CIA Station Chief Recalls Mother's Day Abroad and Tribute to Late Wife Kim

Ten years ago on Mother's Day, I served as a CIA station chief in a South Asian war zone. Many of us were married with kids, some quite young. We often talked about being apart from the families we loved. We took some comfort in serving together behind enemy lines on a mission to protect our country from terrorist threats.

Our spare time usually involved stories about our children back home, which our spouses passed along. That never made up for missing our children's milestones, holidays together or their sports events.

Several female officers at our station had children too young to grasp their mothers' careers or overseas work. They just knew Mom was far away and returned for short visits during her tour. Even one year apart felt like forever, given their young age.

Mother's Day calls for dads and children to honor moms with family meals, flowers and homemade cards.

FIRST LADY MELANIA TRUMP WELCOMES MILITARY MOMS TO WHITE HOUSE FOR MOTHER'S DAY

When Mom deploys overseas with the CIA, families might get an occasional FaceTime call if the internet works. CIA work stays secret, so children rarely know her real job. They might hear she works for an international company or another government agency. Mom never shares details like holding a high-threat meeting in full gear with a Glock, M4 and body armor to meet a source linked to a terrorist group.

Or debriefing a source with intelligence on an Al Qaeda network plotting harm against us.

Or spending the morning on trauma first aid, marksmanship practice then driving across the country to meet host-government counterterrorism officials.

Or briefing the CIA director and the White House in a late-night secure video teleconference.

THE QUIET WAR: HOW TERROR HAS EVOLVED SINCE SEPT 11

Until their teenage years, our sons had no real sense of what it meant that their mom, my late wife Kim, worked as a CIA disguise technician. She disguised officers to recruit spies and steal secrets without detection. All they knew was that Mom made the best pancakes and waffles, snuggled them at bedtime, comforted them when sad, cared for them when sick, gave generous Easter candy and Christmas gifts and threw great birthday parties. The only hint of her secret work came in the elaborate Halloween costumes she made, which won heaps of candy from impressed neighbors.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION

Celebrating Mother's Day with Mom deployed can transform children over time. They come to value her patriotism, sacrifice, bravery and role in national security.

The late Charles Krauthammer stressed the need for a strong, forward-deployed U.S. presence to spot and stop overseas threats before they hit our shores. Sept. 11 showed how terrorists from ungoverned spaces, including South Asia where I served my last overseas tour, could strike the homeland despite the distance.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Mom serves as an undercover CIA officer on the front lines defending our nation. That defines balancing work and family as a role model.

On this Mother's Day, take a moment to appreciate moms separated from families on vital U.S. missions overseas, even without clearance to know the details or dangers. Pray for their safe return to waiting families.