Going Forward (At The Speed Of Light)
Well, we are moving ever closer to the beginning of this immense undertaking. To quote Churchill, we are at the “end of the beginning.” Now it is time to for us to prepare in earnest. We have already completed a three-week annual training period that went right through finals week for all of us school types. That sucked. But we were so busy that few noticed until we got back to our homes and families and had to finish up with work and school and get ready to leave for good.
Our training begins even more in earnest now that we have been mobilized and are all assembling in CA to train at a breakneck pace for every possible contingency that we might face. At least that is our hope. We know that there will always be those things you just cannot anticipate. And that’s not a cop-out; it is combat, the Marine Corps and life in general. Here is where Marines must “adapt, improvise and overcome.”
My family is doing alright, I guess. They have had a lot more time to adjust to this deployment than last time. We have spent much time making family come first whenever possible. Thanks to all those who made that possible with your understanding and helpful spirits. Laura and I both feel that the decisions that we have made have been good ones. The boys are adjusting to Dad being gone. Andrew started crawling this last week. I was glad that I was there to see that milestone.
Noah is a little bitter that I am leaving though some of that seems to be that he is left behind. He was crushed when he found out that he was not going to Iraq with me to “fight the bad guys.” Because my younger brother, Nathan, is in Iraq now I have been able to talk with Noah about what we are doing there and why I must go. We pray daily for his safety and so that has helped Noah to grow accustomed to “Iraq” and all it holds for him.
That’s all I have time for right now. My bus leaves for St. Louis on the first leg to Iraq.
Our training begins even more in earnest now that we have been mobilized and are all assembling in CA to train at a breakneck pace for every possible contingency that we might face. At least that is our hope. We know that there will always be those things you just cannot anticipate. And that’s not a cop-out; it is combat, the Marine Corps and life in general. Here is where Marines must “adapt, improvise and overcome.”
My family is doing alright, I guess. They have had a lot more time to adjust to this deployment than last time. We have spent much time making family come first whenever possible. Thanks to all those who made that possible with your understanding and helpful spirits. Laura and I both feel that the decisions that we have made have been good ones. The boys are adjusting to Dad being gone. Andrew started crawling this last week. I was glad that I was there to see that milestone.
Noah is a little bitter that I am leaving though some of that seems to be that he is left behind. He was crushed when he found out that he was not going to Iraq with me to “fight the bad guys.” Because my younger brother, Nathan, is in Iraq now I have been able to talk with Noah about what we are doing there and why I must go. We pray daily for his safety and so that has helped Noah to grow accustomed to “Iraq” and all it holds for him.
That’s all I have time for right now. My bus leaves for St. Louis on the first leg to Iraq.
posted by David Sackett | 01:23
1 Comments:
A Big Ooh-RAH, sir. I'm sorry that I'm not going with you. Leaving the Corps was probably one of the hardest decisions I've had to make, and harder still to see all my old buddies--Sgt. Hollenbeck, Medlock, Bell, Hosterman, Gibson, and all them going back.
Take care of yourself and those Marines, sir. I know Wright left you links to his on-line stuff, but you can also catch mine here and here. You can also e-mail me at dave@klech.net.
Semper Fi and God Bless.
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