Wednesday May 16, 2012





Armed Forces

Armed Forces

During his famous Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln said that America is a nation “conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” He proceeded to question whether or not such a nation “can long endure.” The testing ground for such a nation, as he observed, was not in the halls of academia or before the high courts. Rather, Americans prove defend their nation’s existence on the field of battle.

Since the conception of America, the United States military has stood as a line of defense between the American people and those who would see this great land conquered. During World War 2, it was the American military that crumbled the fascist war machines of Europe. Even today in Iraq and Afghanistan, our troops are fighting to rid the world of the disease that is radical militant Islam.

Edmund Burke once said “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” The United States military is our nation’s promise to both ourselves and our neighbors that evil will never triumph.

The men and women who volunteer to stand downrange of enemy fire deserve our prayers.

Through the “Adopt our Troops” program, you can both register and adopt a specific member of America’s armed forces in prayer. What greater gift could you provide these troops than intercession on behalf of our omnipotent God?

Please take the time to adopt one of these soldiers and pray for them every day. If you know a specific member of the military, please register them. More than anything we could personally give them, our troops need our support through prayer.

Featured Member of the Armed Forces for Prayer

PrayFocusArmedForcesAdmiral James G. Stavridis, Commander, U.S. European Command and NATO Supreme Allied Commander, Europe

James Stavridis is a native of South Florida. He is a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. He earned a PhD and MALD in International Relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He is also a distinguished graduate of both the National and Naval Colleges.

At sea, he commanded the Destroyer USS Barry, engaging in NATO deployments to Haiti and Bosnia, and a combat cruise to the Arabian Gulf. The Barry won the Battenberg Cup as the top ship in the Atlantic Fleet under his command.

He commanded Destroyer Squadron 21 and deployed to the Arabian Gulf and the Enterprise Carrier Striker Group conducting combat operations in the Arabian Gulf in support of both Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. He commanded the U.S. Southern Command in Miami, focused on Latin America and the Caribbean.

Ashore, he has served as a strategic and long-range planner on the staffs of the Chief of Naval Operations and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He has also served as the Executive Assistant to the Secretary of the Navy and the Senior Military Adviser to the Secretary of Defense.

He assumed his current post in early summer 2009, and is the Commander of European Command and the NATO Supreme Allied Commander.

IN THE NEWS: About 80,000 military forces based in Europe remain the commands number one tool – both for maintaining U.S. influence across the theater and, when called upon, for projecting power within and beyond it, Navy Admiral James G. Stavridis, the Eucon commander, told Congress. They represent “a viable and incontestable manifestation of U.S. commitment to the region” as they engage with regional allies and partners to ensure their mutual readiness and ability to work together, he said. President Obama’s strategic guidance calls for reducing the U.S. presence in Europe by about 15 percent over the next ten years.

..