Off to Kuwait
Unless the first thing you do on a Saturday morning is wake up and read this web log (in which case I love you, but you need help), by the time you read this I will be in the air, on my way to Kuwait.
This is therefore likely to be my last post for awhile, as I do not know what access I will have to computers for my first week in theater, and once I actually do arrive at the Embassy, I will need to get clearance from my commanding officer to continue blogging.
Beyond the immediate dred of a 30+ hour process of turning in my linen, loading my gear, cleaning the barracks, drawing my weapon, packing a bus, waiting in an air terminal, stopping over for fuel at undisclosed locations, and sitting on a plane in full uniform for over 22 hours, I'm feeling pretty well.
I'm nervous, to be sure. Every now and then the reality of what I am embarking upon sinks in, and I have to remember to odds of anything happening are remote. But if anything does happen, I am fighting to help make others free, which is what I've always wanted the opportunity to do.
This is why I'm also excited. Very few people get the chance to make this kind of a difference in this world. It is fashionable in some circles to confuse cynicism with intelligence, and to wear the perpetual hat of the cynic when it comes to the morality of U.S. foreign policy. But there are still real monsters out there in the world, those who would seek to either reimpose the tyranny of Ba'athist fascism on Iraq, or to impose Islamofascism. The Iraqi people have overwhelmingly indicated that they would rather live in some form of democracy than to be subject to those horrors once again. Just as the American soldier fought for liberty in the Revolution, to end slavery in the Civil War, to defeat Nazism in WWII, and to stop communism in Korea and Vietnam, I'm honored to be at this time and place and history, to be able to serve my country in this noble pursuit.
Above all, I hope that I will be able to explain this to David some day. I hope he will understand how much it hurt to leave him and his mother behind, but that there are some things in this world bigger than us, and worth fighting for. Not a day will go by when he and Marya are not in my thoughts, and I will miss the two of them more than words can express.
Anyhow, until next week (hopefully), take care, and God Bless all of you.
Ben
This is therefore likely to be my last post for awhile, as I do not know what access I will have to computers for my first week in theater, and once I actually do arrive at the Embassy, I will need to get clearance from my commanding officer to continue blogging.
Beyond the immediate dred of a 30+ hour process of turning in my linen, loading my gear, cleaning the barracks, drawing my weapon, packing a bus, waiting in an air terminal, stopping over for fuel at undisclosed locations, and sitting on a plane in full uniform for over 22 hours, I'm feeling pretty well.
I'm nervous, to be sure. Every now and then the reality of what I am embarking upon sinks in, and I have to remember to odds of anything happening are remote. But if anything does happen, I am fighting to help make others free, which is what I've always wanted the opportunity to do.
This is why I'm also excited. Very few people get the chance to make this kind of a difference in this world. It is fashionable in some circles to confuse cynicism with intelligence, and to wear the perpetual hat of the cynic when it comes to the morality of U.S. foreign policy. But there are still real monsters out there in the world, those who would seek to either reimpose the tyranny of Ba'athist fascism on Iraq, or to impose Islamofascism. The Iraqi people have overwhelmingly indicated that they would rather live in some form of democracy than to be subject to those horrors once again. Just as the American soldier fought for liberty in the Revolution, to end slavery in the Civil War, to defeat Nazism in WWII, and to stop communism in Korea and Vietnam, I'm honored to be at this time and place and history, to be able to serve my country in this noble pursuit.
Above all, I hope that I will be able to explain this to David some day. I hope he will understand how much it hurt to leave him and his mother behind, but that there are some things in this world bigger than us, and worth fighting for. Not a day will go by when he and Marya are not in my thoughts, and I will miss the two of them more than words can express.
Anyhow, until next week (hopefully), take care, and God Bless all of you.
Ben
posted by Ben at 9:46 AM
<< Home