NOT JUST ANY OLD DEPLOYMENT...

Where the hell do you even begin? At this point we are six months into the deployment and there has been no end of... activity. Maybe shenanigans is the more appropriate word. I`ll go in to more detail one day, about the happenings we faced here, but for now the pressing matter is our dear friend, COVID-19. 

Have you seen the 1951 movie, The Day the Earth Stood Still, or the Keanu Reeves remake? If you haven`t, then just take a look out of your window, because you`re living it. What an incredible time we are living in. I don`t mean that in a positive manner of course. I mean it in the sense that life is very unique right now. At least to my lifetime. As technology advances, worldwide issues such as a Pandemic have a far greater ability to shut down life as we know it than ever before. The ever increasing advent of air travel means that diseases now have unwitting vectors with which to spread their seed far and wide, with almost little to no warning before we become aware that we need to respond. As I write this, the U.S. death toll is at 18,002 and world wide figures stand at 101,526. Astounding when you consider the speed at which this has happened in such a short time. Of course, despite our human ability to spread new strains of disease like it`s our jobs, we do of course have the benefit of modern medicine, albeit strained to it`s limits as it is right now. In 1918, the so-called Spanish Flu, killed off almost 5% of earths population. An estimated 25 million died in the first six months alone. This was towards the tail end of World War I, and though not the cause, the conditions throughout Europe played a large part in that outcome. These are tense times we are living in for sure. We have entire nations isolated at home - twitching the curtains as they peer out at the world nature is now likely reclaiming. I am curious as to what effect this will have on our CO2 level`s and wildlife across the globe. According to the data, this will in fact have no effect at all due to the damage we have already done to mother earth, but that is another subject for another rant, on another day.

Here in the Middle-East, we have been extended past our six month deployment date by a minimum of three months due to the DOD enacting a stop movement order. Naturally this has hit our morale hard. Most, if not all of us, were due to leave next week and would have been training our replacements right now. COVID restrictions have meant that we now have significantly less avenues to occupy ourselves with in our spare time. Gym`s are closed, though some equipment has been moved outside for use. The MWR and it`s amenities have been closed, so no opportunity for sports such as basketball or table tennis. No congregating in groups. No sitting in social areas such as the dining facility. It is somewhat bleak here, but we are all aware that we are still better off than most. Despite the fact that I will not be able to make it home in time to see our baby girl be born, I am starkly aware that I could be at a Forward Operating Base, (FOB) outside of these walls, and could be living in much worse conditions than we currently are. I`ll take a tiny room with a bed and some limited options at the dining facility over a tent, cot, and MRE any day. Having said that, I have had some of my best nights sleep in those military issue cots. Something about them just tricks your brain into thinking your camping. It beats digging a hole in the ground and sleeping in it. Been there - not looking to go back to that. Despite these unexpected changes, morale will re-surge as we acclimate to our new environment.

Tiffany has been holding down the fort back in Maryland. Truly, I can not describe how her composure has kept me sane during this tough time. Yes, we knew she was going to go through the bulk of the deployment without me there to help. Yes, we knew that I might not make it home in time for the birth. No, we had zero idea that she was going to deal with all of that alone in isolation during a Pandemic. Bomb`s and ground attack`s I can handle - worrying about your wife being left alone for day`s on end with limited access to getting food and supplies while 36 weeks pregnant - that`s another thing entirely. I think I have experienced more anxiety in the last few weeks than in the rest of my life, and none of it for myself. Upon telling Tiffany that I was no longer coming home on time, her response was basically, "We`ve got this, just come home safe." Hearing that, was a huge load off my mind as I had been putting off telling her for days. Behind every great man there`s a great woman, they say. I`m not saying that I am great, but what I am saying is - my wife definitely is.

We have no idea when we are going home. Fingers crossed it`s sometime sooner rather than later. No matter what diseases, bomb`s or bullet`s the universe throws at us, I will be safe in the knowledge that I will soon be returning home to my incredible wife, and my most challenging yet rewarding mission of all... fatherhood.

Until next time, be well, be merry, and most of all, be good. ;)


Afghanistan, November 2019

Comments

  1. Thank you for your service. I have been there where your wife is now--holding down the fort at home. Stay safe and Thank you!

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    Replies
    1. What would we do without the strong women in our lives?! Thanks for stopping by Gina!

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