Out of the Loop

For those of you playing at home, I used to blog with John back in OPFOR’s early days. I think I even thought up the name. Anyhow, I’ve been deployed for 5 months now, and have secured a reasonably reliable internet connection. For those of you wondering- the whole “blogging” thing is pretty tough to start back up after being out of the game for about 5 months.

First of all- look what I’ve missed out on while traipsing around the world with a light infantry battalion: The war between Israel and Hezbollah this summer, North Korea shooting missiles all over the place in July, there were some elections held back in the states, our government changed hands, the PS3 came out, there’s apparently a Halo 3 now, and the SECDEF retired.

Blogging is about providing instant commentary to news, and it is a (hopefully good) habit that you just fall into. So this is my attempt to cold-start the diesel engine. I’ll give you a quick snapshot of my current state of mind. I’m in high spirits, as are the men around me. We are motivated to do good things while we are here –because we will eventually leave this place, and we should leave it better than when we found it. Americans living in the States are very lucky, as are the soldiers that deploy from there, because we’ll get to return when our mission is complete. The people here can’t just pack up and leave after their “tour” is up –it is never up.

We’ve got a limited amount of time to make a difference in the society (or whatever society) we find ourselves deployed in. As a free-thinking guy, I hate showing up and saying “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help!” But what I can do is point to the patch on my uniform, the American flag, the US Army, or my unit, and say “America is here, and we’re going to keep you safe.”

The American Army is respected because they are the most competent, disciplined, and generous organization that has ever provided a security blanket to a thankless world. To bring this home, I haven’t seen my girlfriend in months, I miss my folks, especially as the holiday season approaches, and I can’t drink. However, I’m proud to be here, and I’m going to man my watch on the wall, and when I leave the people here will know that America did something right. That’s what makes the difference.

Until next time, from the OPFOR command post (forward)

OUT HERE