Day 96

Well, this is a first. It’s approaching 10pm here and I’m ... wait for it ... in my office. I arrived here shortly after 7am this morning. This is nuts! Anyway, in the interest of sleep whenever I get that opportunity, I’m drafting this post now so my head-bob later doesn't prevent a hiccup in my daily posting. But am I working ... that’s the question ... no, not really. Instead, I’m stuck here because our bosses from another base are visiting and want to watch a movie across the hall here. So here I am ... doing a small bit of work, talking to my mobilization specialist back in the States (talking about my going-home orders), and writing to you.

The day started like any other except that I almost slept in. A more rapid brewing of the espresso and consumption of cereal. The bad part about rushing? I dropped the top of my espresso pot and cracked it. DANGIT! Luckily, it doesn’t impact the ability to brew…but it still stinks. I love that thing. It essentially is the giver of my Caffeine-IV drip every day. Once in the office, our guests were here not even an hour later which made our office instantly crowded. A few hours in, a fellow soldier here on base walked in…she’s going home in two days.

Let’s call her “Jo.” Jo and I have been working together a lot as her task force here handles everything base-related…especially construction and major maintenance and I get much of that stuff for her. They are a National Guard group. Anyway, most of them have gone home and she’s one of the last to go. A few days back, I received an “out-of-office” message from her saying she had to head out on an emergency mission. Today, she walked in to say goodbye and shook my hand. I asked about the mission and it turns out, it truly was an emergency. A fellow soldier on his final mission before heading home to his wife and family was shot point-blank by an Afghan soldier imposter as they stopped to help him along the road...supposedly to help with a flat tire…a tire that wasn’t flat at all. This soldier was a personal friend of hers. A lot of National Guard folks have been together for years and are like family.  As she told me the story and her mission which was to gather up all of his belongings to be shipped home to his family, her eyes welled up and she fought back the tears. I tried to deflect the conversation a bit to avoid her breaking down which worked but she was clearly rocked by this. I felt for her…I really did. I just couldn’t imagine having to go do that for a friend. This conversation really brought it home again…which I’m thankful for. It’s so easy to get complacent in a 7-day work-week and let your guard down. This is proof that we all must keep our head on a swivel and trust no one. Where I live, there are HUNDREDS of local-nationals on base. Many of them are standing on the serving line at the chow hall serving me my mashed potatoes. Most are good people but there are plenty of bad folks out there who are waving money in front of them to turn them. We are fighting a very unconventional enemy so we have to think the same way. I think tomorrow is a good day to clean my weapon…it’s been awhile. If you want to read about this soldier, it has been made public online in his local newspaper. I always prefer to read the local paper instead of the Associated Press. It’s much more personal and talks about the fallen’s family. I am asking that you take a few moments and read it after today’s post. Here is the link: http://thegazette.com/2011/07/10/cedar-rapids-soldier-killed-in-afghanistan/.  And yes, he is listed on the Department of Defense website link that you will find on the right side of my blog.  “RIP, brother.”

The rest of the day was just the same ‘ol, same ‘ol. As the night wore on, I saw the writing on the wall and just knew I wouldn’t be going back to my room anytime soon. Calls to Dorothy and my girls and a failed attempt for my dad and now here..drafting my blog to you.  It’s now 10pm and I think I’ll pause and cross my fingers that soon, it’ll be time to leave.

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Well, I’m back at my room now. It’s 11:55pm. To end today, I thought I’d share a video which is 18 years old and by Billy Ray Cyrus. It was shared earlier with me from a friend. I think it’s perfect and fitting to end today’s post. For those of you reading this via e-mail, here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydWhRObVxrM For others, it’s below. Listen to the words.

Goodnight, everyone.