I've managed to make it to the next stop in my journey. I'm in Maryland right now, somewhere south of Washington D.C. I have to say, I really like D.C. as a town. Alot of cultural melding and diversity makes the place very unique. From one person to the next, you don't receive alot of one-sided discourse or conversation. Which is good. Probably one of the few locations in the U.S. that you can get the right side and left side together to live in somewhat of a harmonious state. From a Navy standpoint, the above view is be completely reversed. I can sum it up in one statement; "In the Navy, the further from D.C. you get geographically, the better off you are."
Shifting gears; of course all the thought I put into what to pack for a year in Iraq has now proved useless. My initial thought process was to pack very light. I packed very little in the way of civilian clothes, which included leaving a jacket at home. I figured it would be cold, but a sweater would suffice. Well, it started snowing this morning...and I'm a dumb-ass. Sure wish I had that jacket now. It wouldn't be useful in Iraq during the summer...but I failed to think about the immediate repercussions. So when I told my wife about this situation, she reconfirmed that "I'm a dumb-ass." Man, she really does know me.
I had an epiphany recently about how to stress out a type A person. Besides the fact that most type A people already teeter on the verge lunacy, most of us think he can always handle a bad situation. This is especially true of Naval Aviators. We live in a world of split-second decision making. So the the way to send a Naval Aviator over the edge is to take any control of a situation completely out of their hands. So far that's what I'm experiencing with this deployment. I'm starting to feel like an amoeba. You know those one-celled organisms that stretch and ooze in various directions....but never burst or break. Anyhow, that's my analogy and I'm sticking to it.
Let's see if I can figure out how not to freeze to death this week, as well as not lose my mind. Simple solution; Go buy a coat. Hard headed answer; Hell no.
1 comment:
My son is a Naval Officer serving in Iraq. When he was "chosen" for this duty, he was angry as he had just begun shore duty after 2 deployments to the Gulf.
After nine months of service, I am amazed at his change in attitude as he is very proud of the accomplihments he and his fellow Naval officers have made. I am very proud of his work in that it means many of the servicemen he serves with will come home, hope fully with as many body parts as when they arrived. The fact that these kids will return home is what has kept me sane during this unsual deployment.
You will undoubtedly add to that number. You sound like a very competent young man so I am sure at the end of this tour, you will be equally proud of the accomplihments the Navy continues to bring to this theater.
As a dad I still miss those everyday moments you discussed. And that is one of the reasons we remain eternally grateful of your service and the men you are there to support.
I look forward to following your deployment. Stay inside the wire.
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