Our military is an often overlooked element of our nation's power and success, and that is downright shameful. No matter your political opinions or your societal status, you can't deny that one of the biggest reasons our country has been unwaveringly free over the past 200-plus years is because of the brave men and women who have, and continue to, make the ultimate sacrifice to protect our rights.

President Ronald Reagan once said, “freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. It has to be fought for and defended by each generation.” The brave American soldiers who have fought for our freedom to ensure that it gets handed down to the next generation are the true heroes of American history. Think of this as one big revolving cycle: today's generation was handed their freedom from the generation before them along with the responsibility of protecting that freedom for the generation of tomorrow and, heaven willing, this cycle continues for generations to come.

In August of this year we were brutally reminded of the sacrifices of our soldiers and that freedom comes at a great cost when the attack on the Kabul Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan during the evacuation of American soldiers and Afghan civilians from unjust Taliban rule which resulted in the murder of 13 American soldiers. They died protecting innocent civilians and their sacrifice should never be forgotten. This tragedy was the eye-opener of our generation to the costs of freedoms and the selfless acts of sacrifice made every day by many of whom we don't even know and who don't know us, but know that by enlisting in the military they are making the most selfless, honorable decision to put themselves on the line to protect others.

We know the names of the 13 recently fallen, but unfortunately not of every person who serves and has served in the United States Military, even though they are more than deserving of the recognition.

Freedom is not protected by an elected politician. It may be enforced by a politician, but freedom is truly protected by the men and women brave enough to fight for it. They fought to gain freedom in the Revolution, give freedom to slaves in the Civil War, protect and reinforce the freedoms of foreign civilians in both World Wars, and continue to serve to protect them for our nation today, even though we are not technically in wartime.

The selfless sacrifices of our brave service members every single day are not something that should be so easily overlooked. We tend to only acknowledge them on holidays like Veterans Day and Memorial Day, when in reality we should honor them every day. When you utilize any right bestowed on you by the Constitution whether it be freedom of speech, religion, the right to vote, etc., know that you only have that right because of those willing to fight for them.

May we never forget that freedom doesn’t come free, and those who serve are our greatest heroes. Let us remember that we are truly, ‘Land of the Free because of the Brave.’