The DoD has announced that my brigade is slated for another round over in Iraq, sometime between mid-spring to late summer of next year... I don't have a specific date yet, and even if I did, I wouldn't be able to tell you guys about it anyways, so right now, you all know just as much as I do...

I just got back from working down in Fort Polk (the "other" Training Center) as an Augmentee OC (Observer/Controller = referee) for another unit that's heading over to Iraq soon... Even got an offer from the Command Sergeant Major to have him pull some strings and get me transferred down there to work. That would be two years (maybe a little more) of stateside stabilization... I told him I would talk to Household Six and get back to him. Surprisingly, she told me that hurricanes aside, she would LOVE to head down to LA. Being in the south, much closer to family (mostly mine), etc. I sent word back to the CSM that I would like to get pulled down there, but nothing yet... He might not even be able to pull it off...

Now I'm starting to feel kinda guilty, like a rat abandoning a ship that hasn't sprung the first leak yet. I've got some really good guys working for me, so I guess I kind of feel like I'd be hanging them out to dry if I left.

I know that family should come first, and believe me, they do. I love my wife more every day, not withstanding the fact that she's put up with me for a little over 11 years, and my daughter is the most precious gift I have ever been granted. The wife is going to be going through some elective but very necessary surgery soon, and I worry about her adjusting to me being gone again, in conjunction with her recuperation...

The thing is, I want what's best for BOTH my families... The girls AND the guys...

Quote: Originally Posted by GrandpaNoob72 Now I'm starting to feel kinda guilty, like a rat abandoning a ship that hasn't sprung the first leak yet. I've got some really good guys working for me, so I guess I kind of feel like I'd be hanging them out to dry if I left.

Here's a hypothetic for you to ponder: If you turn down the new duty and your brigade goes back... and takes some losses. You are one of the unlucky ones that catches some frag and becomes paralized.

Could you live with your decision? Could your wife & family?

I'd jump at the chance to improve my security as much as possible for both myself and my family.

To me it's a no brainer, but that and two bits will get you a cup of coffee.

wow that sucks...

make me wonder when we are getting our warno now.


i feel your pain on which to go with.

i have been thinking about doing another vacation to Kosovo, but since the other half of my unit just got back from there in july, i would have to be attached to another unit to go.

i imagine some time mid 2009 we should get orders for iraq or afghan. maybe this time we wont get screwed and have our deployment turn into a 22 month deployment.

my 2 cents...

take the OWT job and spend the time stateside with your family.

its not like this is going to be the last deployment to iraq, or anywhere else, and sounds like its more important that you stick around for your family this time.

You've got PM.

Next year - assuming Barack wins Nov. 4 there *might* not be any US presence in Iraq by next year.

I know what Obama has said but I keep hoping we'll just turn the whole thing over to the Iraqis and spend our resources to go find Osama.

So next summer is still a long time off. Who knows?

-MF

Havent you allready done 2 tours over there ?
Thats enough for anyone in my opinion.

Besides ,as a Veteran/advisor/trainer you'd be able to better train the next group of our soldiers for the upcoming challenges they will face in war...

Many lives could be saved with your experience.

I know you, you will do whatever your command tells you to do. If they say go to LA, you will. If it is decided that it is best for you to stay with your troops in KS, you will. Hell, we are supposed to be an educational post but most of our instructors and advisers have already done at least 2 tours in the sandbox. That's just how it is now. I know that whatever mission the Army has for you, you will commit to it 100%.

Time passes quickly and eventually you will be a fat and happy retiree like me who doesn't deploy anymore but has plenty of advice to dispense to those who do.

Fat and happy... Ok, so I'm aready halfway there...

No, only one tour so far, but quite a memorable one for me...

Yeah, I probably will, but being able to be home for my wife and daughter, instead of 5000 miles away..

I really enjoyed the work down in LA... The platoon I was attached to got volumes of stuff that I and my platoon mates had learned over the course of our tour, whether in classes or out on the streets...

I thought it was kinda funny, the final After-Action Review that we gave the platoon, the team senior OC had me talk to them about "Tactics"... Hmmm... What to say about tactics in 5 minutes? BA can tell you, I could talk for hours about tactics...

"Think like a terrorist." Figure out how you would try to hit a Coalition Force element, and then figure out how you would stop an attack of that type... That and read everything you can about the people and religion and culture, so you get insights into the motivational forces that rule the Middle-Eastern mindset. Lastly, learn to speak some basic Arabic. Not enough to understand every word of a Call to Prayer, but enough to follow the general gist of a conversation. You never know when you'll forget your translator card, or when you won't have an interpreter on your patrol... Worked pretty well for us...

GPN, I have not served in the military. But I bet that if you asked your guys what you should do, they would say take care of family first. Best of wishes to you.

But the dang humidity... Gets nasty down here GPN! But you might have the opportunity to drink a bunch of beer with Fred_G...