It's impossible for me to put in words what a spectacular job my team did over the course of our deployment. The work they accomplished went quietly unnoticed on the headlines back home. Yet, every time an Army Brigade Combat Team returned home they had my team to thank. We were the ones who ensured all of their vehicles and shipping containers would return to their respective home stations. Our work allowed them to stay focused on their missions as they transitioned with the incoming brigades. This allowed a seamless hand-over of battle space from one brigade to another. Essentially, we "had their back" while they continued to focus on the fight. During our year in Iraq, my team directly facilitated the redeployment of 18 separate brigades. Working from over 30 different Forward Operating Bases, we worked through every extreme to ensure their successful return home. All of the following units made it home with our help:
Multi-National Division North - 25th Infantry Division "Tropic Lightning"
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division "Broncos"
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division "Panthers"
4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division "Longknives"
25th Combat Aviation Bragade
5th Engineer Group
Multi-National Division Central - 3rd Infantry Division "Rock of the Marne"
1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division "Raiders"
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division "Spartans"
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division "Sledgehammer"
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division "Commandos"
3rd Combat Aviation Brigade "Falcons"
4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division "Sparta Lives"
Multi-National Division Baghdad - 1st Cavalry Division "First Team"
1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division "Ironhorse"
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division "Blackjack"
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division "Greywolf"
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division "Dagger"
4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division "Dragons"
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division "Strikeforce"
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division "Arrowhead"
4th Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division "Dragoon Raiders"
1st Air Cavalry Brigade "Warrior"
20th Engineer Group
The numbers involved in all of this are staggering. My team trained 892 Unit Movement Officers from the various brigades, with a further 445 soldiers being trained in TCAIMS II (Transportation Managers' Automated Information for Movements System). Working through desert heat, sand storms, rain, winter cold, or indirect fire we were able to certify 3,394 shipping containers for CSC (Container Safety Convention). When all was said and done, my team had processed 15,638 containers of various configuration, 649 hazardous materials containers, and 8,566 vehicles for redeployment. This involved countless hours of traveling, sweating, shivering, hunkering, and whatever else needed to be endured for mission success. Through it all, I never heard a complaint from anyone on my team. They worked tirelessly, stayed focused, and always looked out for one another. I called them "The Dream Team" for a reason. They truly were the best of the best. I could gush forever but will spare anyone reading that pain. Instead, I'll just send my sincere thanks to everyone that served with me. I'd serve with any one of you again - any time, any place. You are always and forever welcome in my home.
The Dream Team (everyone who served for all, or part, of the timeframe 10 March '07 - 10 March '08):
LTC Christopher S. "Fort Sam" Houston, Team Chief
U.S. Army personnel:
MAJ Thomas "The Lawyer" Enright - 01 Sep - 30 Oct '07
1LT Virginia "School Teacher" Bax, Assistant OIC
CW2 Robert "Level 6 Data" Gulley, 20 Mar - 20 Aug '07
SSG Robert "Bilko" Turner, Team NCOIC
SSG Michael "CSC" Nares, 10 Mar - 15 Jul '07
SSG Gary "Ice Cream Man" Hunter, 20 Mar - 20 Aug '07
SSG Avelardo "Hurry-up" Casias, Team 2 NCOIC
SSG Jerald "No Stress" Young, Team 2 TCAIMS II NCOIC
SSG Juanda "We don't sleep till it beeps" Bryant
SGT Carlos "The Heat" Rosas, Team 1 TCAIMS II NCOIC
SGT William "Gigilo" Knight
SPC Allan "That Guy" Martinez
U.S. Coast Guard Redeployment Assistance Inspection Detachment (RAID) personnel:
RAID Team 6 (15 Jun - 25 Dec '07):
CPO Thomas "The Hitman" Guyer, RAID Team 6 NCOIC
MST1 Anthony "Bull" Clark, RAID 6 Lead HAZMAT Inspector (Named USCG Active Duty Enlisted Person of the Year 2007 for his service with the DDST-I)
BM1 James "Hud" Huddleston
PO2 Kester "Silent" Glasgow
PO2 Craig "Mama's Boy" Sears
PO2 Yvonne "Aloha" Makalena
PO2 Robert "Taco" Mireles (Named USCG Reserve Enlisted Person of the Year 2007 for his service with the DDST-I)
RAID Team 7 (15 Dec '07 - 10 Mar '08):
CPO Glen "Earnhardt" Powell, RAID Team 7 NCOIC
PO2 Jon "The Banker" Mullins
Special mention needs to be made for both SSG Robert Turner and PO2 Robert Mireles - both of them volunteered to extend with the DDST-I and continue to serve in Iraq. They both extended for one year.
What a year(+) it was. For every story I told there were 100 more every day that I didn't share. Yet, we all experienced them as a team. We'll always be family for our shared experience. Many years from now, even as we grow closer to the end of our time on earth, I'm certain we will all suddenly show the fire of youth in our eyes when we recall the time we were part of the Deployment Distribution Support Team - Iraq. God, what an adventure it was!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Friday, June 13, 2008
09 June 2008: REFRAD Day
REFRAD - Release From Active Duty. Whenever a Reserve or National Guard soldier is mobilized they will have an eventual REFRAD day. It's the last day of their mobilization orders. Mine arrived on 9 June 2008. My mobilization began 12 January 2007. Over the next 515 days I trained at Camp Shelby, MS, journeyed to Iraq, spent over a year FOB-hopping all over the country assisting Brigade Combat Teams, returned to the U.S. via Kuwait, and then closed the loop by demobilizing in Camp Shelby. It seems like a lot but it's just one of several mobilizations I've been on over the past few years. Since January 2003 I've spent 44 out of 66 months mobilized. 31 of those months were spent deployed. Yeah, I've been busy. I'm not the only one. There are many more just like me. Never forget them.
Once again I've come to the end of a mobilization. Hopefully, it's the last one.
Once again I've come to the end of a mobilization. Hopefully, it's the last one.
29 May 2008: My deployment car finally arrives
Back in February I opened a dialog with BMW Military Sales regarding purchasing a new car. This program offers incredible pricing for military personnel deployed for at least 120 days. At the time, I was still working at places like Camp Ramadi and FOB Warhorse. I placed an order before the end of the month and had a deposit wire transferred. Then the waiting game began. A production date had to be secured (first week of April for mine). Then came the long wait for delivery. It takes a lot of patience but it's worth the wait. In the meantime, I came home from Iraq and became acclimated to being back in the U.S. My hope was that the car would be delivered in time to take a road trip to North Carolina over Memorial Day Weekend. It arrived just days late. Oh well, it was still an incredible feeling to go pick it up. Now I'm riding in style. It is a very nice car. I intend to keep it for a very long time.
26-27 April 2008: The Welcome Home Party
What an event it was! The party was over a year in the making. Planning commenced the minute I touched back down in the United States. Over 100 people attended. They included friends, cadets from the Providence College AROTC battalion, and even a West Point classmate who flew in from Chicago. The party was advertised as an all-nighter. It was. The first guests arrived around 1900 on the 26th. Two cabs arrived at 0730 the next morning to pick up the last ten. Damn it was an awesome party. I believe everyone had their fill of food and drink. The party was expertly catered by Kaveman Roasting Company. The menu included pulled pork bbq, smoked chicken wings, and bbq beans. There was plenty to drink. The party consumed at least 12 cases of Yuengling, 4 cases of various other types of beer, three bottles of bourbon, a bottle of gin, half a bottle of scotch, half a large bottle of tequila, and multiple bottles of wine. Many cigars were smoked around a firepit out back. Many toasts were raised. I toasted my team - some of whom are still in Iraq.
It was a party for the ages. Before the night was over the cadets proved that college students continue to be creative on drinking games. They formed two teams and lined cups up along the driveway. Then they dropped their pants and clinched quarters between their butt cheeks. You can guess the rest.... Most of these guys commissioned as Second Lieutenants in the Army a short month later. I think I'll stick to beer pong or flip cup.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
12 April 2008: How do I feel about all of this?
I get asked all the time about my feelings regarding the war. Normally I just shrug my shoulders and smile. Most of the time I'm being asked loaded questions. I've also figured out that people who don't agree with the war don't want to know facts - especially when they show positive signs of progress. However, in the past year there was considerable progress made. The "surge" strategy worked. I don't answer the loaded questions because the people who ask still want to argue the mistakes made early on in Iraq. I want to talk about how we've turned things around, how the Iraqis are now winning. Yesterday an article appeared in the Wall Street Journal. It was written by Michael Yon, who has been reporting from Iraq (and Afghanistan) since 2004 as an embedded journalist. His article summarizes what I know - from direct experience of multiple deployments - to be true. Take the time to read what Michael has written. I couldn't have expressed this any better. Thank you Michael for telling the truth. Here is his article in its entirety.
Let's 'Surge' Some More
by Michael Yon
April 11, 2008
It is said that generals always fight the last war. But when David Petraeus came to town it was senators – on both sides of the aisle – who battled over the Iraq war of 2004-2006. That war has little in common with the war we are fighting today.
I may well have spent more time embedded with combat units in Iraq than any other journalist alive. I have seen this war – and our part in it – at its brutal worst. And I say the transformation over the last 14 months is little short of miraculous.
The change goes far beyond the statistical decline in casualties or incidents of violence. A young Iraqi translator, wounded in battle and fearing death, asked an American commander to bury his heart in America. Iraqi special forces units took to the streets to track down terrorists who killed American soldiers. The U.S. military is the most respected institution in Iraq, and many Iraqi boys dream of becoming American soldiers. Yes, young Iraqi boys know about "GoArmy.com."
As the outrages of Abu Ghraib faded in memory – and paled in comparison to al Qaeda's brutalities – and our soldiers under the Petraeus strategy got off their big bases and out of their tanks and deeper into the neighborhoods, American values began to win the war.
Iraqis came to respect American soldiers as warriors who would protect them from terror gangs. But Iraqis also discovered that these great warriors are even happier helping rebuild a clinic, school or a neighborhood. They learned that the American soldier is not only the most dangerous enemy in the world, but one of the best friends a neighborhood can have.
Some people charge that we have merely "rented" the Sunni tribesmen, the former insurgents who now fight by our side. This implies that because we pay these people, their loyalty must be for sale to the highest bidder. But as Gen. Petraeus demonstrated in Nineveh province in 2003 to 2004, many of the Iraqis who filled the ranks of the Sunni insurgency from 2003 into 2007 could have been working with us all along, had we treated them intelligently and respectfully. In Nineveh in 2003, under then Maj. Gen. Petraeus's leadership, these men – many of them veterans of the Iraqi army – played a crucial role in restoring civil order. Yet due to excessive de-Baathification and the administration's attempt to marginalize powerful tribal sheiks in Anbar and other provinces – including men even Saddam dared not ignore – we transformed potential partners into dreaded enemies in less than a year.
Then al Qaeda in Iraq, which helped fund and tried to control the Sunni insurgency for its own ends, raped too many women and boys, cut off too many heads, and brought drugs into too many neighborhoods. By outraging the tribes, it gave birth to the Sunni "awakening." We – and Iraq – got a second chance. Powerful tribes in Anbar province cooperate with us now because they came to see al Qaeda for what it is – and to see Americans for what we truly are.
Soldiers everywhere are paid, and good generals know it is dangerous to mess with a soldier's money. The shoeless heroes who froze at Valley Forge were paid, and when their pay did not come they threatened to leave – and some did. Soldiers have families and will not fight for a nation that allows their families to starve. But to say that the tribes who fight with us are "rented" is perhaps as vile a slander as to say that George Washington's men would have left him if the British offered a better deal.
Equally misguided were some senators' attempts to use Gen. Petraeus's statement, that there could be no purely military solution in Iraq, to dismiss our soldiers' achievements as "merely" military. In a successful counterinsurgency it is impossible to separate military and political success. The Sunni "awakening" was not primarily a military event any more than it was "bribery." It was a political event with enormous military benefits.
The huge drop in roadside bombings is also a political success – because the bombings were political events. It is not possible to bury a tank-busting 1,500-pound bomb in a neighborhood street without the neighbors noticing. Since the military cannot watch every road during every hour of the day (that would be a purely military solution), whether the bomb kills soldiers depends on whether the neighbors warn the soldiers or cover for the terrorists. Once they mostly stood silent; today they tend to pick up their cell phones and call the Americans. Even in big "kinetic" military operations like the taking of Baqubah in June 2007, politics was crucial. Casualties were a fraction of what we expected because, block-by-block, the citizens told our guys where to find the bad guys. I was there; I saw it.
The Iraqi central government is unsatisfactory at best. But the grass-roots political progress of the past year has been extraordinary – and is directly measurable in the drop in casualties.
This leads us to the most out-of-date aspect of the Senate debate: the argument about the pace of troop withdrawals. Precisely because we have made so much political progress in the past year, rather than talking about force reduction, Congress should be figuring ways and means to increase troop levels. For all our successes, we still do not have enough troops. This makes the fight longer and more lethal for the troops who are fighting. To give one example, I just returned this week from Nineveh province, where I have spent probably eight months between 2005 to 2008, and it is clear that we remain stretched very thin from the Syrian border and through Mosul. Vast swaths of Nineveh are patrolled mostly by occasional overflights.
We know now that we can pull off a successful counterinsurgency in Iraq. We know that we are working with an increasingly willing citizenry. But counterinsurgency, like community policing, requires lots of boots on the ground. You can't do it from inside a jet or a tank.
Over the past 15 months, we have proved that we can win this war. We stand now at the moment of truth. Victory – and a democracy in the Arab world – is within our grasp. But it could yet slip away if our leaders remain transfixed by the war we almost lost, rather than focusing on the war we are winning today.
Mr. Yon is author of the just-published "Moment of Truth in Iraq" (Richard Vigilante Books). He has been reporting from Iraq and Afghanistan since December 2004.
Thanks again Michael. You nailed it.
Let's 'Surge' Some More
by Michael Yon
April 11, 2008
It is said that generals always fight the last war. But when David Petraeus came to town it was senators – on both sides of the aisle – who battled over the Iraq war of 2004-2006. That war has little in common with the war we are fighting today.
I may well have spent more time embedded with combat units in Iraq than any other journalist alive. I have seen this war – and our part in it – at its brutal worst. And I say the transformation over the last 14 months is little short of miraculous.
The change goes far beyond the statistical decline in casualties or incidents of violence. A young Iraqi translator, wounded in battle and fearing death, asked an American commander to bury his heart in America. Iraqi special forces units took to the streets to track down terrorists who killed American soldiers. The U.S. military is the most respected institution in Iraq, and many Iraqi boys dream of becoming American soldiers. Yes, young Iraqi boys know about "GoArmy.com."
As the outrages of Abu Ghraib faded in memory – and paled in comparison to al Qaeda's brutalities – and our soldiers under the Petraeus strategy got off their big bases and out of their tanks and deeper into the neighborhoods, American values began to win the war.
Iraqis came to respect American soldiers as warriors who would protect them from terror gangs. But Iraqis also discovered that these great warriors are even happier helping rebuild a clinic, school or a neighborhood. They learned that the American soldier is not only the most dangerous enemy in the world, but one of the best friends a neighborhood can have.
Some people charge that we have merely "rented" the Sunni tribesmen, the former insurgents who now fight by our side. This implies that because we pay these people, their loyalty must be for sale to the highest bidder. But as Gen. Petraeus demonstrated in Nineveh province in 2003 to 2004, many of the Iraqis who filled the ranks of the Sunni insurgency from 2003 into 2007 could have been working with us all along, had we treated them intelligently and respectfully. In Nineveh in 2003, under then Maj. Gen. Petraeus's leadership, these men – many of them veterans of the Iraqi army – played a crucial role in restoring civil order. Yet due to excessive de-Baathification and the administration's attempt to marginalize powerful tribal sheiks in Anbar and other provinces – including men even Saddam dared not ignore – we transformed potential partners into dreaded enemies in less than a year.
Then al Qaeda in Iraq, which helped fund and tried to control the Sunni insurgency for its own ends, raped too many women and boys, cut off too many heads, and brought drugs into too many neighborhoods. By outraging the tribes, it gave birth to the Sunni "awakening." We – and Iraq – got a second chance. Powerful tribes in Anbar province cooperate with us now because they came to see al Qaeda for what it is – and to see Americans for what we truly are.
Soldiers everywhere are paid, and good generals know it is dangerous to mess with a soldier's money. The shoeless heroes who froze at Valley Forge were paid, and when their pay did not come they threatened to leave – and some did. Soldiers have families and will not fight for a nation that allows their families to starve. But to say that the tribes who fight with us are "rented" is perhaps as vile a slander as to say that George Washington's men would have left him if the British offered a better deal.
Equally misguided were some senators' attempts to use Gen. Petraeus's statement, that there could be no purely military solution in Iraq, to dismiss our soldiers' achievements as "merely" military. In a successful counterinsurgency it is impossible to separate military and political success. The Sunni "awakening" was not primarily a military event any more than it was "bribery." It was a political event with enormous military benefits.
The huge drop in roadside bombings is also a political success – because the bombings were political events. It is not possible to bury a tank-busting 1,500-pound bomb in a neighborhood street without the neighbors noticing. Since the military cannot watch every road during every hour of the day (that would be a purely military solution), whether the bomb kills soldiers depends on whether the neighbors warn the soldiers or cover for the terrorists. Once they mostly stood silent; today they tend to pick up their cell phones and call the Americans. Even in big "kinetic" military operations like the taking of Baqubah in June 2007, politics was crucial. Casualties were a fraction of what we expected because, block-by-block, the citizens told our guys where to find the bad guys. I was there; I saw it.
The Iraqi central government is unsatisfactory at best. But the grass-roots political progress of the past year has been extraordinary – and is directly measurable in the drop in casualties.
This leads us to the most out-of-date aspect of the Senate debate: the argument about the pace of troop withdrawals. Precisely because we have made so much political progress in the past year, rather than talking about force reduction, Congress should be figuring ways and means to increase troop levels. For all our successes, we still do not have enough troops. This makes the fight longer and more lethal for the troops who are fighting. To give one example, I just returned this week from Nineveh province, where I have spent probably eight months between 2005 to 2008, and it is clear that we remain stretched very thin from the Syrian border and through Mosul. Vast swaths of Nineveh are patrolled mostly by occasional overflights.
We know now that we can pull off a successful counterinsurgency in Iraq. We know that we are working with an increasingly willing citizenry. But counterinsurgency, like community policing, requires lots of boots on the ground. You can't do it from inside a jet or a tank.
Over the past 15 months, we have proved that we can win this war. We stand now at the moment of truth. Victory – and a democracy in the Arab world – is within our grasp. But it could yet slip away if our leaders remain transfixed by the war we almost lost, rather than focusing on the war we are winning today.
Mr. Yon is author of the just-published "Moment of Truth in Iraq" (Richard Vigilante Books). He has been reporting from Iraq and Afghanistan since December 2004.
Thanks again Michael. You nailed it.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
05 April 2008: Supporting your deployed loved one
A month ago I flew out of Iraq to Kuwait to begin the redeployment process. It's amazing how time moves on. My memories, and dreams, are still very vivid. Often I find myself dreaming I'm on a Blackhawk or briefing my team on some upcoming mission. Don't worry though - my dreams aren't of bad experiences. I will always feel an emotional attachment to the mission in Iraq. I continue to feel the bond of kinship and camaraderie. Although I'm not deployed anymore, I never lose sight of the fact that thousands of my comrades are still there. It was with great relief that I learned the 15-month rotations would be changed back to 12. Even 12 months is a long time - especially for those who are just now deploying. I know that many of you who've read my blog over the past year also have loved ones deployed (or deploying). How can you shower your love on them while they are away? I'll provide some ideas.
1. Be Patient! Anxiety will be present. It's natural. Just don't let it become your overriding emotional guide. If you don't hear from your loved one for a few days don't assume the worst. It probably just means that he/she is unable to contact you due to mission requirements. They will call or e-mail when they can. When they do they want to hear good news from home, love in your voice, praise in your heart and an absence of worry. It may seem hard to believe, but, your loved one will worry about you probably more than you worry about him. Be strong!
2. Send cards and letters. In this age of e-mail we almost forget how to use the old mail system. Remember when you always had postage stamps handy? Well go buy some more and stay in stock. Mail call in Iraq or Afghanistan still has the same importance it did in Vietnam or World War II. Joes want to receive letters in the mail. It's a little something extra that puts extra enthusiasm in each day. Send pictures of family events and get-togethers. Make certain to remember holidays, birthdays, and other events you know your soldier holds special. Tell all of your friends and relatives where to send mail and frequently remind them to get involved in sending love.
3. Send care packages. Plan your care packages around what your soldier tells you he needs. Keep in mind that there are well-stocked PX's on almost every FOB. Don't send things like baby wipes and toiletries. Joe can readily get those items cheap at the PX. Instead, send things like phone cards, home-baked cookies, and food items that Joe can share with his buddies. Find out from your soldier what the local Iraqis need. Joes frequently hand out toys, soccer balls, candy, and other items to the locals while out on mission. Get involved in this and know that you played a small part in building trust in the local communities your soldier assists.
4. Avoid news about the war! News media thrives on bad stories. You are more likely to hear about a car bombing than the fifty hospitals that opened in the past two months. The reality on the ground and what you hear on TV are vastly different. I won't get political here, that's not my purpose. Your soldier wants to tell you about the good things he is doing. Let him be your source of news about the war and tune out the bad stuff that will cause anxiety (see number one above).
5. Don't ever debate your loved one on the merits of his mission. Now IS NOT the time to get political or idealogical with your soldier. It's fine if you don't agree with the war. Just don't debate your loved one on this issue. Right now it is his mission. A soldier always believes in his mission because to do otherwise would put his fellow soldiers' lives in danger. The Warrior Ethos states, "I will always place the mission first." Your soldier wears the uniform to defend your right to have a differing opinion. Nothing will sap the morale of your loved one more than an angry diatribe of fuming disagreement regarding the war.
Regardless of the FOB, my pointers should help you form a foundation of how to support your soldier while he's deployed. Stay in tune with his needs, requests, and concerns. Always be responsive. Love from home always gives cause for a swell of pride. Do your part. Love your Joe.
1. Be Patient! Anxiety will be present. It's natural. Just don't let it become your overriding emotional guide. If you don't hear from your loved one for a few days don't assume the worst. It probably just means that he/she is unable to contact you due to mission requirements. They will call or e-mail when they can. When they do they want to hear good news from home, love in your voice, praise in your heart and an absence of worry. It may seem hard to believe, but, your loved one will worry about you probably more than you worry about him. Be strong!
2. Send cards and letters. In this age of e-mail we almost forget how to use the old mail system. Remember when you always had postage stamps handy? Well go buy some more and stay in stock. Mail call in Iraq or Afghanistan still has the same importance it did in Vietnam or World War II. Joes want to receive letters in the mail. It's a little something extra that puts extra enthusiasm in each day. Send pictures of family events and get-togethers. Make certain to remember holidays, birthdays, and other events you know your soldier holds special. Tell all of your friends and relatives where to send mail and frequently remind them to get involved in sending love.
3. Send care packages. Plan your care packages around what your soldier tells you he needs. Keep in mind that there are well-stocked PX's on almost every FOB. Don't send things like baby wipes and toiletries. Joe can readily get those items cheap at the PX. Instead, send things like phone cards, home-baked cookies, and food items that Joe can share with his buddies. Find out from your soldier what the local Iraqis need. Joes frequently hand out toys, soccer balls, candy, and other items to the locals while out on mission. Get involved in this and know that you played a small part in building trust in the local communities your soldier assists.
4. Avoid news about the war! News media thrives on bad stories. You are more likely to hear about a car bombing than the fifty hospitals that opened in the past two months. The reality on the ground and what you hear on TV are vastly different. I won't get political here, that's not my purpose. Your soldier wants to tell you about the good things he is doing. Let him be your source of news about the war and tune out the bad stuff that will cause anxiety (see number one above).
5. Don't ever debate your loved one on the merits of his mission. Now IS NOT the time to get political or idealogical with your soldier. It's fine if you don't agree with the war. Just don't debate your loved one on this issue. Right now it is his mission. A soldier always believes in his mission because to do otherwise would put his fellow soldiers' lives in danger. The Warrior Ethos states, "I will always place the mission first." Your soldier wears the uniform to defend your right to have a differing opinion. Nothing will sap the morale of your loved one more than an angry diatribe of fuming disagreement regarding the war.
Regardless of the FOB, my pointers should help you form a foundation of how to support your soldier while he's deployed. Stay in tune with his needs, requests, and concerns. Always be responsive. Love from home always gives cause for a swell of pride. Do your part. Love your Joe.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
24 March 2008: Completing the cycle
And so, Easter weekend comes to a close. I've completed the cycle. Over a year ago I left Providence on a journey that took me to the other side of the globe (again). It started in Camp Shelby, MS. Then it was on to Iraq for a year of FOB-hopping. One year later I returned to Camp Shelby for demobilization, followed by Providence, and then on to North Carolina for Easter with my family. Today ended with me back in Providence. At last I can turn my thoughts forward to the comforting enjoyments of being home. There are no more FOB Hammers, Warhorses, Falcons, Kalsu, Warriors, Diamondbacks........ Soon time will store them into my brain housing group for permanent storage. My experiences will never be far removed though.
After an excellent breakfast of country ham and buckwheat waffles, the priority was packing for the return journey. A whole procession of wild turkeys came down the mountain to peck at corn-scratch in the back yard. Our crazy cat - Itty Bit - headed outside to "stalk" them. The gobbler flared his feathers in a dazzling show of intimidation. Itty kept his distance. It was a comical scene. In the meantime, the elder cat stayed in. Chopper is the family "Catriarch". He's a fat cat, happy and old. You can normally find him next to my Dad. I gave Chopper a little more loving before time to go.
At 1500 we loaded up and drove back to Tri-Cities Airport. Goodbyes were exchanged. This time they were only temporary. I can't express how good it is to know that there will be no more absolute separation of deployment. I'll be back to see my parents in the next couple of months. Then I'll love on those kitties again.
By 2200 I was back in the hooch on the East Side of Providence. It's a much nicer hooch than my accommodations of the past year. It's home. I had an excellent deployment. I worked with an outstanding team of Army and Coast Guard personnel. I have no regrets. I'm happy to be home again.
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