Off To The Desert: Day One

12 NOV 2009
DAY ONE: So I’m at the flight line at Fort Hood, TX. They’ve just started loading the trucks on the plane. It’ll be a few hours before we’re set for wheels-up. Just before I got on the van to come out here, I spent a little time with my best friend, Jenny. She just got back to the states last week. With an Iraq deployment under her belt, she found herself attaching a 3-point sling to my M16. Clueless was I. Whether its ten minutes or ten hours, we’ve always made the most of our time together.

I was pretty fortunate to have my deployment delayed a week. If we had left on time, I wouldn’t have got the chance to see her. Crazy how things work out. It was tough saying good bye, but not as tough as I thought it would be. I'm not going to lie. I did have a cry or two earlier in the week, but for some reason, when it was time to actually take my rifle and say good bye, I was ready. And I felt stronger than I had in a long time. Strong enough for a year in the desert. I know Jenny has a lot to do with that. The advice and words of wisdom she’s passed on has been more that a battle could have asked for.

So now I sit here, waiting patiently for the order to load up, and I filter through my thoughts. Part of me can’t believe that this day has come already. I’ve been looking forward to deploying since the 22nd of March, 2005, the day I enlisted. Now four years, seven months and two weeks later, I’m finally off to the desert. Now some might ask, “Why do you want to go so bad?” It’s not that I’m desperate to go. It’s just that I joined to make a difference. And after watching battles sent two, sometimes three, times to the desert, leaving friends and family behind, I can’t help but feel a sense of duty. Most things in this world aren’t fair, I understand that, but it’s just not right that some Soldiers have been sent down range more than once. And then there are others who have yet to go, and most of them have more time and service than the ones with multiple combat patches. So if by sending me, and Uncle Sam can keep a desert weary Soldier home, than I say, send me. Then there’s the teacher in me. One of the main reasons why I joined the Army was to get a good background and knowledge base of this war and bring back what I gain from my worldly travels to the classroom. The best teachers are those with experience. What better way to become a great history/social studies teacher than to go out and experience what’s happening in the world. So I say again, send me.

STILL DAY ONE: Wheels up baby! So I’m about twenty minutes into the flight and I have to say it: I freakin’ love my job! We’re on a C17, an Air Force plane that can hold vehicles and troops. We’re currently sitting in jump seats that attach to the walls. Seven of us Soldiers and some trucks. There’s one little window in the door, but besides that, it’s like sitting in a really loud garage. Thank God for ear plugs. Four hours ‘til New Jersey and then we’ll have an over-night lay-over at Fort Dix. Then it’s off to Germany we go, so we’ve been told. Flying by the seat of our pants, so to say. No pun intended.