My apologies for having gone so long without posting. Life has been hectic trying to get everything in order. Between taking mini vacations and trying to get my classes for the fall semester and all the little nuances of life in between, I havent had time to get to a computer with net access in quite awhile. I should have it soon once my roommate calls the cable company and gets the whole package set up. It shouldnt be too much longer and I will be able to get online and finish up my Iraq saga stories and begin my College drunken stories.

Wow, alot has gone on since I returned home from Iraq. I know I owe everyone stories about my last month or so in Iraq and I will get to them soon. I am saving all those stories for boring rainy days :) Right now I am in NC with a friend. She asked me to go to a wedding with her and like a good friend I accepted. Here is my mini vacation within my vacation.

Since arriving home, it has been a busy couple of weeks. I bought a car, moved into my apartment, seen my "X", ran into alot of old friends, and I have partied alot. The car was a pain in my ass to get. My credit is still shitty and I didnt get what I wanted, but I got a nice car still. I wound up buying my sister's car off of her which is a 2005 Chevy Cavalier. SIe works for a dealership and she did everything she could to get me into what I wanted. But I am happy with the Cavalier. As for the apartment, myself, Matt and Garrett found a 5 bedroom apartment in town close to the college for a little over a grand a month. That is very good for living in the Poconos. Some of the rooms still need to be painted, but it works for me. I started moving in this past week, the other two are moving in after this weekend.

As for my "X", boy has shit changed. I can honestly say I do not know her anymore. The woman I loved is not the one I "met" when I got home. It's all good cuz it makes it easier getting over her. I have talked with her new man, and he is a nice guy. I also have no intentions on trying to get her back and he understands and respects that. I know I had said while in Iraq I wanted to know what happened, but seeing her now and realizing I do not know her, I dont need an explanation. She has already gave me the rings back and as soon as I get the Internet set up in the new apartment, they are going on Ebay. If I thought their was a chance we would get back together I would keep them but their isnt a chance in hell. So, they are going up for auction cuz I can not with any real sense give those rings to another woman.

Well, its time to go get ready for the wedding, see you all later.


"It's not what is underneath that matters, it is what you do that defines who you are."

Finally..after a long, long time.....I am finally home. I officially got home on Sunday. I have some stories to tell about my last month or so in Iraq and the demobilization process but I will save those for another day. I can tell you though that it still doesnt seem real yet. It's like I am living in a dream. Being gone for so long and coming home, it hasn't sunk in yet that my tour is over. I know it will take some time, and some adjusting so I'm not going to rush anything.
Going back to Sunday, we all felt like celebrities, and for that moment, in the city of Scranton, we were celebrities. When the plane arrived at the airport with all of us, we had the State Police there to escort us back to the Armory. We unloaded the plane and got on the buses and away we went. Any vehicles that tried to cut in between the buses got pulled over. As we entered the city streets, citizens were lined up waving their hands and some had little flags they were waving. As we got closer to the Armory, you could see more and more people outside. As we pulled up to the Armory, their were hordes of people everywhere, the city police had barricades up blocking traffic and their were signs and posters everywhere welcoming us home. As the buses pulled up to let us off, you could hear people screaming "Welcome Home" and "God Bless our Troops". As we all exited the buses, their cameras going off and random people just reaching out over the barricades to shake our hands. We entered the Armory from a side door that lead into the gymnasium floor and their were more people inside. I felt like a football player coming out of the tunnel to screaming fans. It was almost that deafening in the gymnasium. We fell into a formation to get released and I was in the front row and I barely heard our Commander say Dismissed over the roar of the crowd. For that moment, I felt like a celebrity. I also knew at that moment, that although not everyone agrees with the War in Iraq, the citizens of our great nation are not going to let this war turn into another Vietnam. That we, as soldiers, have the undying support of not only our loved ones, but from everyone who bleeds red, white, and blue.

Stay tuned for stories and updates.

Yours truly,

Brian

Just to give everyone an update. I am back on US soil woot woot!! It will be about a week before I am actually back home. Once I get home, I have a few stories and possible a few photos to post. Thank you to everyone for the support!


"We the unwilling, led by the unknowing, have done so much with so little, we are now qualified to anything with nothing." -unknown

I made it back from Ramadi in one piece and with all my body parts. On a side note, I FINALLY got to fly in a Blackhawk. It is quite an experience flying in a Blackhawk compared to a Chinook or Sea Stallion. We flew real close to the ground, almost like a “map the earth” type flight. I also got to witness my first firefight from the air. It was wild watching tracer rounds whizzing around, although they weren’t anywhere near us. Besides that, the trip was relatively quiet. The worst part was waiting around for our ride up to the main base in Ramadi. I was up all night because they kept pushing back the leave time. And once they were ready, I still had to jump thru my ass to get over to the rendezvous point. I wound up getting to the main base at about 6 in the morning. I decided to crash out for a few hours because I still had to go to our higher headquarters and drop off admin stuff and pick up awards and what not. That lasted about an hour and then I had some time to kill before my flight tonight was I couldn’t sleep, I was too wired. I was actually lucky I was able to fly out tonight, they only had one flight scheduled going back to my base. We caught the flight at 2245 hrs (10:45 pm for all you civilian folks) and I didn’t land at my base till 0200 hrs. We flew all around Iraq it seemed till finally arriving at my base. Needless to say I am tired to say the least, so I think Im going to go rack out for a little bit although my bed isn’t any better then the ones I slept on the last few days. I am so ready to sleep in a normal bed. I am tired of being here, but it wont be too much longer. This post is officially my last post till I am home safe and sound. Take care and see everyone stateside.

That's right, I can now see the light at the end of the tunnel that is this deployment. I don't know how many more posts I will be able to get in before the 20th of this month between my adventure to Ramadi coming up and my battery charger going tits up on me. For all my avid readers, you can look for a "Im home safe" post around 21st of June. Periodically check back just in case I can find a way to squeeze in one before I plop my butt on my couch. Thank you all for keeping me and my fellow brethren in your thoughts and prayers. It is the concerned men and women like you who keep us going strong when we have nothing left to give. See you all stateside!!

I will leave you all with one of my favorite quotes:

-"we the unwilling, led by the unknowing, have done so much, with so little, we are now qualified to anything with nothing." unknown author

It looks like I will be making one last trip down to Ramadi before I leave here. I had thought that since we had little time left here, the only trips I would have made would have been simple one nighters. Fly down to the base that our brigade is located, pick up any awards or reports that needed to go back to my base. I would fly down, pick it up and catch the next bird back. Simple, easy, and relatively safe for my last month here.

I get to work today and find out we have to make one more trip to visit our outlying companies because they have some guys who want to extend before the current bonus program runs out. And guess who is going to make the trip? You got it, me. I couldn’t be more filled with the joy of knowing I have to make one more dreaded trip in a humvee down one of the worst roads in Iraq. Now, we all remember how my very first trip down this lane turned out. Let’s just hope my last one is as uneventful as all the other trips. I don’t need another Purple Heart or go home in a body bag. I am too close to leaving here with all the body parts I came with.

On to other news, I don’t know how many more posts I will get in before I lose my internet access and go back to the dark ages. On the 20^th of this month, I will have no internet access where I can keep everyone informed. So, you will all just have to cross your fingers and hope that I make it out of here alive. I do plan on doing a post as soon as I get a chance in the states to let you all know how fun the de-mobilization process was.