The best and the worst

The rescue of aid worker Jessica Buchanan by members of SEAL Team Six is an amazing story of tenacity, courage and resolve. From nowhere, members of the elite SEAL team arrived to rescue Jessica. She never saw their faces or learned their names; yet each one was ready to sacrifice his own life for hers.

As a retired member of the U.S. Air Force, and with a son in the U.S. Navy, my respect for our military and my confidence in its abilities never wavers. At the same time, I am saddened by the disturbing reports of sexual assault within the military. Consider the contrast of SEAL Team members who saved a life with those who abuse a life. The contrast is unbelievably anomalous. It seems the best and the worse exist side-by-side in our nation’s military, as in our nation.

I strongly believed in and adhered to the high standards of our Air Force core values: “Integrity First, Service Before Self, Excellence In All We Do.” As a country preacher once said of human behavior: “What’s in the well comes up in the bucket.”

Note for bucket list: Make sure the well is clean. Yes, we all have work to do.

Lt. Col. Jeffrey Neuberger, USAF (Ret)

Spokane