As my time in Iraq is quickly approaching the end I have found myself looking back over the past 9 months. From the training in Williamsburg, VA to the crazy trip up to Iraq to the hotter than hell months spent in Iraq it has been a wild ride but a worthwhile one. I signed up for this deployment not sure what to expect and I'm leaving as an Iraq veteran. I'm one of "those" people now. Granted, I'm not an M-4 wielding, ACU wearing soldier, but I did experience some aspects of war. I may have spent most of my time making sure nothing infiltrates American soil, but that doesn't mean that my job wasn't any less important. I have come to realize that now. It has been an honor and a privilege to send these guys and gals home to their families while the rest of us stay behind and carry the torch for them just a little bit longer. Well, it's now my time to pass on the torch. I am both excited and saddened. We may all have not gotten along for the past 8 months and have had our fair share of headaches, but in the end it's all been worth it. This has truly been one of the best experience of my life so far. I have a lot of great things awaiting me in the States and I can't wait to see what the future will bring. There is a person that will be waiting to join me on the journey and with that I am even more excited to see what the future holds for us. Had I not come on this journey and decided to basically put my life on hold, I would have never had the opportunities I have had. I have seen and done things that most people only read about, but now I can actually say that I have been there done that. No one can ever take this adventure away from me and it has definitely made me a better person.
The next couple of weeks are going to be busy and nerve-wracking, but at the end of the day I know that it just brings me one step closer to going home.
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9 comments:
Congrats on comimg home!!! thank you for keeping us safe here in the U.S.!!!
I believe that just about every job is important in the military. You may not be infantry or some other "high speed" mos, but you have been here. Enduring the heat of the day and the freezing nights, the shitty chow and being packed in next to the next guy and girl so tight that it seems your thoughts arent even private. It sucks for us all. Im so jealous that you get to leave. Drink a cold one (or10) for me. God speed.
The Thunder Run has linked to this post in the blog post From the Front: 11/10/2008 News and Personal dispatches from the front and the home front.
Just wanting to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving and to say 'thank you' for serving our country.
Via Mudville ...
Thanks for all of your service and Happy Thanksgiving!
Thank you!!! and Happy Thanksgiving.
What a brave person you are Navy Gal. I know how confusing war can be and how hard is it to get by the monotony. Sometimes I think you underestimate your contribution. That's not a dig...it's just my opinion. What follows is what general patton told his troops before the headed to Germany in ww2. You are important. Never forget it. We love all you folks. God Bless and hurry home safe.
Frank....USMC Vet
"Patton stopped and the crowd waited. He continued more quietly, "All of the real heroes are not storybook combat fighters, either. Every single man in this Army plays a vital role. Don't ever let up. Don't ever think that your job is unimportant. Every man has a job to do and he must do it. Every man is a vital link in the great chain. What if every truck driver suddenly decided that he didn't like the whine of those shells overhead, turned yellow, and jumped headlong into a ditch? The cowardly bastard could say, "Hell, they won't miss me, just one man in thousands". But, what if every man thought that way? Where in the hell would we be now? What would our country, our loved ones, our homes, even the world, be like? No, Goddamnit, Americans don't think like that. Every man does his job. Every man serves the whole. Every department, every unit, is important in the vast scheme of this war. The ordnance men are needed to supply the guns and machinery of war to keep us rolling. The Quartermaster is needed to bring up food and clothes because where we are going there isn't a hell of a lot to steal. Every last man on K.P. has a job to do, even the one who heats our water to keep us from getting the 'G.I. Shits'.""
Just to let you know they're some out here thinking of you, Thank you for your service and sacrifice.
Hang in there, stay safe.
Happy Thanksgiving.
I wish you a wonderful homecoming. Yes, your service makes a huge difference -- and I say that as a former infantryman.
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