Update #1
July 11th, 2008

So my wife and I have arrived and I signed in yesterday. We made the long drive from the Bay Area, CA to North Carolina, staying in various hotels here and there. As hurried as we were we did manage to catch some sights along the way. I WISH we hadn't forgotten to keep our camera because there were some great sights to share.

The most spectacular of all was our visit to the Grand Canyon. Words cannot give that place justice. Only pictures can even begin to describe what it's like in person. We also had 3 deer pass within 15 feet of us on one of the trails.

Entering Texas on I-40 was a sign that said "Welcome to Texas, Proud home to George W. Bush." At this point my wife asked me, "Want to hear some Dixie Chicks?" as she inserted the CD I didn't even know we had. I don't listen to country music but they weren't bad. I really wanted to try some Texas BBQ but by the time we stopped it was a town called Shamrock, population 15 and all we could find was a crappy hole-in-the-wall diner.

I forget where it was but we also passed a HUGE cross on the side of the road that was proclaimed to be the largest on the Western Hemisphere.

I've only lived in heavily industrialized areas and large military towns. I never realized how much of our country is so uninhabited. There is countless miles upon miles of beautiful scenery with very few people living there to enjoy it.

So now, I'm here. For the next week I'll be with a unit dubbed "82nd Airborne Replacement Battalion" where they do their in-processing and send us off to our respective units. I'm going to be spending this next week, and then 10 days 'Permissive Leave' I'll be given, working hard to gain back my Paratrooper shape and lose these recruiter duty pounds I've gained.

All I know thus far is I'll be a part of 3rd Brigade, which is rumored to be going to Iraq in November. I also heard that some units (might) get diverted to Afghanistan, which is an assignment I've been wanting. And let me be clear. I've always been vocal about Iraq being a huge blunder, but I will never complain if that's where I'm sent. I owe it to my fellow Soldiers, especially my subordinates to be a Soldier first and always keep my head in the game. But like Obama "I'm not against all wars, just dumb wars." And I would especially be enthusiastic about going after those responsible for killing 3000 Americans.

Whether or not the rumors are true, in the 82nd it's not a matter of if- but when you will deploy. I'll keep you up on developments as they come about. I'll also try to post diaries from my place of deployment. But if I do I must keep OPSEC (Operational Security) as my single most important priority. I may not be able to provide any specific information whatsoever, possibly not even my location.

But right now that is all premature because I've received no official information other than which Brigade I'm being sent to. For now I'm just happy to be back, and soon to be doing what I love. I can't wait to be back into the swing of things. Dealing with the butterflies just before a jump, getting dirty and sweaty in the field, training, road marches, live fire exercises, all that good stuff :o)

Cheers!

PS: Right now we're at my mother-in-law's place. I won't be able to post as often until we get into our own.

Update #2
I've learned that I am definitely deploying to Iraq "sometime around November."

I've also been assigned to a rather unique position. I really wish I could share it with you but, after consideration, I decided it's probably not a good idea. I'll just say that it's a huge opportunity professionally but unfortunately it takes me out of the mainstream fight with the rest of the guys. I'll still get some exposure but not in the same way.

One Soldier again echoed rumors that we "could" be diverted to Afghanistan. For now that's just a rumor and practically meaningless. When I espressed my desire for that to happen he gave me some more insight. Not too long ago he deployed there. As he explained it's much, much tougher in Afghanistan and the numbers don't lie. We have far fewer troops there and more casualties. He described the treks they have to make up huge mountains at high altitude in the freezing snow. He's seen "PT Studs" (Physical Training studs) get "broke the FVCK off." In civilian terms that means extremely exhausted.They are in dire need of troops and combat assets, like fixed wing and rotary air support.

My first PT Run with my unit showed me how out of shape recruiting made me. The run was slower than I used to run and I was dieing, dripping with sweat when we got back. But I have no doubt I'm getting better and I can't wait to be back into Paratrooper shape again. Thankfully the Sergeant Major who interviewed me understood it would be like that and nobody really rode me about it. It's still very hurtful pride-wise to fall back from the group. Every platoon has at least one or two who fall back, but you never want to be "that guy."

I picked up an issue of Army Times talking about the new GI Bill. Went to their website to post information about it and instead found this interesting article. As it turns out my desire to go to Afghanistan is fairly common.

http://www.militarytimes.com/news/2008/0 7/ap_lookingforaction_071608/

GIs in Iraq: We want to fight in Afghanistan

And here's an interview the Military Times did with Barack Obama.

http://www.militarytimes.com/news/2008/0 7/070708mt_obama_transcript/

Cheers everyone!