I'm still at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana. We're finishing up and getting ready to head back to Fort Bragg in the next few days.
The word is out, although we haven't been officially handed orders, that we will be deploying to Iraq on November 30th. I was hoping the "Afghanistan" rumors would come to fruitition, but it was never a given. At least I'll be home for Thanks Giving, my birthday, and most important.. the next election! A year is a long time to be away from home. My last deployment I was only gone four months. And even then you really miss the small things. Like being able to drive yourself to the store, buy a beer, or even (forgive me for being crude) being able to crap in a flush toilet. And of course you miss your friends and family.
Still, the one hope that comes first and foremost is that everyone comes back in one piece. As much as I feel the decision for this war was a huge fvck up, the Iraqi people deserve a peaceful place to live as much as anybody. Being there once I know many do appreciate our troops as fellow people. They just want the fighting to stop. At least the violence has declined. Big KUDOS to Colonel MacFarland for the great work he has done reaching out to Iraqis. And no, Senator McCain, with all due respect you cannot take credit for any of it.
I haven't been able to follow the news very closely. Just a clance here and there at Fox and the occasional CNN. It's good to see Fox is running their 24 hour infommercial on the last Swift Boat book, Obama version. I also caught mention of a segment (I think it was on O'Reilly) about Dailykos and how we attack our Veterans. I had to really laugh at that one. For me the irony was beautiful. Not only for the obvious reason, but also when you read the founder's BIO. To say nothing of the jackasses acting as if any idiot on the planet can't make a screen name and post on a public blog. I'm sure you all had fun with that one.
I've actually learned quite a bit here but I'm looking forward to heading back to Fayetteville. I'm going to soak up as much freedom as I can before heading out to the box. I'm going to spend time with my family, sit by the pool, and blow off some steam.
I miss my political fix and I miss being able to regularly vent on DKos. Let's keep fighting the good fight and after I leave, keep up the great work.
EDIT: Right before I leave I'll collect email addresses, as some have made offers to send care packages.
BTW, you'd be amazed how many Soldiers told me they also support Obama. But of course there are plenty of hardnosed Republicans as well.
I have an evil plan. I'm going to tell everyone the packages are from a group who supports our veterans (it's not a lie).
At the end of the tour I'll tell them they were from members of the "extreme liberal" blog, Dailykos dot com