I’m done with writing for a while

21 June, 2008 – 3:49

I have been trying to get some motivation to write someting, anything really, for the last few months, but I just haven’t cared enough to. I haven’t even had the desire to write out that I am not writing anymore. That, more than anything else, hanging over my head is making me write this.

We are still headed to Germany, Schweinfurt specifically, and we will be there in three weeks, Lord Willing. But I won’t be writing about it for a while, probably many months. It just isn’t something that I find enjoyable and relaxing, and I am not interested in doing this for work. I hope you enjoyed it and benefitted from it.

By flyingshepherd | Posted in Army | Comments (1)

Mid-March

8 March, 2008 – 19:36

It’s been nearly a month since I wrote anything, and that is mostly because I haven’t had the motivation to write. I have plenty of topics when I can remember them, and I have time when I am not squandering it on the internet. So really it just comes down to motivation. I haven’t written because I haven’t cared to write. That’s been changing over the last few days as I have felt the desire to write growing again. So there will probably be some upcoming posts as I take care of the few drafts I have, and tackles the ideas that have been bouncing around in my head. For now though, know that I am fine and I am back to work, doing well and enjoying my days.

By flyingshepherd | Posted in Life | Comments (2)

Leave

12 February, 2008 – 20:31

We just finished a week at my parents’ home in Colorado, and are now at our friends’ home in Washington for a week. I finally am feeling myself relax and be able to reflect on how I am different now. It is interesting, and the talks I have with my wife are lots of fun, even if they get a bit heated occasionally.

We had a birthday party for my oldest daughter, which was fun, along with a Superbowl party. I enjoyed both thoroughly, and loved to see the Giants beat up on the Pats. Definitely a great game. We also took the girls to the Children’s Museum one day, and the Aquarium on another. Both were quite a bit of fun, however, the Aquarium had a Bengal Tiger, which seemed very out of place, but my girls loved it, and especially liked to see me feed and pet the Rays.

I had a game night with my younger brother, and a couple of cousins. We usually play Halo until our eyeballs fall out, however, we only played for a couple of hours this time. We spent far more time playing Heroscape. It is a quasi Axis & Allies type game set in the Valhalla, the mythic resting place of heroes. Very fun; it takes a long time to build the board, however.

The big highlight of the trip was the train ride. My parents got all of us tickets to ride the Ski Train from Denver to Winter Park for the day. So we got the girls up early and got over to the station. It was a great trip. The girls had lots of fun sledding, we also took a Snow Cat tour all over the mountain and had lots of fun.

I can feel myself slowing down to a normal pace again, and I am sleeping much better. The kids (our two, and our friends’ two) are now up and playing wildly, so I am wrapping this up. Things are looking and feeling better, and this coming week should keep things going that way.

By flyingshepherd | Posted in Family, Life | Comments (1)

Reintegration

26 January, 2008 – 19:42

Reintegration was pretty quick and relatively painless. We got back very early on a Saturday morning and were released for a three day pass. Since we were on duty Saturday, the pass did not start until Sunday. So I went home and slept until about noon on Saturday, had the rest of the day off, then had Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday off. Wednesday, we had our medical evals from 8am till about 11, then we were off. Thursday was dental from 9 until noon, then we were off. Friday would have been briefings, but it was MLK weekend, so we got a four day weekend. Tuesday morning we had our finance in-processing; that settled our travel voucher. We also had a legal brief, Chaplain, and Army Community Services. That went from about 8:30 till noon. Wednesday was another half-day collecting some of our gear that we sent home earlier from theater. Thursday we met a second movement of our BN coming back and then were off for the day. Because we didn’t have anyone get in legal trouble on the first two weekends we were given another three-day pass, so we had Friday off, which was yesterday. Our block leave starts on Monday, and after that, we will be back to work. Overall, a very good two weeks that got us back into normal life and ready to get back to work.

By flyingshepherd | Posted in Army | Comments (1)

Back into life

25 January, 2008 – 3:05

I have been back for just under two weeks now, and things are settling into a good routine. All of the re-integration training is complete, and I am fitting into the rest of my family fairly well. My daughters have warmed up to me, and I didn’t realize how much of a daddy’s girl my oldest is until I got back.

The flight back was quick and fairly uneventful, even though the plane we flew on was built in the late 60s. We did have a few guys who showed up to empty houses and bank accounts. It is incredibly sad, but it happens with every deployment. We are helping those guys pick up the pieces and start things over again, which is always hard.

We got my car back and only had to replace the battery, which wasn’t a huge deal, everything else is working just fine. My office is set up now, so I am back to work now, at least for a week, and then I will take off on leave to see family and friends for a while.

The readjustments are coming along, slowly but they are. The idleness is the biggest problem right now. I am not used to an 8-5 work schedule. It is very frustrating to realize I need to accomplish something at 7pm, and not be able to get in touch with the right people to get everything done. I am used to solving issues in hours, and here it takes days; a very rough change. I am also very fidgety. I hadn’t realized how much I had become a do-er over the past year. I was very good at simply being. My internal clock was very paced, and I could sit for hours navel-gazing (though I always preferred contemplating the marvels of the human hand). Now, without something to do, I get very agitated and it is hard to simply sit and be.

The most surprising thing I felt coming back was anger at red-lights. I actually drive quite a bit slower now than before I left, often 5 under lately. However, for no rational reason I get very angry at red lights. Once I talked through this with my wife it went down a little, and is continuing to subside. I just don’t know why I was so mad, interesting though.

By flyingshepherd | Posted in Army, Ministry | Comments (2)

Manas, Kyrgyzstan

9 January, 2008 – 14:42

I am not sure why everyone else seems to knock Manas AB. The base isn’t huge, and there isn’t a lot to do, but there is enough. I think it is because it is so cold here and it seems like every flight gets delayed. I expect the delays; they are more about the Air Force than about Manas itself. So I don’t hold the delays against the base in any way. I love the cold, so that doesn’t bother me much either. In fact, when I was first out here, the forest surrounding the airport was the most beautiful wintered forest I have seen. Plus we are only here for a few days. Perhaps it is the impatience Soldiers have to return home that makes them hate the transition point, but I know how important that time is, and I am even in favor of making it a couple of weeks. That would help Troopers transition out of war, which is difficult to do once they are already back home. So I don’t mind Manas, I could even be stationed here and wouldn’t have a problem. But I only get to enjoy it for a little while longer and then I will be truly on my way home.

By flyingshepherd | Posted in Army | Comments (4)

It is finally snowing

7 January, 2008 – 11:49

Really snowing that is. Big fluffy flakes that are sticking to the ground. We are getting a lot of slush right now, but soon it will thicken up and be enjoyable. However, this does put a bit of a crimp in my plans to get out of here as the AF doesn’t like snow. So it isn’t all positive. I would like to get home soon, so I hope that the snow stops in the next day or so.

By flyingshepherd | Posted in Life | Comments (1)

Quietest Birthday ever

5 January, 2008 – 12:16

I got to celebrate my birthday entirely on my own. I don’t normally like big celebrations anyway, so that wasn’t a huge issue. But the day passed with hardly any recognition of what it was. I only realized that it was my birthday as I headed out to lunch. I didn’t talk to anyone about it out here, and the day passed just like any other day. It very much felt as every other major day that I have missed over here, an event that I am aware of, but not participating in. Only force of will to mark the day as a milestone made it seem more than just the passage of time.

I was hoping to be able to spend the day in Kyrgyzstan; I thought that that would be fun because it is different. Everyone here spends a birthday in Afghanistan, so that isn’t something special. But to be in fantastic Bishkek, now that would be something that very few Americans get to do (even the Air Force, as they only spend 4 months there for a deployment). It is exciting though as it was the last major milestone that I will be marking away from home this go around. I have missed a lot, and this birthday is among the things that I have not been a part of. Thankfully I am going home and will get to celebrate these things again, as they ought to be celebrated.

By flyingshepherd | Posted in Life | Comments (2)

Single Digit Midget

31 December, 2007 – 20:51

I have made it to the single digits for the number of days I have remaining here in Afghanistan. I won’t tell you when exactly I crossed that line, but if all goes well, I will be back at Fort Bragg in under a fortnight.

I have several posts to work on, however, I have been kicked out of my B-hut and now live in my office. The Army blocks WordPress, and pretty much all blogging software/sites, so I haven’t been able to write much even though I have had the time. I am borrowing my assistant’s internet for a bit to catch up on things and get some posts out. If that doesn’t happen, don’t be surprised. I doubt I will be able to write much while I am traveling, and probably not for the first couple of days back in the states.

By flyingshepherd | Posted in Army | Comments (0)

Christmas far from home

25 December, 2007 – 21:06

Celebrating Christmas wasn’t very difficult today; enjoying the celebration was pretty tough. It was very obvious that everyone was trying to have a good time, but nobody was really very excited. The glowing spot is our approaching redeployment and all our energy is coming from our rapid advance towards home.

The day began with a Battalion run; however, we didn’t run. We formed up just before 6 am and as per the agreement with the Commander, if every soldier was wearing a Santa hat, we wouldn’t run. There were NCOs outside the clamshell we met in with stacks of hats to make sure that even if people forgot theirs from the Dining In at the beginning of the month they would have one today.

The heart of the day was spent in parties and gift exchanges. Our staff did a Secret Santa exchange and it was fun to see how creative people were in what they were able to give. I also did a White Elephant exchange with the Aid Station that was fun, especially as gifts started to get taken multiple times.

I also had dinner with the Aid Station, and that is where things felt the most like Christmas. Lunch was at the DFAC, and although they tried, there was not nearly the spirit or effort that there was at Thanksgiving. We are all really looking past Christmas, and it is obvious. The Aid Station, however, put together a spread culled from various DFACs, the PX, and things the medics cooked. About 16 of us ate together family-style, and it felt almost like a family, at least as close as that can come out here. We then played Cranium for a couple of hours and just had fun together.

It was certainly the most sullen Christmas I have ever had; that was obvious when I was able to call home and talk with my family. The same sense of muted celebration. But it is still Christmas, and so it is still a celebration. Even though there isn’t snow here and I am not with my family, this is still the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. So, no matter how muted my feelings may be, or sullen our mood, today is a feast day; it is a good day and I enjoyed it, even though it was hard.

By flyingshepherd | Posted in Army, Family, Life | Comments (1)