Our Troops

According to Al Neuharth there are 1,432,400 active duty military men and women serving our country. Add to that number 846,200 Reserve troops. Of these two million plus soldiers there are 300,000 who are serving overseas, of which 100,000 are in Afghanistan alone.
During the course of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) there have been nearly 2,500 KIA (killed in action). Many of these deaths have occurred in the last four years due to IED's (improvised explosive devices; aka roadside bombs). Walking around Fort Jackson on Armed Forces Day and Memorial Day makes you view those holidays a little differently. Many of the men and women in uniform have been to Iraq and/or Afghanistan. Some are going for their first time while others are returning for a second or third tour of duty. Some of them have lost fellow soldiers. They understand the cost of American freedom. Today, we remember those men and women who paid for our freedom with their blood just as Jesus Christ purchased our freedom with his blood.