I first heard the phrase "Thank you for your service!" when I immigrated to the United States. I quickly learned that this is what people say when they meet someone who serves in the military and/or law enforcement.
What a kind sentiment to hear!
In America, most people are taught to appreciate military members and to acknowledge the hardship of their lives: in training, being among their peers, residing far from home, and the hardship inevitably arising within their families.
That made this write wonder why she had never heard such an expression of gratitude when I lived in Iraq.
Was a lack of patriotism extant especially when it concerned the military, during the period I lived there?
Or was something else missing entirely?!
I remember right after the end of the Iraq-Iran war, our next-door neighbor had a son who was a soldier.
One afternoon, we heard people cheering loudly while others cried.
As children, we were confused by what was happening.
Later, we learned that the soldier (his name was Ali) had been stranded in southern Iraq and had somehow managed to make it back to his family.
People said that he walked all the way from Basrah to our neighborhood in Baghdad.
I never knew whether that story was true or whether it had been embellished to add heroism to his survival.
What I did witness was the joy of the people. Yet I don’t recall hearing a single clear statement of gratitude. No one saying, "Thank you for your service!"
The culture of the United States military reflects a deep understanding of mission and honor. That understanding is rooted in purpose and moral clarity.
When military service is guided by principle, it unites.
When it is misused or shaped by dictatorship, it breeds fear and division.
When this writer was 10 years old, she was invited to join a junior scout program in fourth grade. It was run nationally and had uniforms, training, and a leadership structure. I brought my new uniform home, excited and proud.
My father reacted with rage.
The next day, he ordered me to return everything.
I had to drop out immediately, without explanation.
Only later did I understand.
That scout program was not what it appeared to be.
It was part of the Ba'athist regime's system of control designed to condition children's loyalty to Saddam Hussein rather than to country or conscience, to replace independent thinking with obedience, and to normalize fear as a tool of governance.
I am grateful to my father for living in fear so that we would not be exposed to, or associated with, Saddam's inner circle.
Under authoritarian rule, proximity to power is danger, not protection.
His anger was something I could not understand as a child, but it was an act of survival.
Some reactions only make sense with time and distance.
Through years of working alongside members of the U.S. military, this writer has learned that doing the right thing requires patience, understanding, and moral clarity.
Having seen what happens when military service is stripped of honor and forced into obedience, I understand why America's words matter and why "Thank you for your service!" must never lose its meaning.
Rana Alsaadi is a refugee from Iraq and now a naturalized American citizen. Prior to co-founding PACEM Solutions International in Falls Church, Virginia, Mrs. Alsaadi held multiple senior executive positions and served with the U.S. Department of State as a cultural adviser and the U.S. Department of Defense as a translator/analyst in Iraq. Mrs. Alsaadi earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Baghdad University and her Executive Master of Business Administration from Georgetown University. Read Rana Al Saadi's Reports — More Here.