Resolve

After counting down midnight on New Year's Eve in the operating room while performing surgery on a Afghan Army soldier's liver damaged by a gunshot wound, we have had a slow week, and given our unit's mission, slow portends to a good year.  Don't you agree?

It is time for New Year's resolutions.  I think our main resolution is to finish the home stretch of the deployment and make it home safe.  But that seems too obvious.  Sort of like resolving to breathe, it lacks panache.  Fortunately, we have the DOD to help us out.  We watch Armed Forces Network here.  Interestingly, it is a subscription service and thus there are no commercials.  Instead, during commercial breaks we see a stream of public service type announcements, or maybe I should call them military service announcements.  "Fill Out Your Power Of Attorney Paperwork Online,"  "Gambling Can Be Addictive," "Preventing Sexual Assault Is Your Responsibility," "Obey Local Customs And Laws," "Fad Diets Don't Work," "Join the US Army European Command Band," and many, many more.  Heck there are so many potential New Year's resolutions that we can't keep up.  I wish that I could show a sample but I don't have the rights.  Not to worry because there are a couple suggestions I've found on the FOB.

Therefore, for 2011, we resolve to:

Resolving to stay alive improves your odds of keeping other resolutions. Bonus!

And if that is not enough, then one might resolve to be "The 3 B's." (I know that you think you count 4 B's but just go with it.)

Just don't BE afraid of mutual exclusiveness.

Good luck with your resolutions.