The Numbers Game

447- days away from home
10,728- hours spent thinking about home
2- fire extinguishers used
7- job titles since arriving in Iraq
7- mission changes
2- times sent to combat stress therapy
32- books read
135- patrols/convoys
2- tires changed
3- vehicles stuck in mud
250- patients treated
53- times urinating on the road while on mission
1- brooms broken over roommate's arm
142- highest temperature reached
32- lowest temperature reached
3- longest straight days without sleep
56- muffins eaten at the DFAC
1- times our A/C has blown up
3-pairs of boots worn through
300- stress relieving visits to the gym
2- times vomited on
800-trips to the chow hall
50- times it was too hot/too cold/too far to walk to the chow hall
2- years of school missed
8- letters sent home
20- number of digits still on my hands and feet
122- pictures/posts to this site
15,349- visitors to this site
?- days left here
1- times I have said, "I love Iraq". (It was a joke)

A Change of Plans

Nothing in the military is a certainty, you learn that from day one. Semper gumby; always flexible. That is more true than ever today as I tell you that I won't be coming home when planned.

A passing soldier stops to ask a question:

"What's the big news on base?" queries the soldier.

"We just found out that we are being extended. . ." is the response.

"Now everything makes sense. Everyone looks like they are going to cry."

As a result of the call up for more troops in Iraq, the 1/34 Brigade Combat Team is being extended in Iraq for an unannounced amount of time. We are in our 16th month of this deployment and it looks as though it may just turn out to be a two year tour. Nothing is set yet but we have heard rumors about a July return date now instead of the planned March exodus.

All around base you can feel the misery that the soldiers are feeling. Laughter, sadness, and anger surrounds the conversations and mood when you greet someone. Plans shattered, most soldiers are frantically trying to talk to their loved ones that are thousands of miles away. They have to try and console their families and themselves at the same time, a quite difficult task.

Many will be missing weddings, school graduations, birthdays, anniversaries, and vacation plans. We all knew that we were going to be making sacrifices on this deployment but we never expected a two year deployment time, easily one of the longest deployments for any unit yet.

With my chin up I sit here and ponder the implications of an extended stay. You just can't make this stuff up.

Nick

Back "Home"

I returned back to my home base on New Years Eve and started back up with my prior missions just two days later. I can't say for certain but it looks as though I will be getting a mission change again, but I will still be here counting the days until our replacements come. I think it's safe to say that counting months are over and now we will be counting days (days sound better than months to me).

It's five days into the new year and already I am hoping spring comes early. I saw some frozen water on the ground the other day, if I remember correctly it's called ice but I can't remember ever being warned that the desert had ice. Balad was a great experience and I will miss the work along with the people that made the job so much better to go to.

I had a months worth of mail waiting for me here including all of my Christmas mail so that was something nice to come back to. I received so many letters that I wouldn't have time to even send out thank you letters. So, thank you to everyone who sent me a letter or package.

After making an appointment with a physical therapist at the hospital I went in to get my finger looked at. A pain in my PIP (proximal inter pharyngeal?) joint had been recurring for the past two months or so. After they looked at it they think it may be a torn ligament, but they also suggested that a dislocation had caused the tear. Needless to say, I grimace every time that I have to grasp or pick something up. They don't seem to have any solutions for me, and I have that going for me.

The girlfriend, Carrie, is in Egypt right now and I am sure that she is probably enjoying this region a lot more than I am. Maybe I can hitch a ride there?

So embrace the new year and prepare, for this is the year that I return home.

Nick