Often in the Navy when Sailors are asked why they made such an commitment, they respond with a simple "to serve my country." Service to the Navy is inevitably service to the United States, and in reflection on the meaning of the 4th of July the depth of that sacrifice can clearly be seen.

We carry the same values and mission that our founding fathers implemented nearly 2 1/2 centuries ago. Expressions like freedom, democracy and liberty are thrown around with ease in the Navy and the weight of these words can easily be lost. These words were not given to us freely. They were paid for in struggle, war and blood by men who gave their life to make this country what it is today.

The 4th of July commemorates the signing of the Declaration of Independence -- perhaps the most powerful document in American history. In the late 1700s the American colonies faced an unjust political system and a tyrannical leader who ruled them from thousands of miles away. Throughout the 18th century, American colonists began to grow weary of the rules and taxation that came from across an ocean to pay for foreign wars and distant debts. Tensions arose over the course of the American Revolution, and the general consensus of the colonies was to come together under a single motive. They decided after "a long train of abuses ... it [was] their right, it [was] their duty, to throw off such Government."

When the 56 delegates of the 2nd Continental Congress convened in a meeting room in Philadelphia, they were dedicating their lives to freedom from an oppressive government. To the British empire that lorded over them, the document was seen as treasonous and the colonists mere rebels. Committing a signature to that worn parchment was a bold statement to the king. They knew if America was not able to solidify its independence and they were not able to rise up against a cruel ruler, they would be punished with little mercy. They were the organizers of one of the greatest rebellions in history and if they could not secure their liberty, they would surely be dealt death.

The founders of this great nation hung their reputations, power, and ultimately their lives on the line to ensure that the land they now called home would be founded on the belief that "all men were created equal."

Freedom has never come without cost, and even now 240 years later we pay a price to not only maintain a state led by the people, but to ensure our interests abroad are protected by those same values. We as a country once again have experienced abuse from cruel and oppressive organizations. While we may not fear taxation without representation, there are groups in the world which aim to destroy America and its values. As men and women of the armed forces, the Sailors of USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69)(Ike) must carry on the principles laid out in the foundation of the Declaration of Independence.

In modern times, the effective implementation of liberty and justice no longer requires the brutal battlefield war of the American Revolution, but there is still a human toll attached to the fighting. With the progression of technology and the inherent nature of the Navy, the majority of Sailors are kept directly out of harm's way, far from the fire fight.

Ike is deployed as the crown jewel in a strike group designed to eliminate all those who stand in the way of a peaceful and protected America. Just as the 2nd Continental Congress called upon a Navy to protect America from a tyrannical king, now the government has called upon Sailors to protect us from the tyranny of ISIS.

The Ike Carrier Strike Group has taken up the torch and is now the forefront in Operation Inherent Resolve, putting more than 7,000 Sailors on the adversary's doorstep. It sends a clear signal to our enemies that when they look out across the water and see the silhouettes of our warships, they will know America does not waver in the defense of freedom.

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