From time to time I get asked why I haven't been posting as frequently as I did during my last deployment. I can promise that it has nothing to do with whether or not I'm
inspired to write. There isn't a day that goes by in which I don't encounter something that screams to be shared. And Soldiers are always a story unto themselves. I could wax eloquent about Joe for days on end. The real reason I have not been as prolific is more a matter of finding the time. During my last deployment I had a much more focused role and fewer responsibilities than this go-round. Although I was traveling constantly and living out of my rucksack, there was almost always time at the end of the day to download my thoughts. This deployment is quite different. Battalion Command, coupled with Army War College, is an exhausting endeavor. I write when I can and try to fill in the gaps. That being said, where did I leave off last time? Ah yes, we were up at Camp Liberty after a 10-hour MRAP trek. Let's see...
My first order of business upon arriving at Camp Liberty (after finding coffee of course) was a long overdue combat patch cerem
ony for my transporters of the "Blue Devils" from Orlando. We held this ceremony in their motor pool. I felt that was an appropriate venue for the ceremony, as the trucks surrounding the formation represented the very tools of their trade and symbolized the work yet to come on this deployment. After placing their patch on the right shoulder of both the Company Commander and First Sergeant, we then proceeded down the ranks of every platoon. I placed the patch on the shoulder of every Soldier, shook their hands and individually thanked each of them for the work they had performed so far. Then I shared a few words of praise with the entire company before we closed the ceremony. At the conclusion of the ceremony it was straight back to work. Many of the Soldiers were headed out that same day on a convoy. The cycle began anew. I left them to their duties and proceeded on with mine.
Around 1500 I made it back to my CHU, which I still have from our brief few weeks at Camp Liberty. Being as I was still hobbled and tired from the convoy ride up, I laid down and fell asleep. A short time later a knock came on my door. It was a Lieutenant from the Blue Devils. He was there to tell me that I was manifested to return to Adder later that night via convoy - the same one I came up on. After some quick thought I told him to take me and my driver off of the manifest. I still had work to do at Camp Liberty and needed to finish what I came to do. We would figure out another way to get back to Adder. This turned out to be one of the best decisions I've made in recent days. For one, it allowed me to do everything I sacrificed 10 uncomfortable hours in an MRAP to complete. But there was another reason this was a good decision - one which I had no idea of at the time. I'll explain in a moment.
Later that night I got together with all of the Officers and Senior NCO's from the Blue Devils and the other company I have at Camp Liberty - "Deuce Train" from Fort Campbell, KY. It was a rather chilly evening, which was a clear signal that the searing heat of an Iraqi summer is now behind us. We chatted for quite some time over cigars and near beer. Essentially, it was an informal professional development period in which we discussed the coming days of our mission and the various requirements it would entail. We also swapped stories about home and other subjects. Sometimes it is just a good thing to forget about the war for a few minutes. We did that and then got focused again as we called it a night.
The next morning my driver and I went to the only place remaining in Iraq where there's still a Green Beans Coffee - Sather AFB/BIAP. We each got a coffee and sat back for a few minutes to read "Stars and Stripes," which is a newspaper service members have been 
reading in combat zones for many decades. After a bit I suggested we walk over to the passenger terminal to see if there were any flights to Adder. It was a good call. There was a C130 headed that way around noon. But when we went to check-in space available we were sent to see the USF-I LNO as part of a new procedure being implemented. At first I was a bit disgruntled at this because it added more hassle to the process. But it turned out to be our blessing. The USF-I LNO was an Army Sergeant who asked to see our ID cards. He walked away for a few minutes and then came back and asked, "would you like to fly Embassy Air instead?" Embassy Air? Really? Do tell! So he walked us over to the civilian manning the EA desk. He said just to be back in about an hour with our bags and he'd get us on the flight. The aircraft was a Dash-8 (a common civilian "puddle-jumper" commuter plane). Seating was like in a normal airliner, which beats the cargo net seating of a C130 any day of the week. The best part was that all baggage - including body armor - would be checked below. My driver and I hurried back to our CHU's, retrieved all our gear, and made our way back just in time. In no time I was reclining in a comfortable seat as our aircraft took off for the forty minute flight to Tallil/Adder. Now this was more like it. Thirty-six hours earlier I was suffering 10 hours of extreme discomfort in an RG33. Now I was flying back in style and comfort. What an amazing contrast it was. We weren't complaining. By 1430 we were back on the ground at Adder. Our trip to Camp Liberty was complete. I had accomplished all of the tasks I set out to do.
And what of the return convoy I had been manifested for? It ended up taking 21 hours to get back to Adder. Along the way there were numerous maintenance halts, equipment failures, and even a hostile fire incident with small arms. What's worse is that my Chaplain and his assistant had elected to take the convoy back because they needed to be back to Adder in time to conduct Sunday services. My driver and I ended up beating both of them back by 8 hours. I told the Chaplain that in the future he should always trust his commander to get him back in time. I think he learned his lesson.
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