KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii, Dec. 26 (UPI) — President Obama expressed gratitude to service members on Christmas Day and remembered the six killed in a suicide attack days earlier at Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan.
The president, in his remarks at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, began his speech by acknowledging the sacrifices made by service members and the risks faced by those deployed overseas. On Dec. 21, six U.S. soldiers died after a suicide bomber on a motorcycle detonated explosives near Bagram, the largest U.S. military facility in Afghanistan.
“Even though we’ve been able to reduce the number of folks who are deployed in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, there are still folks over there every single day,” he said. “And it’s still dangerous, as we saw this past week, where we had some outstanding brave men and women who were killed.”
Obama, who was joined by first lady Michelle Obama, also stated his constant appreciation for the troops and their service, reminding them their work does not go unnoticed.
“And so we never take for granted what all of you do for the American people. You help keep us free. You help keep us strong. And whatever service you’re in, whatever branch, we are extraordinarily grateful for everything that you do every single day. And we hope you guys had a wonderful Christmas.”
Obama mentioned how much he enjoyed his annual visits to the base saying that spending the holidays in Hawaii with the service members ” is one of our favorite things to do every single year.” He did, however, voice a complaint about sharing the gym with Marines which drew laughter from the crowd.
“I generally feel like your Commander-in-Chief is in pretty good shape, and then I get next to some guy curling 100 pounds and it makes me feel small,” he said.
