Operation Greenlight

Victoria Smith, Contributing Writer |

As college students, we are able to enjoy a steady pace of life with the freedom to choose our future goals. We have the choice to work hard, meet friends, learn new things, and work our way to success. These things can often be so overwhelming and stressful. We may sometimes forget about the people who risk their lives to allow us to be free.

Just take a moment to think about an incredibly brave person risking their life to protect our freedom. This person may even be as young as 18 years old. Someone your age, just like you, could be the entire reason we have the freedom to choose the course of our careers and futures. This same young person is now returning home to our Oneonta community, and they are faced with the obstacles of settling back into civilian life after their sacrifices for our freedom.

What if that transition from active service to civilian life can be made a little easier because of everyone right here in our Oneonta community? What if we had a way to tell veterans that we continue to think about their sacrifice for our freedom? What if I told you the City of Oneonta has a way to show our veterans just that?

The City of Oneonta and Operation Greenlight need everyone’s help to welcome our veterans home from now until Nov. 13, by displaying a green light in every dorm room window, off-campus residence, and your family’s homes and businesses in Oneonta.

Imagine a veteran of any age who feels lost in their journey back to their civilian life seeing every window lit green just for them. Imagine that feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when you finally get to travel back home from a long tour to see your family. Now multiply that feeling by one thousand as our veterans see a community that continues to honor them during and after their active military service.

Are you ready to welcome our veterans back into the community? We are excited to see your greenlights shining bright. Be sure you post your green light on social media with #operationgreenlight. To learn more about this goal from the city of Oneonta and Operation Green Light, visit www.nysac.org and see what is being done, and what else you can do to support our military personnel!