I have just returned from my second tour in Afghanistan.  In light of this I was asked to write a story of courage.  I have a lot of respect for the soldiers out there doing their thing, and daily there are heroic events and efforts.  Is this courage?  Certainly.  But to me the tales of courage sought here needs to contain an element of the unknown; an unknown and truest fear which is ultimately faced alone.  I will write about Afghanistan, but not before I acknowledge a first-hand display of courage whereby I saw in her eyes fear and the unknown, and despite my presence the knowledge that she was ultimatley on her own.

My wife was pregnant with our first daughter and we had done the traditional prenatal training and preparations.  As the pregnanc y was going well throughout we had unconciously dismissed the possibility of a cesarean birth.  On a final checkup it was discovered that my daughter was in fact breach and not happy and that an emergency cesarean was to be conducted immediately.  Neither my wife nor I had even discussed a contingency for this.  The fear in her eyes was gut-wrenching but her composure was solid ... Courage.

I watched the incision and the layers gone through to get to my daughter.  I watched as they sliced her open, clamped and tossed gauze strands over her head and tied them off for presumably better access.  Her eyes and the unknown at this stage were again telling but the composure remained ... Courage.

My daughter came out bum first and got stuck.  The staff moved my daughter every which way to release her and all the while my wife maintained that composure.  I know the feeling of stitches and the unsettling tugging on the peripheries of the freezing where you know what is happening, and convince yourself you feel something.  The longer this takes, of course, the more it takes to remain composed and these weren't just stitches ... Courage.

My daughter was born healthy and both mother and daughter are great.  It was four months later that my wife discovered she was pregnant again.  She knew immediately that a pregnancy so soon after an emergency cesarean would require a second.  The unknown no longer existed but the knowledge of the experience to come was very fresh.  Is there courage still?  Certainly, only replaced in large part with Strength.

Both my tours in Afghanistan were to occur after the birth of both my children.  The first when they were both still in diapers ... Courage.

For my wife and all mothers, but this time especially to the army wives at home dreading to watch the television or read a newspaper ... Courage.

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