Keep On Keeping On

I haven't really felt like writing a lot lately.  I'm still pretty upset about my friend Scott.  I'm pretty much over the shock of it.  Now the sadness and loss has set in.  It hurts that I won't be able to be there for his viewing or his funeral.  It hurts that I remember telling him that I'd see him later the last time we saw each other.  I've known other people that were killed or wounded in Iraq, but Scott was a buddy.  Words cannot express everything, I guess.

Time heals all wounds, they say.  We'll see.  Keep on keeping on, as my lil sister would tell me.

My good friend Tim recently was in charge of a recovery mission on the north side of Marjeh.  I know he was stressed to the max trying to stay safe, keep his Marines safe, and get the job done.  I had no doubt in my mind that he would accomplish all three of those things.  Knowing him the way that I do I was thankful that they had a fairly uneventful trip.  Tim's not the one to walk away from a fight.  Needless to say I was relieved when I saw him the other morning, back at Dwyer.  I don't think I could handle anything happening to another friend this go round.

So anyways....what's new for me?  I finished up a pretty high visibility project in the last week.  I'm pretty stoked about that.  I was working 18-19 hour days for a while trying to keep up.  It was definitely a good distraction from all that was going on around me.  In retrospect I cannot believe how quickly the last 6 weeks have gone.  I even got to sleep in the other day.  That was something I've not had the chance to do since arriving in Afghanistan back in March.

I'm taking it a day at a time.  That's all I can do, I suppose.  I look forward to crawling into my rack each night.  That signifies the end of another day.  That's what I looked forward to the most each day.

At this stage of the deployment I think I've reached the halfway point.  Halfway home!  Not close enough!  Keep on keeping on!

My Friend Scott Smith

I write tonight with a heavy heart.  My day started off with a message from my buddy Matt informing me that another friend, Scott Smith, was killed in action yesterday in Khowst Province, Afghanistan.

Scott was a Marine.  He honorably served an enlistment as a Marine combat engineer.  A few years back Scott was interested in coming back into the Marine Corps, this time as a reservist.  He even came out to get a tour from me on a drill weekend.  For whatever reason, Scott chose not to enlist into the Marine Corps Reserve at that time.  Instead he decided to join the Indiana National Guard.  This guy was the most patriotic individual I’ve ever met.  All he wanted to do was serve his country in a time of war.  He volunteered for deployment after deployment, finally landing a spot on one to Afghanistan.

It hurts me now to remember back how much Scott admired me for the previous deployments I’ve made.  I admired him 10 times moreover.  He had already served his time.  He was a little older, not in as good of shape, and had three daughters that he was responsible for.  He made that decision to come back into the military for the sole purpose of deploying to Iraq or Afghanistan and doing his part.

I could go on about Scott for a while.  He was a good man.  I was looking forward to swapping stories with him once we both returned back to work at Raytheon.  My heart breaks for his daughters, especially on the eve of Father’s Day.  I remember the last thing I told Scott on his last day of work before his deployment.  I told him the usual about taking care of each other, be smart, don’t be a hero, etc.  I told him I’m not good with goodbyes.  I told him that instead of goodbyes, it was “I’ll see you later.”  As if I needed another reason to hate this country, I think I just found it.

My Civilians

I wish that I had a dollar for every comment or conversation I've had defending my civilian contractors.  Too many Marines are quick to say they are out here strictly to make a quick buck.  I've had way too many Marines comment on how much money these guys are making out here.

Today we had 2 of our civilians in an IED strike.  One of them walked away shaken up.  The other I spent a few minutes talking to in the ICU.  He is being medevaced out of the country.

I guarentee you that those guys deserve more money than they currently make!  Anyone that says otherwise is just a plain fool.