I started my blog back in January of 2004 days before I left on my first trip to Iraq, I was in a different relationship and different unit. I remember those first days in Kuwait thinking to myself, what in the world have I got myself into? Almost everybody going forward from Kuwait had no clue, good or bad what the next 6 months to a year would hold for them or even if they would make it back. My old SgtMaj said "Look at those Marines around you, some of them aren't going to make it back", I for one, am glad to see that he was proven wrong.
Arriving at the same airbase that I am now, we received the welcome aboard brief where a SSgt told us, "We never get attacked her, we wear soft covers and no body armor". Half an hour later we had one of the largest mortar attacks this base had ever seen seen and luckily only one person was killed and ironically, the guy who died was probably one of the only people on base wearing body armor because he was about to get into a tactical vehicle. The hole in the road next to PX is a grim reminder to those who remember that night, no matter what anyone says, not to let our guard down and if your number is up, not much you're going to be able to do about it (that's my job).
It's been 2 years, 8 months and some change and Doc in the Box is about to float over that elusive quarter million mark. That number might be pocket change to fellow bloggers like Lt Smash and Blackfive but it's a nice rounded number for me. Blogging from the front lines isn't quite as cutting edge as it was when I first got started, there's literally hundreds of Milbloggers who have been forward not to count thousands of people with myspace. And in reality? My story has never been that exciting, just the story of an average midlevel Navy Corpsman's journey a dry foreign land, far from his loved ones, taking life one day at a time so he can make it back home in one piece. I just never stopped writing the blog, over the years I've remained fairly consistent while many of my fellow Milbloggers stopped for one reason or another.
Don't expect too much excitement from my corner though, I'm slow and steady, for me to pull out my weapon and exchange fire with the bad guys would mean something was going really really wrong. That's too exciting for my old bones! If you're here chasing after war stories, there are plenty of Milbloggers out on the other side of the wife, kicking down doors, going on convoys and cruising the mean streets of Baghdad so many that I probably haven't read half of their stories. Like me, they're out there doing their jobs, I just lucked out picking a somewhat safer one, well on this trip at least.
I'm proud to have given you, my readers, a glimpse into the world seen though my eyes over the last couple years, probably somewhat different from yours but not totally alien either. I'm as human, a flawed as the next guy, my politics are delightfully murky and I do have a diabolical sense of humor. I hold high standards of honor and trust, I don't cheat, lie or steal (not withstanding yesterdays blog post, everyone involved came out ahead, my son got his games, my friends were taken care of, AAFEES got ride of their stock that they must have been desperate to get rid of and my Marines got a product that wasn't available here at a sharply discounted price and I got my Game Cube with few games, can't fault me for using my brain!)
For reader's both old and new, thank you joining me so far on this journey and thank god, this trip out here is almost done.
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