This article is about the 3rd ID Division Special Troops Battalion. The Band is one of four companies that make up the DSTB. The LTC Marcos interviewed for this piece is the Commander of the DSTB - so she would be Eric's boss's boss.
www.stewart.army.mil
3ID HQ battalion assumes responsibility of Iraq mission
- Submitted by Sgt. Johnathon Jobson, 1st Brigade Public Affairs -
COB SPIECHER, Iraq - Soldiers from the 3rd Division Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division received the reigns from 25th Infantry Division's DSTB Oct. 29, in a ceremony held at COB Speicher. The ceremony marked the fourth time that the DSTB, 3rd ID, took charge of troops and missions in Iraq.
With the uncasing of the battalion colors, Lt. Col. Nora Marcos, the commander of DSTB, 3rd ID, and Command Sgt. Maj. Byron Loyd, the battalion command sergeant major, officially accepted the DSTB's mission from Lt. Col. Eric Angeli and Command Sgt. Maj. Valerie Greene, DSTB, 25th ID's command team.
"Special Troops Battalion is responsible for force protection and base defense, but we also have a dining facility, quick reactionary force and the entry control point (that we are also responsible for)," said Lt. Col. Marcos. "We have the Soldiers that provide information and situational awareness to the Division Commander."
In addition to the on base responsibilities, the DSTB also has commitments off base. Relationships built with the local and provincial Iraqi leaders and citizens must also be continued, Lt. Col. Marcos iterated. "Right now they are building two schools in our area. They are hoping to finish the contract for a clinic in a community that has never had one in their existence," Lt. Col. Marcos explained. "We are working with the provincial leaders to put those plans together and execute those contracts. The partnership between this fine unit and the provincial leaders is a legacy we intend to continue."
As the Soldiers of DSTB, 3rd ID, have started their year-long deployment, their path has not been a clearly defined one.
Lieutenant Colonel Marcos however, has her own guidance for the troops. "Where do we go from here? We start the mission and we own it," Lt. Col. Marcos said. "We command and control Multi-National Division-North."
For DSTB, the mission has begun. It's now up to the DSTB Soldiers to write the next chapter in the battalion's history books. It's time for them to once again make their country proud.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Gotta make this a quick one before work.
I've had a few moments with Nathan. Saturday he asked me what would happen if Eric didn't come back from Iraq. I guess Eric and I were kinda naive about how much he was absorbing from news and other people. After I assured him that Eric was trained, had plenty of equipment, and was a support soldier, not a combat soldier - he went on to play with his legos.
Yesterday morning, however, he was sad. Wouldn't eat breakfast and wouldn't tell me what's wrong. Kept wiping his eyes, but wouldn't cop to crying. Now, I guess he was fine by the time he got to school and got distracted by classroom stuff. He was his usual goofball self by the time I picked him up.
Haven't really skyped with Eric much. By the time we get home and log on, it's already 1:00 a.m. his time and we're waking him up. Oh well. We'll make visual on the weekend.
The majority of my soldiers deployed earlier this week. We've still got a few stragglers, but for the most part, they're gone. I got to move into the XO's office. Yay for no cubicle life! But I had a call from a wife whose husband hadn't been gone 24 hours yet - he had been hitting the atm in Maine and caused a negative account balance. Seriously, how do you get in trouble with your spouse less than 24 hours after leaving????
I've had a few moments with Nathan. Saturday he asked me what would happen if Eric didn't come back from Iraq. I guess Eric and I were kinda naive about how much he was absorbing from news and other people. After I assured him that Eric was trained, had plenty of equipment, and was a support soldier, not a combat soldier - he went on to play with his legos.
Yesterday morning, however, he was sad. Wouldn't eat breakfast and wouldn't tell me what's wrong. Kept wiping his eyes, but wouldn't cop to crying. Now, I guess he was fine by the time he got to school and got distracted by classroom stuff. He was his usual goofball self by the time I picked him up.
Haven't really skyped with Eric much. By the time we get home and log on, it's already 1:00 a.m. his time and we're waking him up. Oh well. We'll make visual on the weekend.
The majority of my soldiers deployed earlier this week. We've still got a few stragglers, but for the most part, they're gone. I got to move into the XO's office. Yay for no cubicle life! But I had a call from a wife whose husband hadn't been gone 24 hours yet - he had been hitting the atm in Maine and caused a negative account balance. Seriously, how do you get in trouble with your spouse less than 24 hours after leaving????
Friday, October 23, 2009
Nathan's a genius
Must come from my side of the family. ;)
I had a parent-teacher conference yesterday. Ms. Lumpkin says he's a pleasure to have.
He came home one day and he told us that he had scored a 700 on a reading test. But when he tells us stuff like that, he doesn't include context so I had no idea really what he was talking about. It turns out that means he's reading at a 3rd or 4th grade reading level. So she's been unofficially sending him next door to a 3rd grade class to read with them for an hour every day. He seems to be enjoying it, and the 3rd grade teacher says he's been fitting in just fine. No signs of frustration.
She can tell when he gets frustrated. He comes real close to crying. She mentioned a standardize math test, which had stuff on it that they hadn't covered yet. He was not wanting to turn that paper in until he had completed everything. And actually it took some coaxing from the teacher's aide to get him to turn it in. And yet he's way beyond the other kids on stuff like 3-digit numbers.
But in any case, she wanted to know if I'd give permission to have him tested for the gifted and talented program. I said sure. If he's tested and placed in the program, he's spend half the day with his regular class and half with the gifted class.
She said he's talked a little bit about Eric being gone, but hasn't acted out or had any behavioral issues.
All in all, a very positive report. He's got his daddy's looks and his momma's brains!
I had a parent-teacher conference yesterday. Ms. Lumpkin says he's a pleasure to have.
He came home one day and he told us that he had scored a 700 on a reading test. But when he tells us stuff like that, he doesn't include context so I had no idea really what he was talking about. It turns out that means he's reading at a 3rd or 4th grade reading level. So she's been unofficially sending him next door to a 3rd grade class to read with them for an hour every day. He seems to be enjoying it, and the 3rd grade teacher says he's been fitting in just fine. No signs of frustration.
She can tell when he gets frustrated. He comes real close to crying. She mentioned a standardize math test, which had stuff on it that they hadn't covered yet. He was not wanting to turn that paper in until he had completed everything. And actually it took some coaxing from the teacher's aide to get him to turn it in. And yet he's way beyond the other kids on stuff like 3-digit numbers.
But in any case, she wanted to know if I'd give permission to have him tested for the gifted and talented program. I said sure. If he's tested and placed in the program, he's spend half the day with his regular class and half with the gifted class.
She said he's talked a little bit about Eric being gone, but hasn't acted out or had any behavioral issues.
All in all, a very positive report. He's got his daddy's looks and his momma's brains!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Hola and como esta, people!
Been much better since Sunday. Figured that was a necessary cathartic moment. Probably won't be the last, but keeping busy seems to be the key.
Nathan got braces tightened on Monday. Now his bands are glow-in-the-dark green. (Hint: if you're gonna give the kid something and it comes in a regular or glow-in-the-dark version? Go with the glow. 'Sall I'm saying).
Scouts last night. Too a certain extent, being the den leader has become easier, and yet on Mondays and Tuesdays, I'm still like "oh crap! what are we going to do?!?@#". Last night another mom organized a Great Britian theme crafts the Scout Expo on Saturday - and then I found out the Pack isn't sponsoring a booth after all. *sigh* Hello? Someone wanna clue me in to this stuff?
(Just to add to your trivia repertoire - scouting was started in February, 1909 in Great Britain. It came to the States ten years later.)
Works going okay. We've got a battalion Family Readiness Group (FRG) steering committee meeting tomorrow, so I've been busy getting ready for that. We have one committee member who is a drama queen. She's getting forceably booted out, but since she's the company commander's wife - I'm expecting fireworks tomorrow when she comes to the meeting. Our brigade just went online on Facebook, and one of the wives in our battalion is already posting stuff to stir the pot. FB is convenient in a lot of ways, but I'm not sure it's really an asset to the military.
Haven't talked to Eric all day today. I skyped with him at lunch yesterday, but with scouts, it was way too late to call him when we got home. But I talked to his mom tonight and she had just talked to him, so I guess all is well. We're packing up a box to send out to him. Nathan has cut out a foot from a piece of paper and put an OU on it to put in the box.
Been much better since Sunday. Figured that was a necessary cathartic moment. Probably won't be the last, but keeping busy seems to be the key.
Nathan got braces tightened on Monday. Now his bands are glow-in-the-dark green. (Hint: if you're gonna give the kid something and it comes in a regular or glow-in-the-dark version? Go with the glow. 'Sall I'm saying).
Scouts last night. Too a certain extent, being the den leader has become easier, and yet on Mondays and Tuesdays, I'm still like "oh crap! what are we going to do?!?@#". Last night another mom organized a Great Britian theme crafts the Scout Expo on Saturday - and then I found out the Pack isn't sponsoring a booth after all. *sigh* Hello? Someone wanna clue me in to this stuff?
(Just to add to your trivia repertoire - scouting was started in February, 1909 in Great Britain. It came to the States ten years later.)
Works going okay. We've got a battalion Family Readiness Group (FRG) steering committee meeting tomorrow, so I've been busy getting ready for that. We have one committee member who is a drama queen. She's getting forceably booted out, but since she's the company commander's wife - I'm expecting fireworks tomorrow when she comes to the meeting. Our brigade just went online on Facebook, and one of the wives in our battalion is already posting stuff to stir the pot. FB is convenient in a lot of ways, but I'm not sure it's really an asset to the military.
Haven't talked to Eric all day today. I skyped with him at lunch yesterday, but with scouts, it was way too late to call him when we got home. But I talked to his mom tonight and she had just talked to him, so I guess all is well. We're packing up a box to send out to him. Nathan has cut out a foot from a piece of paper and put an OU on it to put in the box.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Pity Party
I won't lie - today was a grande pity party for me. Dunno what set it off - can't really pinpoint one thing. Just nothing was going to make me happy. But what can ya do? You put one foot in front of the other, make your to-do list and keep on going. Toilets ain't gonna scrub themselves - although I am wondering if Nathan is old enough to pressed into manual labor.
I did manaage to get several things done on the to-do list - the aforementioned bathrooms and grocery shopping and culling out his clothes that won't fit him this winter. He's finally conceded to wear long pants - I had to turn the heat on today.
We also started the grand rebuilding of the Lego "Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Crystal Skull" project. So every nook and cranny was search for lego parts. Now, I know for a fact we are missing one of the original unique pieces. But I figure with over 40 different lego sets big and small, we could probably rob Peter to pay Paul. So all 40 sets are now in a big heap in the living room. Eric would probably have had a conniption fit at all the little pieces every where, but oh well. This is not a one day project. Of course, this was supposed to be a "joint" sorting project.... seems like Mommy's the better sorter, and therefore needs to do most of the work.
Skyped with Eric twice today. Was nice that it was the weekend for me, so he could call during his daylight hours. Looks like he's hauled out about half of the stuff the previous occupant left for him. They're still getting their operation set up, but he seemed pretty pleased with what they've done so far.
He and Nathan had a staring contest through the webcams. I know Eric's happy to see me, but let's face it, I won't appreciably change in the next year. Different sotry for Nathan. The webcams are really for the two of them to keep connected. Nathan admitted tonight that he almost started to cry when we dropped Eric off (of course, he was in full-fledged tears actually), but he did say that he was a little sad Eric was gone. (Of course, he calls him 'nutball' and 'eric loser pants' while the camera's on. Just a different kind of love, I guess).
I did manaage to get several things done on the to-do list - the aforementioned bathrooms and grocery shopping and culling out his clothes that won't fit him this winter. He's finally conceded to wear long pants - I had to turn the heat on today.
We also started the grand rebuilding of the Lego "Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Crystal Skull" project. So every nook and cranny was search for lego parts. Now, I know for a fact we are missing one of the original unique pieces. But I figure with over 40 different lego sets big and small, we could probably rob Peter to pay Paul. So all 40 sets are now in a big heap in the living room. Eric would probably have had a conniption fit at all the little pieces every where, but oh well. This is not a one day project. Of course, this was supposed to be a "joint" sorting project.... seems like Mommy's the better sorter, and therefore needs to do most of the work.
Skyped with Eric twice today. Was nice that it was the weekend for me, so he could call during his daylight hours. Looks like he's hauled out about half of the stuff the previous occupant left for him. They're still getting their operation set up, but he seemed pretty pleased with what they've done so far.
He and Nathan had a staring contest through the webcams. I know Eric's happy to see me, but let's face it, I won't appreciably change in the next year. Different sotry for Nathan. The webcams are really for the two of them to keep connected. Nathan admitted tonight that he almost started to cry when we dropped Eric off (of course, he was in full-fledged tears actually), but he did say that he was a little sad Eric was gone. (Of course, he calls him 'nutball' and 'eric loser pants' while the camera's on. Just a different kind of love, I guess).
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Boomer Bust
Well, shoot. We struggled hard and gave it a pretty damn good effort. I've already had one Longhorn fan raze me on-line - and we weren't even on a football board!
Eric got to watch the game on Armed Forces Network in his room with a couple of other guys. We video chatted for a few minutes after the game was over, but since it was 11 p.m. his time, he was ready to call it a night.
So far it's just been like he's gone on a business trip. I've talked to him every day, at least once. And we skype. Nathan seems to be adjusting well. There hasn't been any obvious moping or behavioral changes. He has, however, expanded his wardrobe, as you can see by the pic. (The kid insists that he doesn't want to get dressed up and go trick or treating. maybe this is his idea of a compromise.)
Fall has finally hit coastal Georgia. I believe the temp was only up to 65 or so. But it's been cloudy/rainy for the past few days, which is kinda depressing.
Work is still good. My soldiers are going to deploy in the next 2 weeks or so, so the headquarters are hopping with soldiers all the time. It's definitely been an eye-opening experience for me to be in the 'real' Army with this job.
Tomorrow will be the grand reassemblage of Nathan's lego collections. He wants to rebuild the biggest one - which I already know we've lost pieces to. Hoping that if we take all the collections - most of which are broken up anyway - and just dump all the pieces together, we can cobble together at least one complete set. *sigh* good thing I've always liked legos.....
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Mailing Stuff
Here's the Post Office's presser about mailing for the holidays.
http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/2009/pr09_082.htm
http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/2009/pr09_082.htm
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Day 5
Yeah, I'm thinking this day count is going to be depressing as the number gets higher.......
Anywhoo. Had the first skype call to Eric tonight. He got to call his sister too. He spun the camera around so I could get a look at his room. Pretty much a box with only one window, covered by a towel. Lots of leftover stuff from the guy before - who happens to be another band guy he knew from Fort Sill.
He was tired - had been up for 24 hours. He said it was really interesting to see all the other nationalities at the camp, foreigners who the Iraqis had brought in to take over stuff - Koreans, Philippinos, Malaysians.
Nathan was not interested in making a video call. Apparently, he had to learn the hard way (again) why he shouldn't take toys to school and after school care. Some how the bakugon in his pocket magically disappeared. And since it was part of a connector set, he'll never be able to complete the Markus Dragonoid again. Very devestating. Since this is the upteenth time this has happened, I'm not as sympathic as I could be.
I have discovered the cooking dilemna already. Get home at almost 6:00 and look at the cooking instructions on the pork roast. "Cook for 65-75 minutes in a pre-heated oven." Yeah, not interested in waiting until 7:30 to eat. At least since Eric was always home earlier, he usually already had dinner started - at least these longer-cooking meals - before I got home. *sigh* Will have to drag the crock pot out in the morning.
Anywhoo. Had the first skype call to Eric tonight. He got to call his sister too. He spun the camera around so I could get a look at his room. Pretty much a box with only one window, covered by a towel. Lots of leftover stuff from the guy before - who happens to be another band guy he knew from Fort Sill.
He was tired - had been up for 24 hours. He said it was really interesting to see all the other nationalities at the camp, foreigners who the Iraqis had brought in to take over stuff - Koreans, Philippinos, Malaysians.
Nathan was not interested in making a video call. Apparently, he had to learn the hard way (again) why he shouldn't take toys to school and after school care. Some how the bakugon in his pocket magically disappeared. And since it was part of a connector set, he'll never be able to complete the Markus Dragonoid again. Very devestating. Since this is the upteenth time this has happened, I'm not as sympathic as I could be.
I have discovered the cooking dilemna already. Get home at almost 6:00 and look at the cooking instructions on the pork roast. "Cook for 65-75 minutes in a pre-heated oven." Yeah, not interested in waiting until 7:30 to eat. At least since Eric was always home earlier, he usually already had dinner started - at least these longer-cooking meals - before I got home. *sigh* Will have to drag the crock pot out in the morning.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Day 4
First day back into a routine since Eric left. Nathan seems to be doing alright. The ususal whinings about showers and teeth brushing, but he's been pretty easy going about the new world order. He's still determined that we'll win that million dollars from McDonalds and either get Eric returned home or buy him a beach house.
I'm feeling better. Theraflu tastes nasty, but seems to get the job done.
Lessee, I guess I talked to Eric yesterday morning around 7, and this afternoon around 2. He's been able to talk to his sister a couple of times and left a message for his mom once. He should be where he's psuedo-permanently going to be stationed sometime in the next 24 hours. I know he's gotta be happy to get there, unpack and enjoy a little bit of privacy. (He's been staying in a large tent on a cot along with a bunch of other soldiers). I personally would have snapped with the lack of privacy.
I just found out today that I have yet another briefing with the CG (Commanding General) on Thursday at 6:00 p.m. Seriously? I've already sat through 3 other briefings with him. I doubt the mission has changed any in the past 2 weeks. And since my usual babysitter just deployed, I'm thinking childcare is gonna be a problem.....
If you want to mail a package to Eric, here are the postal service's guidelines:
http://www.usps.com/supportingourtroops/welcome.htm?from=household&page=troopsupport
I'm feeling better. Theraflu tastes nasty, but seems to get the job done.
Lessee, I guess I talked to Eric yesterday morning around 7, and this afternoon around 2. He's been able to talk to his sister a couple of times and left a message for his mom once. He should be where he's psuedo-permanently going to be stationed sometime in the next 24 hours. I know he's gotta be happy to get there, unpack and enjoy a little bit of privacy. (He's been staying in a large tent on a cot along with a bunch of other soldiers). I personally would have snapped with the lack of privacy.
I just found out today that I have yet another briefing with the CG (Commanding General) on Thursday at 6:00 p.m. Seriously? I've already sat through 3 other briefings with him. I doubt the mission has changed any in the past 2 weeks. And since my usual babysitter just deployed, I'm thinking childcare is gonna be a problem.....
If you want to mail a package to Eric, here are the postal service's guidelines:
http://www.usps.com/supportingourtroops/welcome.htm?from=household&page=troopsupport
Monday, October 12, 2009
Day 3
Day 2 was okay. Nathan and I tried to go to breakfast at McDonalds. Who knew they stopped serving breakfast at 10:30? So over our brunch, Nathan again brought up the 'we-should-win-a-million-dollars' thing. This time, instead of saying we could call Eric's boss and have him sent home, he said we could make Eric's dreams come true by buying a beach house. (Eric says if we ever win the lottery he wants to buy a beach house). So, for all the smack talk Nathan does to Eric, the kid does pay attention.
Trip to Walmart for supplies. *sigh* I gotta cook now. :(
Nathan got a new video game, so that pretty much kept him occupied for most of the day. The 'meh' factor kicked in for me. I just had no interest or drive to do anything. Goodness knows, I have plenty of piles of stuff to tackle.
Got my first emails from Eric last night (this morning) about 1:00 a.m. The new phone worked like a dream. I could read the emails and respond without getting out of bed. Thumbs up for the new smart phone!
No telling how long he'll be where he's at. Could be a day, maybe a week. He emailed from a kiosk, and then called me later from a payphone. Unfortunately, his brand-new laptop now has a cracked screen. He'll either try to get an external monitor or buy a new one once he hits his duty station, so we can still do skype. It's new enough, it's probably still under warranty, but getting that handled from the middle east? Probably simpler to just drop the cash at the local PX.
The phone call sounded clear as a bell. No lag time between what he said and what I said. Soooooo much different than OIF 1. Plane ride sucked. They're staying in a huge tent with cots, so there's no privacy. Takes standing in line 1-2 hours to use the phone. The high temp yesterday was 90, but zero humidity, so he was a relatively happy camper.
Said he's been eating at the chowhall and the food's pretty good. Yes, there are KFCs and Subways and Baskin Robbins, but he has absolutely no desire to eat at any of them. These are like walk up shanties.
Nathan and I both have the day off today. I'm debating whether to cancel the bear den meeting tomorrow. It would probably be good to go ahead and do it so we're busy and in a routine. But since I'm the den leader, I'm not focused enough right not to actually plan the darn meeting. That might be asking a bit much at this moment.
Trip to Walmart for supplies. *sigh* I gotta cook now. :(
Nathan got a new video game, so that pretty much kept him occupied for most of the day. The 'meh' factor kicked in for me. I just had no interest or drive to do anything. Goodness knows, I have plenty of piles of stuff to tackle.
Got my first emails from Eric last night (this morning) about 1:00 a.m. The new phone worked like a dream. I could read the emails and respond without getting out of bed. Thumbs up for the new smart phone!
No telling how long he'll be where he's at. Could be a day, maybe a week. He emailed from a kiosk, and then called me later from a payphone. Unfortunately, his brand-new laptop now has a cracked screen. He'll either try to get an external monitor or buy a new one once he hits his duty station, so we can still do skype. It's new enough, it's probably still under warranty, but getting that handled from the middle east? Probably simpler to just drop the cash at the local PX.
The phone call sounded clear as a bell. No lag time between what he said and what I said. Soooooo much different than OIF 1. Plane ride sucked. They're staying in a huge tent with cots, so there's no privacy. Takes standing in line 1-2 hours to use the phone. The high temp yesterday was 90, but zero humidity, so he was a relatively happy camper.
Said he's been eating at the chowhall and the food's pretty good. Yes, there are KFCs and Subways and Baskin Robbins, but he has absolutely no desire to eat at any of them. These are like walk up shanties.
Nathan and I both have the day off today. I'm debating whether to cancel the bear den meeting tomorrow. It would probably be good to go ahead and do it so we're busy and in a routine. But since I'm the den leader, I'm not focused enough right not to actually plan the darn meeting. That might be asking a bit much at this moment.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Day 1
Yeah it's been awhile. Days march on, blah, blah, blah. Fast forward through 4 months - I've got a job, Nathan's in second grade, and Eric left yesterday for Iraq.
I've discovered that this is just a different deployment than the first one. Eric went in in OIF 1 back in 1993 with the 101st to invade. Now he's in there in OIF 7 with the 3rd ID as the 'closers.' Last time WE ALL thought there WMDs and that we'd be out in 6 months, tops. Nathan was 18 months old and didn't have an inkling that daddy was gone, and I didn't have any kind of routine that was factored in by Nathan's naps. Eric's protective gear wasn't much more than what a football player wears, and he would drive around Mosul with just another guy in a jeep and no weapons.
Now, thanks to Congress enacting every complaint ever voiced, he's got enough weight to cripple a horse that he's got to wear. You have to be certified to wear the body armour. He's got to get in a faux vehicle in full battle-rattle to get spun upside down to similate a rollover into water, and practice cutting his harness straps. Hello? How much of Iraq is underwater?
Okay, rant over. Protections are better, but there is something to be said about going too far the other way.
Anywhoo. Yesterday was just interminable. Everyone was supposed to report at midnight. That's fine for the adults - harder on the kids. All day that mighnight deadline was hanging over our heads. Nathan was NOT happy about being woken up.
It didn't help that it was literally 89% humidity and 86 degrees at midnight. I'm not sure if we set a heat record, but if not, it was close. Eric was sweating like a racehorse.
There were a lot of people there, congregating in the parking lot. Lots of people were hanging around their cars, sitting on their tailgates. Portable lights. We managed to get Nathan out of the car for about 5 minutes. We could have stayed to hang out with Eric for another hour or two, but we decided it was best to just stay as long as Nathan could deal. He started crying and not wanting people to see it, so he and I left. I'm sure Eric was probably relieved to see us go so he could focus on getting him and his group ready to go.
Once we got home, Nathan decided he'd rather sleep on the couch than in a bed. He pulled the blanket over his head and just cried. That just killed me, to hear his little sniffles. It probably took me another 2 hours to fall asleep.
Was awakened this morning by Eric's brief call that he was just getting on the plane in Savannah. Nathan told me that he had been up since 5:30. I hope we both sleep in tomorrow
He seems to be taking it all in stride. We went to lunch at McDonalds - and they've started their yearly Monoply contest. We got Park Place. If we find Boardwalk, we could win $1 million. Nathan said, "if we win a million dollars, we could call Eric's boss and have him send him home from Iraq, couldn't we?"
We drove into Savannah for some retail therapy. I dragged Nathan to Hancock Fabrics, but didn't buy anything. Then we hit Barnes & Noble - he gets 2 books and I buy a book that I hope will give me some ideas for our bear scouts meeting, but again - nothing that I wanted. Then the final coupe de grace at Toys R Us. Yet another Star Wars lego thingy.
Got home - went out to Subway for his usual pig sandwich, then Eric called almost the minute we walked in the door. Calling from a payphone in Germany. Sounded tired from being in a plane for 12 hours. Probably another 6-10 before he's 'settled' where ever he's gonna be for the next 2 weeks or so.
Nathan decided to make me a sign for the sliding doors out to the back patio "Water the plants outside 2 to 3 times a week." (I don't water the ferns outside - Eric does. It's been a running joke that they'll be dead from lack of attention while Eric is gone.) Nathan's looking out for his daddy!
I've discovered that this is just a different deployment than the first one. Eric went in in OIF 1 back in 1993 with the 101st to invade. Now he's in there in OIF 7 with the 3rd ID as the 'closers.' Last time WE ALL thought there WMDs and that we'd be out in 6 months, tops. Nathan was 18 months old and didn't have an inkling that daddy was gone, and I didn't have any kind of routine that was factored in by Nathan's naps. Eric's protective gear wasn't much more than what a football player wears, and he would drive around Mosul with just another guy in a jeep and no weapons.
Now, thanks to Congress enacting every complaint ever voiced, he's got enough weight to cripple a horse that he's got to wear. You have to be certified to wear the body armour. He's got to get in a faux vehicle in full battle-rattle to get spun upside down to similate a rollover into water, and practice cutting his harness straps. Hello? How much of Iraq is underwater?
Okay, rant over. Protections are better, but there is something to be said about going too far the other way.
Anywhoo. Yesterday was just interminable. Everyone was supposed to report at midnight. That's fine for the adults - harder on the kids. All day that mighnight deadline was hanging over our heads. Nathan was NOT happy about being woken up.
It didn't help that it was literally 89% humidity and 86 degrees at midnight. I'm not sure if we set a heat record, but if not, it was close. Eric was sweating like a racehorse.
There were a lot of people there, congregating in the parking lot. Lots of people were hanging around their cars, sitting on their tailgates. Portable lights. We managed to get Nathan out of the car for about 5 minutes. We could have stayed to hang out with Eric for another hour or two, but we decided it was best to just stay as long as Nathan could deal. He started crying and not wanting people to see it, so he and I left. I'm sure Eric was probably relieved to see us go so he could focus on getting him and his group ready to go.
Once we got home, Nathan decided he'd rather sleep on the couch than in a bed. He pulled the blanket over his head and just cried. That just killed me, to hear his little sniffles. It probably took me another 2 hours to fall asleep.
Was awakened this morning by Eric's brief call that he was just getting on the plane in Savannah. Nathan told me that he had been up since 5:30. I hope we both sleep in tomorrow
He seems to be taking it all in stride. We went to lunch at McDonalds - and they've started their yearly Monoply contest. We got Park Place. If we find Boardwalk, we could win $1 million. Nathan said, "if we win a million dollars, we could call Eric's boss and have him send him home from Iraq, couldn't we?"
We drove into Savannah for some retail therapy. I dragged Nathan to Hancock Fabrics, but didn't buy anything. Then we hit Barnes & Noble - he gets 2 books and I buy a book that I hope will give me some ideas for our bear scouts meeting, but again - nothing that I wanted. Then the final coupe de grace at Toys R Us. Yet another Star Wars lego thingy.
Got home - went out to Subway for his usual pig sandwich, then Eric called almost the minute we walked in the door. Calling from a payphone in Germany. Sounded tired from being in a plane for 12 hours. Probably another 6-10 before he's 'settled' where ever he's gonna be for the next 2 weeks or so.
Nathan decided to make me a sign for the sliding doors out to the back patio "Water the plants outside 2 to 3 times a week." (I don't water the ferns outside - Eric does. It's been a running joke that they'll be dead from lack of attention while Eric is gone.) Nathan's looking out for his daddy!
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