The Raid on Libya found me in a support unit stationed in Pirmasens, West Germany in 1985/86. I knew that due to the sensitive nature of my clearance level our facility would be one of the first ones bombed if the action ever came hard and heavy into Europe. The Wall was still up, tensions were high and a lot of us were on lock-down. Oddly, my memories are vivid & remind me of how my skin tingled and my senses then were razor sharp. I watched everything and everyone during that time and I've never felt more alive. It wasn't easy wearing a flak vest and eating c-rats from time to time but it was well worth it and I'd do it again. My tribute includes myself, my husband (Desert Storm, Operation Just Cause & many others), my brother (Iraq), my great uncle, Raymond Cooley (MOH recipient, Korean Conflict), my father-in-law, David Tate (Battle of the Bulge, D-Day & others, Purple Star, Bronze Star and others), my cousin (Vietnam UH-1 pilot), my uncle Will A. Davis (D-Day and many others), John Franklin Cooley (1st cousin 4x removed - Civil War veteran), all the women and men I served with and the veterans I work side-by-side with today. There will never be a day that I do not wear my uniform, that I do not hold my head high and that I do not honor the commitment to our people who fought for our rights and freedoms.