Could it be that WE are the lucky ones now?

Many of our friends are deploying this week. Of course, had we stayed at Ft. Stewart, Thak would be roughly halfway through his 4th tour right now. The fact is, though, we did not stay at Ft. Stewart (it wasn't an option), and Thak's new unit has no orders anywhere on the horizon. Three tours is all there were and will be for us, and in my opinion, it's two too many, but what's done is done. At least we can say with honesty that when our country called, we answered, and made no attempt to hide like cowards (you would be surprised how many people within this very Army cannot say the same).

Day after tomorrow, Thak will have been home from his 3rd tour in Iraq for two years. We have never had two consecutive years without a deployment, or something really big and stupid to take him away from us for months to a year or more at a time, but now we have. It's like we're the lucky bastards we always envied when we were slogging it out long and hard in 3rd ID for 5 years.

I can't say I feel bad for the people who are deploying. None of them are peacetime enlistees, and they've all reenlisted recently. They chose to deploy. Hell, they all chose their units, knowing that they were deploying units. I also think it's great that they've had as much dwell time as they have. Everyone's been home over a year. Actually, the worst case scenario in this lot belongs to the ones who have been home a year and a half. One of our good friends has been home from his 2nd tour for 2 years today, and won't leave on his 3rd until next week. These kinds of numbers were unheard of just a year ago. When Thak left for his 3rd tour, we were thankful that he'd gotten a year at home between it and his 2nd, because there was a battalion on post (the one I'd have served in had I taken my initial orders out of AIT and not gone to Airborne School instead) which only got 6 months at home before they began training up for their next deployment, and 9 months before they left. So coming from something like that, and now seeing people getting 1 1/2 to 2 years home for one year away, it is a difference.

I'm glad it's not us this time, though. We've made our choice, and seeing everyone we know who's still on the hamster wheel is a big reminder that our choice is a good one. Nothing but love for the people who choose to deploy. Somebody's got to do it. Glad it's not us anymore, though. Real glad.