Timothy J Steele

West Point, 2009

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Adam Nordin on May 30, 2022:

Tim, By now, we' both be majors. You'd probably be just starting as a S3 or XO in some needy battalion as I finish up my KD time. This year has been wild. I had my first kid (I know yours is probably around 10 now?). I think about how he will some day know you- he will know about men with raw talent and fortitude, who give 110% for their team, and who are willing to go toe to toe with their enemy. He will be better, as am I, to know you. A month after he was born, I got alerted and deployed to Afghanistan, where we took part in evacuating 125000 afghans, loads of Allies and partners, and we got ourselves out. I was the lead planner for that final night... I was fortunate enough to be on the last plane to depart that place. Tim- it's over. The war there, for now, is over. The Taliban are in charge, as hard to swallow as that may be. We aren't exactly warm to them yet, but I think the US will establish some sort of relationship with them. It's a wild time to be alive. We are at the end of a pandemic. Russia is at war with Ukraine (and NATO is on full alert), and China is our biggest competitor. The us military is stretched by the myriad of priorities. I know you'd be thriving right now. I want you to know your memory lives on. You will forever hold a place in my life. Until we meet again, brother. -Adam

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