Well, that date just got a hell of a lot more convenient!

In just a week to a week and a half, we'll drop below the 180 day mark on Thak's time in the Army. That's important since the policy that replaced Stop Loss states that soldiers who have less than 180 days left on their contract cannot be deployed unless they voluntarily extend their contracts for the time of the deployment (for which they'll receive some incentive pay each month that they extend for). It's a good policy, and it is nice to know that in just a few days' time, the threat of deployment that we have lived with constantly forever, will be gone. Yes, even if your unit has no orders, it's common to be transferred to a different unit, and deployed very spur of the moment. I cannot even tell you how many people I know who this has happened to. The threat is constant.

It isn't official yet, but the new talk is that the unit which was not on any kind of orders until a very long time from now, is quite probably coming up on them far sooner, and if Thak did not get out when he does, we would be affected. I can't imagine a 4th tour... I can't imagine seeing Thak off to war again with Erin who knows better than most kids just how bad it sucks, Orren who can't even stand when his daddy walks out the door to go to school for the night, and the new baby, who would only be days to weeks old at that point. I'm so glad we're going to get out from under it, even if it is barely by a hair.

Can't wait to be free. Can't wait to never think about any of this ever again. So glad Orren and the new baby will never ever have any idea what it's like to spend a year or more without their daddy. Now hurry up, and get here, next Spring so we can just be done for sure, and not have to worry about some commander finding a loophole. I actually trust Thak's company and battalion commanders not to do that. (The battalion commander is actually proofreading Thak's resume for him, and writing him a letter of reference for a job with the Border Patrol, so he is very supportive.) It's the brigade commander who scares the crap out of me (and everyone else). Although he did just get completely chewed out by the General for treating his troops like crap, so maybe he's not so worrisome anymore.

Geez... only 6 months until we never have to worry about any of this ever again. It can't come fast enough.