Change of Plans

A quick update for everyone on the status of my deployment. Before I get into that, however, I would like to rehash the events of this year's deployment saga. Knowing all the facts will help you enjoy the real fun of being in the Air Force in 2009.

Sometime at the end of February I received an email warning of the impending deployment cycle. It had the usual information about keeping training current and updating anything that would preclude us from being deployable. I took the email as a chance to make phone calls and try to "pick" a location and time that was beneficial to the family. My only real note of importance was to try and avoid going back to Kabul, Afghanistan (this is important).

After some phone calls, it looked like I had secured a deployment (#1) to Iraq for October. A month later or so I was surprised to see a notification for a different deployment (#2) leaving in June to Afghanistan. Several phone calls and emails later I was told the June deployment was cancelled and that I was back on for my October vacation.

My deployment to Iraq required some high-speed "Army" training and I headed out to Wyoming for a two-week lesson in being a soldier. Training went as any other typical Air Force run training event - established schedules, spoon-fed blocks of instruction, cool exercise at the end, etc. I had some fun and met some cool people that I stay in contact with courtesy of Facebook. One problem though, two weeks before I was supposed to leave, my deployment was cancelled.

A cancelled deployment, what's not to like right? Well, in today's military a cancelled deployment lasts about a week before you are hit with another. True to form, I promptly received another deployment (#3) embedding with an infantry unit in southern Afghanistan. If you are savvy at all on the "non-tourist areas" of Afghanistan then you will know that the south and eastern portions are major no-go areas for your next family vacation. Additionally, heading out on Army patrols isn't a skill I am well versed in at the moment. I have to be honest and say I was a bit nervous about this trip.

Remember that Iraq deployment and training? Yep, it didn't cut it as the type of training required for this new deployment. I don't have to spell out the drama of the new training course in New Jersey - just read the other posts in this blog. Do you also recall what happened when I was two weeks away from my last deployment? Well, the Afghanistan deployment got cancelled just 10 days before my departure - what a coincidence.

Wahoo right? Nope, it took a whopping day for me to get tagged with another deployment (#4) to Afghanistan. This time I have some aspects in my favor, such as the fact that I have already done the "short" and "long" training classes, which means no more training. I will also be home for the holidays with my family and that is simply priceless in my book! There was a negative of course, remember that note about not deploying to Kabul? Oh yeah, that is where I am headed...well, kind-of - stay tuned for an update to the actual location.

So, here I sit with a couple months before I leave on my fourth scheduled deployment for the year and all I can think about is what changes lay in wait for me next. Needless to say this deployment cycle has been filled with tons of fun, and I am actually excited to deploy so I can get it over with...finally.

Thank you to everyone for their support throughout this process. Family and friends alike have all had words of encouragement or been a sounding board for me at one point or another, so thank you very much for your time and compassion.

Stay tuned, I just may have other posts before my deployment...you never know what could happen next.