Finally at Home!

Finally, I have completed my year long tour and I am safely back with my wife and kids in Atlanta.

I flew into Atlanta Wednesday afternoon and members of our church were waiting for me at the gate to "escort" me through the airport and ensure that Mara and the kids and I got linked up. They then carried my bags to our car for us.

As we drove into our neighborhood, little did I know that Mara had made some secret plans with our neighbors. There were at least 30 neighbors waiting for us waving flags and cheering me home. Quite frankly, I was speechless.

All is well now and I'm not going back to work for the next 2 weeks.

I'll continue to post on my blog as I rest up and regain some energy.

Almost Home

In 24 hours my plane will be touching down in Atlanta and I'll finally be home. My year long deployment is all but over and I must say I feel relieved.

I'm still at Fort Bliss but all of my redeployment tasks (like turning in gear and filling out forms) is done, so all I have to do now is wait until tomorrow morning to get on a plane and fly home.

Although it feels like I have left Iraq behind me, it seems to have followed me here.

I learned yesterday that one of my friends in Iraq was killed by an IED.

His name was Phil and he was a fellow contracting officer.

Phil and I first met when I was attending the Naval Post Graduate School and we were both surprised when we ran into each other again in Iraq. Phil was a Navy officer and was very well respected within our command.

Phil was traveling outside of the IZ to oversee construction of a new Iraqi Justice Facility. Phil's convoy was hit by an IED and he and two others were killed.

I spent time with Phil just 2 days before I left Iraq and its very hard to beleive that he is now dead.

Phil was dedicated to our mission in Iraq and I am proud to say that I served along side of him.

Although Phil almost made it to his home in the US, I'd like to think that has been welcomed Home as the Hero that he is.

Although my deployment in Iraq has come to an end, the mission there goes on.

In Kuwait

Hello from Kuwait! Although it is not the nicest looking place on the Earth, at least its not Iraq.

I flew into Kuwait yesterday afternoon and I'll hang out here until I catch a flight to the states this weekend. In the mean time, I've been cooling my heals by reading, catching up on some sleep, and "de-compressing" as much as I can before I get home.

The Army has gotten a lot smarter over the past 18 years. When Desert Storm was finished, they couldn't get us home fast enough. Although that sounds great, there was a lot of "culture shock" for us to deal with that I think led to a lot of "issues" for many. Now the Army is not in such a rush to get us back and that might seem cruel to some, but actually it has its benefits. Soldiers are able to take their time getting adjusted and can get re-assimilated back into "the real world" better.

Next Stop: Fort Bliss, Texas.

Last Day in the IZ!

Well, this is it. Late tonight, I will be leaving the IZ and making my way to the Baghdad International Airport to begin my journey home. I will keep you all updated on my progress through this blog and then will make at least one final post once I'm home with my final thoughts on this past year.

SEE YOU SOON!