Time in Iraq

I arrived in Iraq on March 31, 2010 and it is currently October 16, 2010. So far this trip has taken me through so much turmoil. When we first arrived my team and I were preparing for our missions and getting our equipment ready. Two weeks later we were told that our mission was scratched and we would be given the option to go home early. For a good two months we sat around doing nothing and I seriously considered taking that early flight home. Instead of opting out though I decided to find a unit that was here to work with until our time in Iraq was up. This decision was both good and bad in some ways. It was good because I was able to obtain a new rating for my Air Traffic Control job and it gave me leadership time as well. The bad comes into play when the unit I worked for started to go belly-up with problems. I say unit but it really was a certain aspect of the unit. There were people causing so much chaos that it was causing the rest of the facility to get all bent out of shape. I've been working here at Baghdad Radio now since July and will be leaving their presence in approximately 15 days. I'm excited and sad all balled up in one little person. I'll miss some of the people I've come to know here. They have left a lasting impression on me and I will never forget them. However, the excitement to go home is overpowering my sadness for leaving them. My unit tells me we'll be home before Christmas and that makes me extremely happy. Christmas is one of my favorite holidays of the year. I'm missing Thanksgiving this year (my second favorite) but I hope that the dining facilities are able to provide a good holiday meal for us. I guess I'll find out when that day arrives.

So far I've taken many online courses in an attempt to get my General Education Requirements fulfilled. I took History 2 and Chemistry + Lab and completed them. I'm currently taking Intro to Anthropology, Training & Conditioning and Trigonometry. My Trig class will last until January but my other two are about to be over at the end of this month. In the beginning of November I'll start my final class in Celtic Christianity which should end in December before I get home. Upon returning to the states I'm hoping to attend Louisiana Tech University to major in Photography and Journalism. We'll see how that goes.. I change my mind a lot.