Happy Thanksgiving!

As I said to several of my compatriots today while feasting on traditional Thanksgiving cuisine, "The man who does not agree that the combination of turkey, cornbread dressing and cranberry sauce is a delight to the palate has not experienced the fullness of earthly food."  I ate entirely too much, but as my uncle Phil says, "If some is good and more is better, then too much is... just right."  I concur, uncle Phil, I concur. 

Today reminds me that I have much to be thankful for even while I'm over here in Iraq.  I'm thankful to have family that I would rather be spending time with than not.  So many folks don't have all the fond memories of Thanksgiving that I do.  So here's to you, Mom, Dad, Will and MC - I wish I could be there eating turkey, watching football and recounting our blessings together.  Then, of course, there's the extended family gatherings that result in a dinner table full of cousins that are not so child-like any longer.  It used to be that we were all little kids sitting around the same table, but now it's hard for all of us to be there at once.  Nothing ever stays the same. 

But as for my situation now, I have to include a picture of some of the decor they put up at our DFAC (Dining FACility, for the non-Army types).  It was quite extravagant.  Don't worry, all your tax dollars are going to very good use, let me assure you.  We ate very well today.  It's also a tradition to have commanding officers and other high ranking members serve the food on holidays, and today was no exception.  So I got some roast beef carved by a Lieutenant Colonel and a scoop of bread dressing from a Major. 

So after we chowed down, we went to stop by the 'driving range' here on base.  See the photo.  It was funny to be out hitting golf balls on a base in Iraq.  But my swing looked good so no harm done.  (that was sarcasm in case you've never seen me play golf.)  I can see it being a good way to burn off steam or relax.  It's off away from everything else so you have to drive there - which is no small feat when it's hard to come by an NTV (non-tactical vehicle - translated, a Ford F-150 or Chevy Trailblazer, etc.).  But maybe one afternoon when nothing's going on, I could go down and hit a few balls, but then again, maybe not.

Anyway, today is a lay-low day, so I think I'm going to go take a nap and enjoy it now.  Happy Thanksgiving to all of you and thanks for reading!

Veteran's Day

We held a short ceremony yesterday that symbolized the induction of new members into the group of veterans.  It was approximately our 30 days in country mark and therefore the time when members of a deployed unit are authorized to wear their unit patch on their right shoulder - a "combat patch." (See the picture of me with most of my guys - wearing our "combat patches")

Although this is the second time that I've been personally involved in this middle east conflict, I feel a certain difference between myself and other veterans.  I don't fall into the category of those who've been under direct enemy fire or had an occasion to fear for their lives or the lives of their fellow Soldiers.  My job has been one that's left me relatively out of harm's way.  Now, of course my mother is thankful for that, but it still leaves me feeling undeserving.  Yes, I volunteered to serve in the Army.  Yes, I knew that our country was at war.  Yes, I will have spent 28 months in the middle east by the time this trip is over. Yes, I was separated from friends and family.  Yes, I've made sacrifices to be in the Army.  But unless something changes, I will have never been in a life threatening situation.  It's because of that reality that I have a hard time feeling like a veteran and even thinking about putting myself into that group seems to demean its significance.  I feel I have no other choice than to maintain a healthy respect and admiration for those who've had dramatic and horrible experiences in our current conflict and in past wars like Vietnam and World War II.

I honestly can't complain about my circumstances here.  We have it pretty good.  Things are so built up here, it's almost embarrassing to call this a "combat zone."  But if our living conditions are good, our state of affairs on our business side is sad.  Because of an Army decision to reorganize unit deployment schedules, we ended up coming into our area without any equipment from a departing unit.  This may not sound like a problem, but because of the nature of the extended conflict here, most units don't get their full complement of equipment until they get here and take over what another unit left behind.  Basically, it's cheaper to just leave stuff over here rather than ship unit A's stuff back to the states and ship unit B's stuff over here to take it's place.  Instead, they just leave it here and sign it over to the next unit that comes in.  Well, like I said, due to a complex reshuffling, we didn't have any waiting for us when we got here.  So for the last few weeks, we've been slowly piecing together  our required complement of vehicles, radios, weapons and other equipment to get us up to a fully functional state.   Nothing is ever easy, I'm afraid.

I had a few guys over to my CHU (containerized housing unit) the other night for a little Bible Study.  A couple of the guys were pretty young in their faith, so I mostly focused on the basics, sharing a few thoughts about reading the Bible, praying, fellowship-ing and reaching out to others.  It seems that these guys are interested in getting back into right standing with God and learning more about him.  It's funny what people start to realize when they're separated from their families, their country and all the things that clamor for their attention in America.  Some remember that there might be something more to life than entertainment, while others simply look for ways to be distracted for a year.  So, if you're praying, pray for God to use this time in these guys' lives to grab hold of their hearts and bring them back to him.

I had to stop watching 24 with my buddies here.  It was getting ridiculous.  We were watching 2 or 3 episodes every night to where all I was doing was going to work, coming back and watching 24 and then going to bed.  That's part of the reason why I slacked on my blogging and on a couple other things, too.  So now, I have more time to myself, which is nice, and I don't feel like I'm one of the guys just looking for distraction when I'm not at work.  I have to say, though, it was difficult to pull away.  It's a pretty addictive show once you get into it.  It's drama at its best.  The only downfall is when it gets to be unbelievable, which unfortunately, can be quite often depending on which season you're watching.