So I am writing this from Camp Dwyer. I left FOB Geronimo late last night/early this morning when the helicopter came in from the darkness to take us away from our home for the last seven months. It was a bittersweet moment as I have really enjoyed my time deployed with an amazing group of Marines and sailors. I know that this will probably be the one and only time I get to deploy in combat with an infantry battalion and will truly miss the experience. It is one that has shaped me and my ministry for the rest of my life. I could fill many posts and pages reflecting on the deployment and the last 14 months with the Marines and sailors of 1/9.
Now I get to stay here at Camp Dwyer and give them their last required brief before leaving Afghanistan. It is nice to spend the last few minutes with them at the air terminal here as they are full of smiles at the prospect of hitching a ride to Manas (0n what they call a "Freedom Bird") and then onto the US when their next plane shows up. Today was the overwhelming majority of H&S company who are now at Manas. I look forward to seeing the others as they flow into and out of Dwyer and am personally starting to realize this is all ending in the rapid future (though I don't think it will fully hit me until I am in the line on the tarmac for the flight out of here).
Hopefully I will post some more before I leave as I have a lot of dead time right now, which is a new experience. By the time I finally get back to NC I will have been in the field for a total of right around 300 days this calendar year. I hope I find some hobbies to fill a the time I have coming up. I know there is some travel, including a trip to Whistler, in my future but it will seem odd to have 30+ days of a light work load.
For the 1/9 families, your Marines and sailors have done an amazing job out here and you have every right to beam with pride for their work. This deployment has affected each of them (in a positive way I hope) and I think they will be better for the experience. I do know they are eagerly looking forward to getting home and getting some much deserved rest.
2 comments:
Dear Chaplain,
Words cannot express what we as the 1/9 family feel for you. Thank you seems inadequate but I assure you it's heartfelt. Thank you for being there for our Marines and Sailors! As a Marine family member....Semper Fi...Oohrah!!
Thank you so much for sharing. I am not sure if we are more excited to see our sailor or if he is more excited about seeing a real gym...lol. Thanks for all you did for our Marines and Sailors, as well as the children of Afghanistan.
Post a Comment