Long Distance Promotion

Yesterday I was offiicially promoted to Lieutenant Colonel during a very nice ceremony here in Iraq. But more importantly, yesterday I was able to lay my eyes on Mara and the kids for the first time in Six Months! What a thrill it was for me to be promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and have my family participate in it via a Video Teleconference. Mara went up to Fort McPherson and was able to view the ceremony in a conference room. Afterwards, I was able to "talk" to them one on one. A lot of different people, both here and back in Atlanta, worked hard to make sure the video connection was up and running for us, and for that I am very grateful.

After being promoted, I went through a long list of people I needed to thank. In particular, I wanted to thank everyone over here for continuing to work so hard. I also pointed out a few people in the crowd who had made a difference in my career during previous assignments.

But at the end, I made a point of telling Mara that this promotion would not have been very significant to me if she and the kids weren't there to share it with me.

I am truly blessed.