It's Veterans Day and I'm still in Iraq.
Things have gone slowly since we wrapped up our mission here. Getting airlift out of the country is a lot lower on the priority list than getting airlift in! I sort of expected this though and I'm not overly bummed about it. The guys have enjoyed a little break in the action. Everyone has worked very hard over the three months of maintenance that we've been doing.
This has been a very rewarding and very challenging deployment. Each of my three have gotten progressively difficult. Hearing Aidan on the phone or seeing him on Skype as he tried to hug the computer monitor on the other side of the world tugged at my heart in a way I have never experienced before. My fear is that being away from him - and Heather - will only get more painful as he gets older and comprehends that I'm away. Hopefully, with age and understanding it will get a little easier again.
Not that I'm looking to be on the road again soon, though that's always a possibility in my line of work. We'll just continue to roll with the punches and see what happens.
For those of you not fully aware of the position of my career in the Air Force, I'm currently in a "career broadening" assignment. My "main" job in the Air Force is as Program Manager, where I work in an office and deal with budgets, schedules, contractors, and that sort of thing and make sure we're buying the right stuff for the Airmen in the field. This maintenance job I'm on is meant to teach me what it is like to lead troops, see field conditions, and gain a better understanding of how stuff I buy is used in the field. I'm a little over halfway done with this "career broadening" job and will soon find myself in an office again.
The thing is, I've really enjoyed this time in maintenance. It can be brutal. It can wear me down. But helping people and developing a team that deploys for the first time with a new weapon system and absolutely surpassing all measures of success is amazing. I can't take much credit for it; the maintainers know their stuff and my primary job while I've been over here has been to get them what they need to do their jobs and get out of their way. They responded well to that and did some great things.
So, being that its veterans day...and being that about half my troops are already either home or on the road...please, if you see some young Airman, Soldier, Seaman, or Marine in an airport while you are on your travels thank them for the sacrifices they are making on your behalf. Because most of them are leaving a little Aidan or a Heather alone to hold down the fort while they go out to take care of a business that only a few volunteer to do.
