This is going to be a short diary. I went to a departure ceremony today. OPSEC traditions tells me I can't tell you how many are leaving or when, so I won't. Our sister unit is going to the place where GI's go quite frequently nowadays.
Since I have been in Germany this is their third trip downrange. They have consistently brought everyone back alive on their two previous ventures. This third departure was conducted with little fanfare. A song, a couple of Colnels, a General, and the throngs of the community faithful were there to see them off. The speech was short. The guidon was cased. The BC said a few words..."For many of you this is your second or third trip downrange...But for Four of you this is your fourth deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan." He then names the four soldiers by name. Perhaps somewhere in the Army there are those being summoned for a fifth time in the seventh year of war. I remember a soldier who attended a board I went to in January. He said, "I live in Iraq, and I come to Germany for vacation." And so it goes...and goes... While somehwere some soldier is dying everyday from Roadside bombs, Americans do their patriotic duty and continue shopping. But for the American soldier, duty in Iraq has become as ordinary as shopping at Walmart. Deployments are no longer a big deal for most. Yawn?