Note: When you click "more" you will be directed from Rep. Burgess' website to the publication's site

This week will be filled with the imagery of the Fourth of July. On Friday, we will stock up on hot dogs, gas up the boats and look up at fireworks, all part of the annual celebration of our nation's birthday.

But while we are cooling ourselves in the pool or lake of our choice and enjoying the freedoms our nation bestows, a few hundred of our fellow Texans are huffing and puffing through a hot summer at Fort Sill, Okla., training to face an even harsher landscape: Iraq.

...The men and women under her command stood at parade rest, hearing words of encouragement from commanders, from U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess and from me. It was the honor of a lifetime...more