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26 Jul 2009
R&R Advice
I talked to a lot of smart people both before deploying and in the early part of this Iraqi tour. I asked for their recommendations on mid-tour leave, also called Environmental Leave (EML, which does not stand for Emergency Leave!), or Rest & Recouperation (R&R). With the caveat that everyone's experience is different, I will share some truisms that I found useful.

  • Try to schedule your leave for the downslope: that is, after your tour midpoint. As much as you might want to avoid the military, the MWR and AFRC have some great destinations, pricing and priority for deployed families.

  • If you can, meet your family someplace away from home. The "distractions" of your home and hometown can not only interfere with reconnecting to your family, but also makes it so much harder to return to duty.

  • At the pre-leave briefings from the chaplain and mayor team, pay attention! This isn't just "check the block" training, it's real lessons-learned. There's some good advice about avoiding excess, taking it very easy with your family, recognizing that everyone has been changed by this experience, and that your family has adapted with new routines and discipline that you won't just pick up again. Make a real effort to be a "guest in your own house."

  • Plan one-on-one time with each family member, doing something special, just with them. Eric asked that we work out in the gym together. Ethan and I played at the arcade together. Plus lots of other small moments.

  • Make no mistake: going back to duty is HARD to do. Be prepared. Stay in touch with your family sharing & reliving the moments.

  • Start making plans for the end of tour redeployment. How will we reconnect at the end of the tour? Not just as a family, but with work, church, organizations, friends and extended family? This kind of planning is also a welcome distraction from being back in the war!

 
Army Deployment , Family , General
posted by  henry at  04:42 | permalink | trackbacks [632]



15 Jul 2009
R&R Adventures!
Our time in Garmisch was nothing short of AWESOME! For a quick overview, see this little music video.


For more, I've uploaded a collection of over 340 photos to Picasa. I'll try to put a caption on each!
Garmisch Edelweiss
 
Army Deployment , Family , General
posted by  henry at  15:07 | permalink | trackbacks [532]



27 Jun 2009
Mid Tour Leave
The Army will fly a deployed soldier anywhere in the world for 15 days of Rest & Relaxation. They try to make about the middle of the tour, and it’s definitely something I’m looking forward to. My midpoint was early last month, so my leave is coming up soon. We’ve decided to meet in Germany, at the Army's recreation hotel, the Edelweiss . It is in Garmisch, where Lisa and I visited several times back in the early 90’s as a young lieutenant. Almost 20 years later, we’ll get to show it to our children! Ethan was so nice about it, too: “Dad, it’s OK if we go to some museums and stuff. I’ll still have fun.” As it turns out, there’s nary a museum in our plan. I’m thinking along the lines of whitewater rafting, mountain climbing, seeing the famous Neuschwanstein castle, and going to the pool a lot!
 
Army Deployment , Family , General
posted by  henry at  12:49 | permalink | trackbacks [375]



21 Jun 2009
A Walk Around COB Basra
The Mayor of our little COB, LTC Steve Hanson, takes us on a guided tour of the Basra Coalition Operating Base (COB). There are lots of improvements ongoing, and even though this was just filmed last month, lots has changed since then. Also there are some intentional inaccuracies so that this can't be used by the wrong people.

 
Army Deployment , Family , General
posted by  henry at  12:11 | permalink | trackbacks [442]



14 Jun 2009
The end of another school year
July 14th- the Army’s 234th birthday, and my boys’ first weekend out of school. I miss them a lot, especially now that they’re starting their summer Scout programs and what would have been a few months of family time before Eric starts High School and Ethan moves into his final year of Elementary school.

At the same time, we’re making some great progress here in Basra, with new facilities such as the new post office opening this week, a permanent finance facility before that, and a fuel farm, water purification facility, and a new cargo/convoy staging area. I’ve helped build many of these facilities, both literally and conceptually. Last night, I helped cut, drill and weld a piece of cage material needed for the post office security, and at the same time, I’m meeting with the Division Engineers to plan how we’re going to accommodate traffic flow and container storage, while not interfering with the Division Band’s new practice hall.

The position I assumed in April has me looking not just at Basra developments, but all of southern Iraq (everything south of Baghdad). I must say, the whole picture shows remarkable progress and opportunities for the citizens of Iraq. Basra has made the “Iraqi First” contracting initiative work, and the southern provinces of Iraq all have a tremendous number of infrastructure improvements going on, from beekeeping to cement plants!

This week marks my 6th month in Iraq, and coming up on 9 months of mobilization. Personally, I’m on the downhill leg, and with the President's plan to be out of Iraq by 2011, I know the United States is in a similar stance. There’s still a lot of ground to cover, but it’s easier, I think, when you can look back and see how far you’ve already gone.

GEN Odierno said in a letter to all those serving in Iraq:
Today, our Army remains strong and resilient. The very best Army in the world. The full-spectrum operations you perform are among the most difficult our nation's Soldiers have ever faced, carried out in an unforgiving climate against a resourceful enemy. It is a task which calls for the strength, intelligence and tenacity which you exemplify.
Our struggle to bring stability to Iraq links you to the proud heritage of Soldiers who have fought far from home in the defense of the nation.
Today, we fight and serve alongside our comrades-in-arms from other services and nations. We are part of a Joint and Combined team in Iraq.
We are Soldiers, mentally and physically tough, adaptive to the changing environment, who will always win.


 
Army Deployment , Family , General
posted by  henry at  09:42 | permalink | trackbacks [147]





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