I can call you Joe, can't I? It's an honorable name, a name that generations of young Americans have carried into war, a part of the tradition that binds people like you to people like me, and it's a name that resonates around the globe and across the years. Millions of lives are better because we answer to it. It's yours now, you've earned it.

It occurs to me that you need no advice from me. You have had the best training on the best equipment from the best officers and NCOs in the world. Rather, what I think you may want more than anything else is the assurance that no matter how far from home you are, no matter how isolated and foreign the landscape you survey, and no matter what you hear you are neither abandoned nor alone.

You may have heard that the country is behind you, that may well be, but it's a big country and it's opinions can change. In fact, it is neither the most thoughtful opinion or the most widely held opinion, but often the loudest opinion you will hear. Do not be discouraged. There are opinions closely held and unchangeable on which I urge you to rely.

Stand on the view of your father that there has never been a stronger or more courageous soldier than you. Rely on the faith of your mother that only God loves you more than she. Treasure the promises and prayers of your husband or wife, and cling to the view of your children that no more super a hero than you ever battled evil so completely. And rely on the respect and affection of your friends and family for it underlies their certain expectation of your safe return.

Finally, I would say to you that when the battle plan disintegrates, as it surely will, fight on. Not for glory, not for fame, but for the fella to your left and the fella to your right. They are not all you have, but you may well be all they have.

Be well, be safe, and come home to us soon.

Love,

Dad. Not just your dad, but every dad