03/15/2026
There is something sacred about the moment a person raises their right hand and says “I … do solemnly swear..”
We take the oath at different moments in our lives. Some of us straight out of high school, before we have even started our families.
Some after we have already built lives surrounded by tiny giggles and a soulmate.
We take the oath for many different reasons.
Some for education.
Some for opportunity.
Some for a better life.
And some because we understand the fight ahead—and we feel called to stand before it in anyway.
But no matter the reason, the oath means the same thing. It means commitment. It means service. It means stepping forward when others aren’t able to.
When we take the oath, we begin the journey.
We train. We learn. We grow.
We experience the reality of service—the good, the hard, and sometimes the ugly.
There are long days filled with training.
There are ‘training exercises’ that seem like they will never end. There are the moments we joke about—the “hurry up and wait”—that somehow become part of the rhythm of military life.
But through it all, we continue forward.
Because service becomes more than a job.
It becomes part of who we are.
And then there are the moments that remind us what the oath truly means.
The long line before deployment.
The quiet hugs.
The promises to stay strong.
The last look back at the people who mean everything to us.
In those moments, we walk forward with our heads held high—not because it is easy, but because we believe in something greater than ourselves.
We believe that what we do today helps protect tomorrow.
And now, we remember those who took that same oath… and don’t get to come home.
They stood where we stand.
They trained beside us.
They laughed, struggled, and served just as we do.
Their sacrifice is not just part of our history.
It is part of our responsibility.
We honor them not only in remembrance, but in how we continue to serve.
In how we care for one another.
In how we uphold the values that guided them.
Remember them, honor them, and carry their legacy forward.
Prayers for the Tanker community - the families of those that lost a loved one, and those who are still across the blue waters not skipping a beat.
