Light at the End of the Tunnel

From Michael:
August 17, 2008

It has been nearly a full month since I last wrote. Not much has really happened in that month. Our convoys were struck by IEDs, resulting in some serious injuries, but thankfully, no deaths. By my count, we have had 4 IED strikes on our vehicles thus far, none resulting in fatalities. We have been either extremely good, or extremely lucky…probably a mix of both.

The temperatures have been steadily in decline as of late, which is welcome relief from the 130-degree days of June and July. I believe the high yesterday was a cool 111. The “milder” temperatures do bring one bad omen, flies. I guess not even the flies can survive at 120 degrees plus, but at 110, they do just fine. I put up one of those disposable fly traps that Kelle sent me near my living quarters and, despite the fact that it smells like rotted flesh, it does a very good job. Flies, it appears, like the smell of rotted flesh, as the trap literally has about an inch of dead flies floating on the surface of the water in the trap. Yes, disgusting, but just think about that layer of flies swarming around your face all day long. Equally disgusting if not more so.

We are nearing the end. We used to have a saying that “the light at the end of the tunnel just might be a train coming in the opposite direction”. We can all see the light at this point, so let’s hope it’s not that proverbial train. The focus at this point is transitioning into what we call “retrograde”. This is actually a very labor-intensive and detailed planning process. Unpacking upon our arrival is easy, it’s putting everything back into the box that is difficult. Add to that the rush that everybody is in to get out of town, and you have some serious safety concerns. At this point, the most dangerous people on the battlefield are ourselves.

I admit that it is difficult to keep focused when it feels like we are so close to going home. But Marines are professionals, and I cannot let my guard down, even for a moment. There are Marines that depend on me doing the best job I can, and if they see me ease up and get lazy, it sets a bad precedent.

I am looking forward to eating normal human food back in Kandahar , and then eating good normal human food back in the States. I can’t wait to have good Tex-Mex and good pizza.