Humble Thoughts

Recently I received news of a buddy of mine just passed away while in Iraq. It is depressing, but there will be a time later on to feel bad. Right now, it's important to focus on the mission at hand and to make sure the new guys (rookies or cherries) come home safe and sound. I don't necessarily worry about my own safety, because now as a senior member of the group, it is my job to look out for these guys. We have a really good leadership, so I take comfort in that we are all in good hands. There isn't anyone in our unit that I would say I don't want to go to combat with. It is definitely differently not as bad as it was the last time we were there, however, I feel we are as ready if not more than any other unit in the Army. Alot of us have already been there, so it shouldn't be too hard to re-adapt to the environment in Iraq. I get to see my family one more time before I go home, I am sure it is going to be very difficult for my parents to say good-bye to me. There is nothing I can say to ease their minds about me going back to Iraq. My mother recently asked me a question if I was nervous, because she was nervous. My answer was I didn't have time to worry about myself, I have to watch out for the other guys. It's not about me, it's about them. Many people don't agree with this war, however, we are there now, and have a job to do. I'm definitely NOT eager to go, but I am ready to go and will do my job as an American soldier. I haven't been religious in a long time, but I am seriously thinking about getting back into it when I go to Iraq. I think religion helps alot in difficult situations like that where sometimes bad things happen that is out of your control. We all know that during the elections, the fighting will be at it's worst, so many guys are hoping for us to arrive after the elections. I don't think the USA needs to be in Iraq anymore after the elections. We've accomplished EVERYONE we wanted, to free the Iraqi people, captured Saddam, killed his murderous sons and have finally come to democratic elections. Everyone is done, they even have a military bigger then our Coalition forces in Iraq and many Police. They have everything they need for success. We can't carry the weight of this by ourselves. We can hardly carry our own weight as a nation. We have our own problems.