As of the early morning hours of April 21st, 2008, I am no longer in Iraq. Seems a little strange not to have to drive down the center lane of a multi-lane highway for fear of IEDs/EFPs, worry about wearing Level III body armor to go take the trash out to the dumpster, or jump into an Up-Armored Humvee to run down to the corner Stop-N-Rob for a gallon of milk, the list goes on...

Our plane from Kuwait touched down at about midnight Central Standard Time yesterday at an airfield about an hour away from my unit's home base of Fort Riley, KS... Within a few hours, I had turned in my weapon, gotten some quickie reinforcement briefings about kicking the dog and kissing the wife when I came home (not vice-versa), secured my rucksack, duffel bag, and gear, and boarded a bus to finally be reunited with my wife and daughter...

Our "Welcome Home Ceremony" was blessedly short, sweet, and to the point. "You boys've done real good, your loved ones are waiting, now get the hell out of my sight!" For anyone who knows what it is to get "Zonked" out of a formation, that's kind of what it was like...

Funny thing... When my Battalion Commander gave us the "Dismissed!", I didn't immediately run to my wife and daughter... I just sat there for a second, blinking... I turned to my friend who apparently was feeling the same thing and not knowing what to make of it, and we just locked in a bar hug and started bawling on each other's shoulders... I guess the unconscious relief of being able to finally "Switch Off" was just a bit much right then...

I stayed up as long as I could to try and get myself back into the right internal clock setting, and finally got to trade in my cot and sleeping bag for a pillow-top and down pillow/blankets... And yet, I still can't sleep all the way through the night... So I guess this post kinda doubles as a therapy session for me...

In between, I got to do some of the small things that you don't get to do from 1000+ miles away...
...help my daughter learn to use a knife and fork to cut up her own french toast, then take her to pre-school and have about 20 other children in her class come up and hug my legs to welcome me home...
...sit on the couch with the wife drinking REAL coffee from my oversized mug and just enjoy the silence and her company...
...watch her sleeping peacefully, after staying up for as long as she could after 36+ hours of worrying when my flight was coming in...
...read my daughter a bed-time story, sing "You Are My Sunshine" to her and with her (Mommy doesn't sing it right for some reason), and tuck her in for the night... then check on her about an hour later and see that she is sleeping soundly with her arms wrapped around her Teddy Bear, an angelic little smile on her face...

A couple of weeks ago, I told a couple of my buddies that it felt like we shouldn't be getting ready to leave Iraq yet... I know that time-wise, yes, we've been there for over a year, now it's someone else's turn to patrol the streets of our Area of Operations...despite all the highs and lows, the successes and failures during that 14+ months of our tour, it kind of feels like we shouldn't be going home, at least not yet...

Now it's over for me and my brethren, at least for the time being... We're not supposed to start training up in earnest again for at least another 3-6 months, starting over from scratch... Seemingly not a long enough reprieve for some, but a blessed vacation to me, keeping in mind that some of my brothers didn't get to come home... I still miss them every day... God grant them Eternal Peace... They've spent their time in Hell already...

I don't know whether or not I am making any sort of sense so far, so let me get to what I know WILL make sense to most if not all to deign to read this rambling, wandering diatribe...

"Thank you" is not enough for everyone here at PCApex who kept my boys and myself in their prayers. Thank you is not enough for those all over the country (and even the world) who gave of their own time and money to send some minor comforts to Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines, most of whom they may never meet or even hear from...

"Thank you" is not enough for all the friends and relatives and loved ones on the Homefront, who kept the home fires burning, the yellow ribbons wrapped around the old Oak tree out in the front yard, the home-made toffee/chocolate chip/peanut butter/macadamia nut/you-name-it cookies coming in on a weekly schedule, etc, so forth and so on...

"Thank You"... Two simple words, sometimes so seemingly insufficient... Yet, in their simplicity, their elegance and appropriateness, for there is no other phrase that I know of in the English language that can so plainly and succinctly express the depth of the speaker's own feelings of gratitude... other than "I LOVE YOU"...

That was beautiful. Welcome back dude

Quote: Originally Posted by Dex That was beautiful. Welcome back dude

Yup. Ditto.

Glad you made it back safely bro. Now get off your computer and spend some time with the family.

Quote: Originally Posted by GrandpaNoob72 "Thank you" is not enough for everyone here at PCApex who kept my boys and myself in their prayers. Thank you is not enough for those all over the country (and even the world) who gave of their own time and money to send some minor comforts to Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines, most of whom they may never meet or even hear from... "Thank you" is not enough for all the friends and relatives and loved ones on the Homefront, who kept the home fires burning, the yellow ribbons wrapped around the old Oak tree out in the front yard, the home-made toffee/chocolate chip/peanut butter/macadamia nut/you-name-it cookies coming in on a weekly schedule, etc, so forth and so on... "Thank You"... Two simple words, sometimes so seemingly insufficient... Yet, in their simplicity, their elegance and appropriateness, for there is no other phrase that I know of in the English language that can so plainly and succinctly express the depth of the speaker's own feelings of gratitude... other than "I LOVE YOU"...

"Thank you" is not enough for the men and women who put themselves in harms way for the American people, and democracy world wide. I don't care what politics / actions put you and the American forces there, and I don't want to argue their validity. All I know is, you went -- and many thousands of others went with you. You put yourselves in harms way. We love you, too.

Welcome back,

-godling

That was touching and absorbing, concise and perfectly worded. Glad you got home safe, and RIP all those who didn't.

Glad to have you back, but I don't want to see you much on here the next couple of months. They should be used to spend as much time with your wife and daughter before you need to head out again

Quote: Originally Posted by godling "Thank you" is not enough for the men and women who put themselves in harms way for the American people, and democracy world wide. I don't care what politics / actions put you and the American forces there, and I don't want to argue their validity. All I know is, you went -- and many thousands of others went with you. You put yourselves in harms way. We love you, too. Welcome back, -godling

My thoughts exactly godling.

And a big "You're Welcome" to GrandpaNoob and welcome back.
Welcome back.

Now get off the damn computer and spend time with the family.

Get off the computer, get off the computer, get off the computer...

I'd be delighted to, but apparently there's some sort of glitch in my account somewhere, every time one of you fine folks posts a response, I get an email about it...

Actually, until I have to go back to work on the 24th, I'm sitting herre plowing through the Honey Do list that HH6 left for me, ad taking an occasional break here and there...

Mom and Wee One are at work and at school, respectively... We sit down to dinner together every night (or at least that is the plan), and weekends are already filledin on the calendar for going places together, all three of us...

Heck, I'm taking them down to Disney in Florida come the first week of June, for my parents' 50th / my daughter's 5th... Sea World is also on the schedule...

Welcome home, John.

Quote: That was touching and absorbing, concise and perfectly worded. Glad you got home safe, and RIP all those who didn't.

Couldn't have said it better...

Welcome home Bro!

If you're passing thru Jacksonville on yer way to Disney, I'll buy ya a cold one

Welcome home John. Its a good feeling to know your pavement pounders are on U.S. dirt Bro

Welcome Back


Now..... where are all the photos of your new TOYZ

Welcome Home Bro :-)

I'd like to thank you for enduring such hardship's on our behalf. You truely are my Biggest Hero :-)

Enjoy your down time my friend, you've earned it. Welcome home.

Welcome Home Bro, and I am not afraid to admit I cried reading this thread....

Quote: Originally Posted by Lokie Welcome Home Bro, and I am not afraid to admit I cried reading this thread....

You were not the only one

Welcome back GradpaNoob. And THANK YOU for your service! Dang it, I got a tear in my nice Bordeaux! Have fun with the family. You deserve it.

E

THANK YOU and I'm glad your home.

A big thanks from me too - I know it's not much, but unless you'll let me paypal you a few bucks so you can have a cold one on me, it's all I've got