Our Citizen Soldiers

THANK YOU SERGEANT KRAMER; FOR YOUR SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY AND OUR COMMUNITY.
THE DEATHS OF WILMINGTON NATIONAL GUARD SERGEANT ED KRAMER AND THREE OF HIS COMRADES IN IRAQ LAST WEEK UNDERSCORE THE IMPORTANT FRONT LINE ROLE THE GUARD IS PLAYING IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN.
IN FACT THAT WAS THE NORTH CAROLINA NATIONAL GUARD'S SINGLE LARGEST COMBAT LOSS SINCE WORLD WAR II.
THEY'VE HAD 15 SOLDIERS KILLED SINCE 9-11-2001.

AT IT ITS CORE, THE NATIONAL GUARD IS THE STATE MILITIA.
GUARD MEMBERS CAN BE CALLED OUT TO HELP QUELL CIVIL UNREST AND ASSIST IN THE WAKE OF NATURAL DISASTERS.
THEY ARE REALLY CITIZEN SOLDIERS WHO TRAIN ON WEEKENDS.
ED KRAMER WAS A WILMINGTON FIREFIGHTER WHO MOVED ON TO THE SUNNY POINT FIRE DEPARTMENT.
IN PEACETIME A GUARD MEMBER SPENDS ONE WEEKEND A MONTH AND TWO WEEKS IN THE SUMMER ON ACTIVE DUTY... USUALLY DRILLING AND TRAINING.
NOT THESE DAYS.
SINCE JOINING THE GUARD IN 1994 ED KRAMER HAD BEEN IN KUWAIT ONCE AND IRAQ TWICE.
IN 2008, THE GUARD ACCOUNTED FOR SEVEN PER CENT OF THE U-S FORCE IN IRAQ AND 15 PER CENT IN AFGHANISTAN.

THE NORTH CAROLINA NATIONAL GUARD HAS ALMOST 12-THOUSAND MEMBERS.
AS WE SPEAK, NEARLY FIVE-THOUSAND OF THEM ARE IN IRAQ.
THAT'S A DAUNTING FIGURE.
THEIR DEPLOYMENTS ARE LONG AND GRUELING… ROUGH ON THE FAMILIES AS WELL AS THE SOLDIERS.
AS WE'VE LEARNED FROM SERGEANT KRAMER AND HIS THREE BROTHER-IN-ARMS, THOSE DEPLOYMENTS CAN ALSO BE DEADLY.
WE OWE THESE CITIZEN SOLDIERS AND THEIR FAMILIES OUR DEEP GRATITUDE.