Mayor Ransom serves his community and his country

On March 31, the Journal-Sun published their second annual April Fool’s edition of the newspaper which featured a fictitious article on Mayor Travis Ransom and what he’d secretly been up to, but the truth is always much better than fictional satire and we’d like to set the record straight and highlight what Mayor Ransom has really been up to since his deployment to Afghanistan last year.

Ransom left Atlanta just after Thanksgiving last year, where after the standard training, orientation, and equipment issue he was deployed to Afghanistan in early January. A Battalion Command Sergeant Major in the Army, Ransom says that being in the military allows you to be part of something bigger than yourself. “Being deployed allows you to see up close the implementation and employment of cumulative years of training put into action as the tip of the spear,” he said.

However, being in the military isn’t just about how you shoot a gun or drive a tank. It’s also about building personal relationships which Ransom says makes a difference. Although the current state of things in Afghanistan doesn’t allow for much interaction with the locals, Ransom has found ways to forge strong relationships with his soldiers and work on his own personal, spiritual relationship. “I’ve been able to attend chapel regularly and encourage others to do the same. I’m also working my way through a Bible study that’s been a great way to build my relationship with the Lord,” said Ransom.

But it’s the relationship with his family that he really misses, and the community of Atlanta that has shown him and his family kindness during this difficult time.

People, Ransom says, aren’t so different the world over when it comes to wanting safety and a better future for the next generation.

“They may look a little different, speak a different language, or have different cultural norms but at their core, they’re all just people, like everyone else,” he said.

Ransom is looking forward to eating some of the local food again, like Luigi’s, and relishing in the personal touches of Atlanta, like the train horn blowing through town and birds chirping outside his window.

There is currently no timeline for his return.

“They may… speak a different language, or have different cultural norms but at their core, they’re all just people, like everynoe else.”

- Mayor Travis Ransom