WASHINGTON —
The U.S. military is an honorable and respected profession and a way for Americans to serve something larger than themselves, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in Boston yesterday.
Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford was in Massachusetts to accept the New England Council's New Englander of the Year Award on behalf of military members.
He used the occasion to salute the worldwide contributions of service members.
“As we gather here tonight more than 275,000 of your soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are in a 177 countries around the world,” Dunford said. The general is a New England native son, born and raised in Massachusetts and who went to college in Vermont.
Unpredictable Times
He noted that service members deployed today are serving in the most volatile and complex times since World War II. They must deal with the challenges presented by Russia, China, North Korea, Iran and violent extremism.
Service members themselves are the key to any way forward for the United States, he said, and they are examples to all. He spoke about Army Sgt. 1st Class Ivan Morera, who lost his left hand in combat and spent two years not only getting back to active duty, but requalifying as a Special Forces noncommissioned officer.
He spoke about Marine Corps Cpl. Adam Seaner, an artilleryman. Seaner earned the Purple…
