That essay has been submitted by Joseph R. Tomczak, cadet fourth 
class, U.S. Air Force Academy.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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