All soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen are models of selflessness. These brave men and women make a commitment not to themselves but to those around them. For love of comrade, their country and humanity they will die. They never seek that their own will be done, but strive to complete a mission beyond their control.
The job of an Armed Forces member is not to be desired. It is a calling. It is devotion to those whom you not only know and trust, but also to those who scorn and hate what you do. There is no glory in taking the life of another human being or in leaving your wife and children — perhaps forever — to serve in a location most people have never heard.
Our classmates in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps have answered that call. They will leave all they find familiar immediately to face death. They will suffer so those who chose other paths will not know true loneliness and pain. Most importantly, they will lead others in the same venture.
The Catholic Church has in no uncertain terms voiced its opposition to the war in Iraq. It has also taken position against abortion and homosexuality and yet the university rightfully allows programs positioned otherwise to exist. The university has also welcomed speakers who have denounced elements of the Catholic Church. I fear we waste time finding fault and inconsistency others have with the church instead of advancing the will of God.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that "Those who renounce violence and bloodshed and, in order to safeguard human rights, make use of those means of defense available to the weakest, bear witness to evangelical charity, provided they do so without harming the rights and obligations of other men and societies. They bear legitimate witness to the gravity of the physical and moral risks of recourse to violence, with all its destruction and death." Without question, the members of our Armed Forces fall into this category. They have throughout history and into modernity defended the weakest in the world, providing security, hope and freedom.
I ask you to place yourself outside this campus and in the position of a refugee fleeing an invading army. Each day that goes by more innocent people die and more wanton destruction occurs. What would you want to see, an aide worker or an officer in the U.S. military?
An aide worker is certainly a welcome sight. These individuals are making a supreme sacrifice and may die with you. But they cannot expeditiously end your suffering.
As for me, I want to see an officer. I want to hear B-1B Lancer bombers rendering the invaders strategic assets inoperable. I want to sleep within the perimeter of Marine companies. I want my wife and children to be cared for by Navy corpsmen, nurses and doctors. I want to see relief convoys laden with supplies under guard of humvees while M1A2 Abrams tanks drive the invader back. I want peace, not at a diplomat's pace, but at the pace of soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen.
An officer is a model of Christ, a champion of peace, a guardian freedom and a servant to the oppressed. Ask what it takes to be an officer, ask what it means to make the ultimate sacrifice.