I have been doing a lot of thinking. I go and work out, while doing so I think about everything in my day to day life. I think of all the happiness that I have had, all the sadness that I have had and how I have been able to turn everything into a positive perspective. I worry at times that I might have only put a band aid on my emotions. I then notice that I am a much stronger man, mentally than I was before. When problems arise, I come up with you solutions. It is what I do, what I do best.
Lately, I have been taking care of things back home. Trying to make sure that I am able to have a place to go home too once I am released from active duty, insuring that I am not in debt when I return home and perhaps making a purchase of a new form of transportation when I get home. I do not plan on coming home until November 2009, which is a ways away, for sure, but you never know what the military does until it does it.
I have been working in Iraq since February of 2008 and I have witnessed a dramatic change compared to 2004 when I was last here. I have seen the citizens of Iraq start taking care of their own issues. They have been taking back their country from an insurgency that was not caring about them, and have become much more politically active than ever before in their history. I am proud that the Iraqi people are starting to stand up against the menace that has thrived on their society long enough.
I feel that I have very good insight in how different cultures are. I have served overseas for five out of the last seven years in hostile fire zones around the world. I have come to appreciate what our government does for others and how I am an integral part at reestablishing the trusting bond that the United States formerly had. I am not here to pick a fight, I am here to mitigate any conflicts, to stop the fighting and help restore the necessary infrastructure to reestablish essential services. I wish that all soldiers were better aware of the consequences of their actions. How the actions of one can affect the progress of many is easy, the media takes that one incident and progresses it into a world-wide event. I blame the media for a lot of the set backs that the US military has had in stabilizing and securing both Iraq and Afghanistan. I think that they have not only demonized individuals but have caused hardships on the jobs of the people in Civil Affairs, whose job is to establish and build rapport with the host nation. I do not agree with the actions of the few soldiers that have violated basic human rights and have created bad situations for us, at the same time, I do not agree with the media for having to make it front page news.
I feel that the job that I do in Iraq has helped me with the job that I do at home. I have a tremendous amount of patience with my children. I love them so much and I am reminded of that every time I call them, every time that I see them. I feel that my way of life could have been drastically different had I not been guided along a path which had me helping others who needed it. I am thankful for who I am today from the military and from my father for assisting me in being as balanced as anyone could ever ask for.
Overall, I feel that I did not do anything wrong, I am a great soldier, I know that I am a great father and I know that I was a caring, dutiful husband that tried to do what I could to keep some romance alive.
Thank you for reading.
