commitment for being commissioned as an officer. when i saw those tragic attacks on our homeland, on the united states, on the twin towers, i was serving in the aircraft carrier at the time, it was a moment i knew i needed to continue to serve, because what i was doing was important, my time in uniform was important, and defending our country was essential. so from that point forward, i stayed for another 15 years. i think there are so many people -- i mourn the tragic loss of the 13 americans who died during the evacuation. and they put their lives on the lines to continue to defend our country overseas and understand that we have enemies overseas and they're still there and they're still sticking to our allies. i look back and think about our 20 years in afghanistan, the success of that was truly that we did prevent terrorists from gaining ground and planting a seed in afghanistan from which they could launch attacks against our country. but as we withdraw, i think it's an incredibly tenuous time.