Goodbye November! Hello Camp Buehring!

"Our country! In her intercourse with foreign nations, may she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong." - Stephen Decatur With Thanksgiving behind us we leaned forward in our saddles and scanned the horizon for where our path would lead next. COB Adder had become a ghost town. Very few units remained and even those were in the process of leaving. My Soldiers toiled on driving constant convoys southward or managing the flow of retrograde cargo as it flowed through the various temporary storage yards. Whereas just a month ago these yards were full to overflow capacity, now a person could hit a golf ball from end-to-end without hitting anything. Using that as our measuring guide, we could all see the light at the end of the tunnel. The responsible drawdown of forces from Iraq was rapidly nearing completion - largely on the backs of my Soldiers. Working day and night with focus, drive and determined professionalism, they had cleaned out various bases in Iraq as though a giant vacuum cleaner had descended and removed every trace of military equipment. Several months ago we were scratching our heads and wondering if, just maybe, clearing out of here by the end of the year was even possible. Now we know that it not only was possible to accomplish, it is a task we are ahead of schedule in completing. But we aren't done yet. Clearing out eight years' worth of homesteading is a daunting logistical thing to do. We still need a few weeks and then we'll revisit mission accomplishment.

The day after Thanksgiving we had yet another visit by a General Officer. As could be expected, he went straight to the Cargo Shipping and Receiving Point (CRSP), where he was speechless to find it empty. From there we stopped by the former Ammo Supply Point (ASP) and got there just as the final convoy was pulling in to close the site for good. And so it went with all the places the General asked to visit. They were all empty. It was just as if the Grinch had come in the middle of the night and "on the walls all was left were some hooks and some wire." Practically the only items remaining were odds and ends that were either headed to the dump or being turned over to the Iraqis. An unusual oddity in one of the collections of junk was a carved black bear reminiscent of one you'd see out on the porch of a country store adjacent to the rocking chairs. It was an example of how incredible an assortment of odds and ends have accumulated in this country since we first came. I'm certain they will remain as a legacy to our stay in this country - for better or for worse.

Some of the units that belong to my Battalion have already relocated to Camp Buehring, Kuwait, where they continue to run convoys to Iraq and back to retrieve more stuff. My commander had already notified me that my HQ would have to move their too. I stalled as long as I possibly could. Kuwait is a place I always want to keep in my rear view mirror. I pleaded my case that we complete our mission from COB Adder. However, events beyond our control were dictating otherwise. As the infrastructure of the base was dismantled we began to lose our communications network. It was becoming impossible to stay in touch with our units on a consistent basis. By the time the last few days of the month were scrolling by it was painfully obvious the Colors had to fly south. With November coming to a close my CSM and I climbed into a Blackhawk and ascended into the night sky on a southward flight out of Iraq. The Gypsy Battalion was jumping the TOC one final time. True to our fighting form, our move into Kuwait was not to catch a flight home. Our move was truly another operational relocation in order to continue on with our mission. But Camp Buehring will be the final foxhole for our Soldiers. From here, the place we first deployed to back at the end of March, we will close out Iraq and finish our mission. The last passage of the final chapter is now upon us. Goodbye November! Hello Camp Buehring! As December dawns bright with a Kuwaiti sun it will be the last month in which we'll be serving in this strange foreign land.