Home Front

I want to show a small portion of the support I receive from all of you while I'm over here. I say a small portion because this doesn't include the e-mail, passed on well wishes during phone calls, and care packages I've received from home. Among these letters (and I apologize in advance if I miss someone) are postcards from my mom, cards from my dad, birthday cards from my children, a note my wife tucked into my sea bag as I departed (she has always done that when I've deployed and I never catch her slipping her note into my things), letters from my Commanding Officer and Admiral back home, a Thanksgiving card from a former co-worker and her church group, notes from folks at my church, and a letter from a total stranger who got my address and wanted me to know how much she appreciated what I was doing.

With the possible exception of World War II, I can't imagine a time when people in the military had such tangible evidence of the wide-ranging support from folks back home.

Thank you all so very, very much. Your support really does mean a lot to those of us over here and deployed world wide.

Cheers, Pearl

Bowl Bound

Looks like my Tigers are headed to the New Orleans Bowl! After a terrible start to the year, Memphis managed to win five of their last six games to complete a 7-5 season and garner an invitation to the Big Easy. In many ways, this is the perfect bowl bid for me as the New Orleans Bowl is the only bowl tie in for the Sun Belt Conference where my other team, Troy University, is likely to win the conference. It is a no lose proposition for me! The real bummer is, I won't be able to see the game.

In 2003, when Memphis went to their first bowl after a 32 year drought, it was the New Orleans Bowl. My dad, Tim (a family friend), and I drove down to enjoy the Tigers' victory over North Texas. It was an absolutely wonderful time and I sure wish I could do it this year as well. Unfortunately, I likely won't be able to see it on TV either. I have R&R leave approved and will be headed back to see my family for 15 glorious days over Christmas and I will almost certainly be spending December 21 waiting on a flight out of Kuwait back to the States. If all goes well, I should be back home sometime on the 23rd or 24th - just in time for Santa! So, while I'll miss the game, it's all for a good cause!

Go Tigers! Good luck in New Orleans!

Cheers, Pearl

Happy Thanksgiving!

It occurred to me as I was walking back from a wonderful Thanksgiving meal at the DFAC that I've come full circle. As a brand new Lieutenant (Junior Grade) I began my first deployment right after finishing training in the A-6E Intruder. I met my squadron on November 9th, a few weeks after they'd departed Norfolk . That was in 1991. My first holiday deployed away from home was Thanksgiving onboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower right here in the Arabian Gulf. And here I am, in 2007, enjoying another Thanksgiving in the Gulf region, but this time, on the ground with an Army unit.

Would I have rather been at home with my family today and all of the Thanksgivings spent apart? Absolutely! There's not a Soldier (or Sailor) on the ground here that doesn't have that wish. But today was a special day, spent among friends, and was still a day full of thanks. I am thankful that I have had an enjoyable career that could never be called dull or boring. I am thankful that I have a loving family at home, celebrating their last Thanksgiving without me there. I am thankful to work among such professionals as the men and women fighting here in Iraq today. Finally, I am especially thankful for all of God's blessings on everyone in uniform.



Cheers, Pearl

VIP Parade

It's as inevitable as taxes in April and mosquitoes in summer. The Holiday season begins Thursday and so does the VIP Parade. What, you ask, is the VIP parade? It is the steady stream of Senators, Congresspeople, Generals, and high-level Executive Branch dignitaries that arrive in country for a whirlwind tour to bolster the troops' morale and show people back home that they really care for the average Soldier. What does the average Soldier actually think of all this attention? Well, as stated very well in a letter to the editor of Stars and Stripes, one SGT summed it up with, "Please stay home."

I know all of these VIPs mean well (well, mostly they mean well, some are here for the photo op I'm sure) but I wonder if they understand the impact their visit has on the military population at large. The VIPs show up on a special flight, have to be cared for and guarded during a carefully choreographed schedule, and will get to meet and greet selected Soldiers under the watchful eye of their NCOs' gaze. Often, I'm not making this up, questions are planted with "average Soldiers" so the VIP will feel like he/she really engaged on a personal level and got the ground truth of the average fighting man/woman.

Here's the thing. Their visit is a distraction and an annoyance. I have heard many say they just want to be able to enjoy a meal with their buddies and not have to deal with the hubbub of these visitors. If these VIPs want to experience Iraq - great! Instead of spending a day or two away from home on a pampered visit, come on over for six, nine, twelve, fifteen months. Move into a tent or share a CHU with a few of your friends. Squeeze yourself into a Humvee for a patrol or even better, walk through a real Iraqi neighborhood, minding of course the ever-present threat of snipers and IEDs.

Well, perhaps that last part was a little harsh. I'm not trying to be disrespectful of our leadership - like I said, I know they mean well. But I for one am looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner with a few Specialists, Sergeants, and senior NCOs that I've come to know as professional colleagues and friends. We've really shared this place together and I wouldn't give up my seat at that table of "VIPs" for any other table in the world.

Cheers, Pearl

Coffee is for old people

I love coffee, even more than ever after discovering flavored creamer! Mmmm, mmmm, good! I usually drink a couple of cups every morning and one of my most favorite things to do is have a nice, warm cup of coffee in a mug my daughter made years ago while sitting on my deck on a slightly cool Saturday morning. There's nothing about coffee I don't completely enjoy: the smell of fresh grounds, the warmth as it goes down smoothly, even the little bitter bite if I overload the coffee maker. But that's all just nostalgia to the young Soldiers here.

Coffee is simply passé. It doesn't have enough kick, flavor, whatever. The new drinks are all about the buzz. Every morning, heck all throughout the day, Soldiers are drinking all manner of energy drinks. Red Bull was the first one to make it to the mainstream, packed with sugar and caffeine it was how partiers continued all night long. Now there are whole new sensations with names like "Rip It!" and "Monster Energy Drink." These are the new get-up-and-go drinks for today. At morning meetings many are drinking Rip It Citrus flavor and for missions Monster drinks are a staple just like Gatorade and water.

There are a few of us still doing it the old way in the mornings, beloved coffee mug in hand. But almost without exception, those with a mug instead of an aluminum can are the few of us who were making deployments when some of these Defenders of Freedom were in grade school or still in diapers.

So, if you've lived in a time when Iraq didn't take center stage in the news, raise your coffee mug high!

Cheers, Pearl