We depart the FOB with some unexpected ambivalence. As much as I have poked fun at it, it has, over the past seven months, become a home, a place with a familiar routine and an important mission. Don't get me wrong, everyone is anxious to be reunited with their family. But this is an experience that helps define a person, located in an unforgettable place adjacent to a remote town nestled in the Hindu Kush. We will almost certainly never it see again. Nevertheless, though we move on, for those who remain the routine persists.
Memorials are tended.
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| Unit coin collection continues to grow. |
Construction crews continue to make improvements.
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| Bulldozer's paradise. So much dirt to move, so little time. |
Meals are served. Latrines are cleaned (Such is the legend. The quest proceeds.) Facilities are maintained. Laundry is done.
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| Note to home: Honey, they did my laundry for me on deployment. |
Supplies are delivered.
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| The Lost Ark finds a new home. |
Operations are planned. Patrols depart and return.
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| The job is fine but commuting is hell. |
The 'mart' opens for business. Bargains galore for "you, my special friend."
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| Last chance to get a special deal on that acrylic-encased scorpion that you know your spouse covets. |
Troops congregate, socialize, and decompress.
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| Cigars, near beer, sunset, camaraderie As good as it gets...without alcohol. |
I wrote many months ago that FOB life is a shared experience for veterans of combat zones. What more to say about Life on the FOB? Maybe just that it goes on.
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| A view worth remembering. |
Safe travels home to all of you, and Thank you, for the job you all have been doing for the past 7 months! and for sharing it with us!
ReplyDeleteYour blogs have been wonderful...made me cry and laugh. I have appreciated the news and the photos. I bid you all safe return to loving arms.
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