Road Trip

The past week has been busy. On Wednesday myself and my boss and another paralegal flew down south to visit one of our subordinate units down in southern Iraq. I was a little anxious of flying after the tragedy of last week end, but I knew that the guys down there needed some of our help so I just said a little prayer and brought all my lucky religious medals. The first flight we took was a funny looking plane called a "Sherpa" which looks alot like a box kite with wings. We landed and spent the day and night at Camp Adder (near Talil). It was interesting to experience a different camp. On the first day, I had lunch with a group of Romanian soldiers. The Camp itself is "owned" by the Polish. By owned I mean controlled. At any rate it was a much smaller camp with fewer amenities, but they had something we really envied: peace and quiet. Ha ha. You see, where I am is Camp Anaconda. Which is really big and noisy. It is a air force base as well as a army camp so there is constant noise related to aircraft (helos) and planes taking off at all hours). The worst is the F-16s that seem to be taking off from your hooch and landing in your yard. Think the "city". Camp Adder on the other had...is like the suburbs. More relaxed...quieter. Few take offs and landings. Everyone there seems to be much more relaxed. On Friday, we left Adder trip to visit other elements of the company that were located in "the country". These were tiny FOBS(forward operating bases) that were even more relaxed then Adder. We flew medivacs Blackhawks to each of those locations. We flew extremely low. On the trip we saw a lot of different landscapes. We saw deserts and swamps. The swamps looked like the everglades. Very interesting. And of course we saw camels. Lots and lots of camels. It was along day. We got back late and then left to come back home the next day. Overall it was a fun trip and it made the week go by fast. As I was flying back home I couldn't help but think about what all my friends were doing the last few days back in Albany. I am sure they were doing the usual stuff...working...preparing for the next Zuzu's show...drinking some wine. Living their lives. Well...I was flying all over Iraq. How's that for something different? I will post some pics of the trip soon. In the meantime, I am counting down the days until I come home. 14 days and a wake up. I can't wait.

Grief

EVEN IN OUR SLEEP...PAIN THAT CANNOT FORGET...FALLS DROP BY DROP UPON THE HEART, UNTIL, IN OUR LAST DESPITE, AGAINST OUR WILL, COMES WISDOM, BY THE AWFUL GRACE OF GOD.


AESCHYLUS

This post is a tribute to the 12 soldiers who lost their lives on Saturday when their Black Hawk crashed. I knew several of these men. They were part of my Brigade. Yesterday we paid tribute to them. We have lost Fathers, Mothers, Husbands. Brothers. Soldiers. Good People. We will never forget them. Pray for them and for their families.

Fairy Tales

When you are along way from home and feeling lonely there are times when you question how you truly feel about someone. And you worry how about what they feel for you. I asked T to wait for me....and its a tough thing to do. Asking anyone to give up a year of their lives is never easy especially when you both know the risks involved in this. There of course is the danger of the combat zone...and then there is the long distance thing. At any rate it is a very hard thing. I know that my love is very very unhappy right now...misses me...wishes I was home. But here I am. So we fall asleep alone and wake up alone. The days blend in to one another and as time goes by the doubts keep perculating deep in our minds. How do we feel about each other? How has my being away changed our relationship? Are we in trouble? Sadly I don't know the answers to these questions. I feel quilty about putting someone I love through this. Its not deserved. I don't want to be selfish. I want what is best for us both. I will be coming home in 29 days. We'll have to talk about this. I dread this. I guess I want to live a fairy tale. I want there to be a happy ending. But like this war...maybe there will be no happy ending for us. But I am still hoping...still wearing the ring. I still love you babe. Please remember that.

Countdown to Leave...35 Days and a Wakeup

Well here I am posting my very first post of 2007. It has been a quiet so far. I am glad the holidays are over though. Now we all are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. We have been counting our days until we go on leave and the days left of the deployment. We can all say that we are leaving Iraq...this year...2007. We think...haha. The President is going to be presenting a plan to "surge" another several thousand troops to Iraq in the coming months. Speculation is that the Army will meet these goals by speeding up deployments for troops preparing to come to Iraq and extending existing deployments (like us) for up to 90 days. If this happens...we may end up in Iraq until late fall/early winter instead of coming home in July/August. I am ok either way I quess. But I know my love wants me home even sooner then that. My friends too. But I will have to wait and see about how it all turns out. In the meantime...I got my leave dates....and they begin on the 14th of February and go until the 28th. 15 days. I am looking forward to that so much. I will be leaving Iraq a few days before that and hopefully getting back to the US by Valentine's Day. Oh the thought of a romantic dinner in the City really sounds nice. Hang in there baby. I love you. Can't wait to see you. We are planning a big party for that following weekend and then I will be taking a trip down south to see my family in Kentucky and Tennessee. Well anyway. I think this New Year is starting out pretty good. I am real happy and exciting about what the rest of the year will hold. I hope the rest of you are doing good. Talk to you soon...and see you all soon.....35 days and a wakeup!