Back Home

I finally made it home a week and a half ago and have been thoroughly enjoying some time off. I have seen most of my family and friends and have enjoyed simply being in America. Being home feels completely normal to me and I haven’t even thought about Iraq one iota. The transition from soldier life to civilian life has been seamless and I rather prefer it that way, I suppose it can be chalked up to my crafty veteran status since I seem to do this every other year.

The last couple weeks in Iraq at times were pretty lame and I doubt I ever had that much free time. We played cards and watched football biding our time before we boarded the plane out of Iraq. Not all was completely unexciting as we narrowly avoided an ambush on our last mission just days before we left country. We were delayed two days in Kuwait when five different dogs smelled something “fishy” on our plane and I swear the beer in Ireland made us intoxicated at a quicker pace then I ever remembered before. It seemed as if everything was working against our coming home. Kiss my butt terrorists you’ll have to try harder than that.

But now I am back and life is good for the time being. Everything here seems to have taken on a new significance and I appreciate things a lot more. Of course I did this before and the feelings do fade with time so I’ll enjoy the taste of real food and the thrill of making my own decisions while they are still new. I have told countless people that it feels completely normal to be back home and that I am doing fine “really I am, don’t worry about me.” Everyone looks at me with a concerned stare just to make sure I am really telling the truth I guess.

I’m taking it easy for now but I’ll head off to school next year and see if I can finish up my three and a half year degree in my seventh year. “There are lots of people who go to school for seven years Tommy, they’re called doctors.” Once completed I think I just might get myself stuck in school for another three years to learn about those pesky things called laws. Who knows maybe there will be another deployment thrown in there? But who am I kidding, with a House and Senate controlled by the democrats we’ll probably be worrying too much about how to put everyone on welfare and see to it that no one has to pay for health care. I survived bullets and bombs now let’s see if I can survive a country where Nancy Pelosi is third in command.

So for the time being I am trying to figure out what exactly I’ll be doing with my blog. As soon as I find out I’ll let everyone know so rest assured, I know that is probably first and foremost on your minds right about now so I’m just looking out for you. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. If you have some time take a minute to think about how well we have it in America. I can’t even begin to list them but playing golf in a free society is right near the top.

A Last Few Thoughts

Since I am only a few days away from leaving Iraq I haven't had much time to access the internet let alone follow the news. When I finally made it to a computer I found out that a lot has been going on in the last few days that concerns me to an extent. In light of those events I'll add my two cents although most of what I am going to say people will probably already be able to guess.

First, John Kerry has been and continues to remain an idiot. There isn't really much left to say on the subject that hasn't already been said. He constantly puts his foot in his mouth and is an embarrassment to America. Whether or not he intended his comment to insult those serving in the military is not the question, because even if he didn't, the end result is that he did. Kerry often touts the fact that he served in the military in Vietnam and thinks that it gives him a pass to continually talk as if he is a lifelong member of the "I-can-make-fun-of-the-military-because-I-am-a-member-of-the-club" or something. In my eyes Kerry revoked his "cool pass" with the military long ago and is no longer immune to criticism when he makes jokes about those who serve. Are there stupid people in the military? Yes. Are there smart people in the military? Yes. But there are also stupid people in college. I would much rather be around truck drivers and welders in the military for the rest of my life instead of having to dwell among the people at universities and the ketchup-heir-wooers of the world in all of their infinite wisdom. What John Kerry doesn't understand is that the people in the military are genuine people unlike the leaders of the democratic party he hangs out with. John Kerry is so far removed from reality that his jokes don't even make sense. He is nothing but an embarassment and the fact that he even draws so much attention when he does something stupid amazes me.

Moving on, elections are coming up in a few days and I have a plea for all voters: Do not let the events in Iraq in the next few days affect the way you vote. Our enemy is a calculating foe and has timed some major attacks right before elections back home in order to scare people away from voting pro-victory. We need leaders to continue to fight terrorism wherever it may be found and right now that place is Iraq. Our enemy knows Americans are a weak-kneed people and is counting on more bloodshed to scare them into voting for the cut and run party. Don't do it though. We need the right people in power to see that we continue to fight so that we can win and show the world we aren't scared to follow through with what we know is right. Enough said, I'll leave the details for you to find out on your own.

I'll share an analogous story with you. The other night I was on the road and our convoy happened upon a donkey in the middle of the road and he wasn't going to move for anything. We drove right at him going 50 miles an hour and he didn't flinch. This donkey was impeding our ability to make progress so we swerved to avoid from hitting him. He stayed in the middle of the road for the entirety of the convoy and never moved. Being experienced soldiers we knew that we needed to press on and continue the mission despite the efforts of the donkey to stop us dead in our tracks. We eventually made it back to base safely and laughed about the whole incident.

Take what you want from the story but all I ask is that you don't let the donkey impede our progress any longer.

That is all I have for now but stick around as I have several posts planned in the near future. I know most soldier/bloggers do not continue to blog upon arriving home but I plan on doing so, so continue to check out my blog. Also stick around to see if I can will myself to make a video blog that I have been thinking about making these past few days.