Recently in Life Category

I have arrived at a place called Camp Adder. A wonderful little desert town in the middle of nowhere. Life is quiet here, comfortable, with all the amenities of home. We're currently waiting to move to our actual area of operation. While it is comfortable here, most of us are bored to death. It'll be better to be employed which should come soon enough.

Travel from Buehring to Camp Adder was relatively uneventful. Stopped briefly in Baghdad and then continued on to Camp Adder. We were basically up all night. However, the rooms at Camp Adder are quite comfortable so it was pretty easy to get a good night's sleep and catch up.

I had turned in a small load of laundry at Buehring which I had to leave behind. That leaves me short on underwear, t-shirts and socks. For some reason the exchange here at Adder doesn't have any of those items in my size, in stock. Things are rather primitive where I'm going so it would be good to have at least a week's worth of underwear and socks. Right now I have about 5 days worth. I'm hoping to fix that before I leave or my new nickname will be Stinky Smittie. I'd prefer not.

Soon we'll push out to our area of operation and begin the real work.

310 days left on this deployment

I'm on the airplane, flying back to Fort Dix. Leave is over. It will be approximately a year before I see my family again. It is likely to be an exciting year, at least for me. I expect that my son will change dramatically over the next year. He's in that time of transition from little boy to man. I'll miss a holiday season but another group of soldiers will be home for the holidays as a result of our going.

I will see two elections. Provincial elections will be held soon. National elections are scheduled to happen some time next year. Efforts to capitalize on the opportunity presented by the improved security that the surge afforded continue. Pushing the local, provincial and national governments to assume their role in leading and providing for the nation will be a core component of our mission. I hope that we are able to get beyond the rebuilding of basic infrastructure and begin to see the building some of the higher level structures that promote economic growth and a maturation of the social and cultural environment. Small businesses, social venues, parks and sporting events. As the security improves and citizens feel safe to walk the streets they are able to move from simply surviving to enjoying life and even celebrating life. I'd like to see a large wedding. I'd like to see a concert. I wonder what their parties will be like? I would like to see the community or communities I work with move from a characterization of fear to one of life in all its facets.

A significant part of the motivation and enjoyment of serving in the military is being part of something bigger than me. I am going to participate in the building of a nation. One nation was torn down and now a new nation is being built. We don't spend enough time understanding that. My family participates in something bigger than them through me. The challenge before me is to share the experience with my family so that they feel they too are a part of what I am doing and catch the excitement. Much like those whose parents and grandparents served in World War II feel a connection to that great effort. Especially those who can remember their loved ones going off to war and coming home.

So, tomorrow morning I'll wake up in the barracks. I expect tonight will be loud and disrupted with soldiers coming in drunk and loud. Tomorrow we will begin the next phase of deployment. These are the worst parts of deploying. Life is better once you've arrived in your AO and you can focus on mission and day to day operations. We'll be there soon. Let the day count begin.

aloha

Training is complete. I, along with the rest of the unit, have put all the appropriate checks in the appropriate boxes so that someone, somewhere believes I am now qualified to go wander around in a "combat zone". We were fortunate enough to get an opportunity to take six days leave so that we could make our way home to visit friends and family one last time before we leave. And thus, I have been home for the past few days enjoying time with my family. It is nice to be home. I am also excited about what is ahead. I will miss my family and friends terribly but there is something very exciting and satisfying about being a part of something bigger than yourself.

I expect that when I return to the Army in a few days, things will be quite different. Jumping through training hoops defined by others is over. The focus will shift to getting packed and ready to go. I am sure the first day or two will be harried in order to make sure we're ready. I expect that once we are in fact packed and ready to go, we will wait. That's what the military does. We hurry and then we wait. But, for now my focus is on enjoying these last few days with my family.

As a family we are ready for what is to come. We've been through this once before and it is easier the second time through. We have a better understanding of what to expect. There is a certain peace in the knowledge that comes from having done it before. This makes it easier to enjoy whatever time we get together because we are not stressed out about the departure. So far, it has been a very peaceful and enjoyable few days. Everyone has adjusted schedules to afford more time together but there is less pressure on that time. We have been able to simply enjoy each other's company which has been nice. I'm very proud of and grateful for my family. I think it is very cool that the family is strong enough to handle military life. Even Reserve Military life which, I believe, is harder on the family than active duty.

aloha

Today, my daughter's childhood legally ended. Today, my daughter turned 18 years old. As I sit, some 2500 miles away, the memories of her childhood flood my mind like milk poured into a glass by a five year old. So many memories. So many sweet, sweet memories.

With more time to write, I would wander through those memories recounting each and every one. My daughter was an awesome child and is an amazing person. It is only the promise of what she is yet to become that holds back the torrent of sadness that would overwhelm me at the passing of her childhood.

My daughter very often seeks my counsel. She also does me the honor of taking my advice. When she was first old enough to understand what it meant I told her that she only gets one childhood and then the rest of her life is adulthood. Do not rush toward adulthood but cling to childhood and innocence. I believe that my daughter has truly enjoyed her childhood. I believe that she has managed to carry more of her childhood into adulthood than most people. Good for you, girl! Good for you!

"Go on, take on this whole world but always know the road that will lead you home again..."

aloha

Crescenta Valley High School in 1978. One of the many things I will miss as a result of the upcoming deployment is my 30 year reunion. I'm actually rather bummed about that. I was looking forward to going. I was looking forward to talking to old class mates and hearing what life had done.

A few years ago I was talking to a friend who is some 10 plus years older than me. He had gone to all of his high school reunions, 10, 20 and 30. He had an interesting observation. At the 10 year reunion, most people were still trying to impress each other. Broad brush caveats apply, obviously, but for the most part that seemed to be true at my own reunion as well.

I did not go to my 20 year reunion. My friend said that he enjoyed the 30 year reunion the most but that the 20 was better than the 10. By the time everyone got to the 20 high school really was a thing of the past. When the 30 rolled around, many had children who were teenagers and thus were seeing the teenage years from the other side of time. It's funny but adolescence viewed from the vantage point of a middle age parent seems but a caricature of what it was when we were living it. This usually plays out in the form of an argument, the teen accusing the parent of never listening. Yeah, that's mostly true but the reason that parents don't listen is because we know the script. We're embarrassed at the realization of how ridiculous we sounded when we uttered the same words now being flung at us. The wise among us also remember how important the statements and the emotion behind them were as a teen and parent accordingly.

So, according to my friend, the 30 year reunion is far more relaxed. By the time people reach their late 40's, their pretty comfortable with whoever they've become. Even if they aren't yet comfort in their own skin, they realize that their old high school class mates probably can't help them.

I wish I was going to be there. I hope that I can somehow hear about it.

aloha