OLD POSTS NEED LOVE TOO… HERE’S ONE FROM 5 YEARS AGO!

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED NOV. 9, 2013

“Today, on a military base (which I shall not name) located somewhere in the Helmand province of Afghanistan, this is happening…

The weather was cooler today, ranging from a high in the upper 60s to a low in the 50s, but it was dry. It will get much colder in about a month. This means breaking out winter gear for the troops, but that’s okay, because colder weather also means fighting season is coming to a close for this year. Considering there is a troop drawdown in place, fighting and attacks still occur too frequently for my liking. I know in real time when an attack or a casualty has occurred. How? All external communications are cut, and my personal daily communications with my consultants halt abruptly and stay dark for hours.

In fact, just yesterday there was some excitement, which I can’t talk about. There are a lot of things I can’t write here, so let’s move on to what I can.

Tonight for dinner the main line in the chow hall served rotisserie chicken, baked trout, steamed white rice, baked potatoes, broccoli, macaroni salad and vegetable lo mein. The food is good there–maybe on account of the suggestion box located in the dining hall–there is a mix of traditional American as well as ethnic offerings that changes daily. Selections have included Gyros and Eggplant Parmesan. There is fruit served at every meal and ice cream for dessert. But even so, a group of Marines decided to have a good old fashioned barbecue tonight instead of eating in the chow hall. They made kabobs and sausage. They set up a grill and appointed official grillers. It is, after all, the Marine Corps Birthday weekend, but unlike their fellow Marines back at rear, they won’t be donning dress blues. This year, there is no Marine Corps Ball for them. Word is for tomorrow’s meal, served on the actual Marine Corps Birthday, there will be lobster, fried shrimp and steak to celebrate.

A few of the SNCOs had to travel to the General’s compound on the other side of base today. They have been putting in 14+ hour days for the past week, rather than their usual 12 hours a day, preparing and practicing for this brief.

Some of those SNCO’s, the ones in the zone for promotion, are waiting on pins and needles right now. The promotions board convened a week later than planned because of the government shutdown, which means the results will also be delayed, so they wait.

Some will head to bed early tonight because college football rivalries know no boundaries. The game will air today in the States, but for these troops it will air at 05:30 Sunday morning. They plan to get to work early to watch it because there are some big bets on the line. No, not cash–the loser has to pay for the winner’s haircuts through the end of the deployment. It’s not a stretch to suppose the cheering during the game will be much like any bar or home here in the US today, except rather than wearing team jerseys, these fans will travel to watch the game in their required MarPat, Kevlar and Flaks, with an ever-present pistol on their hip.

Yesterday, I mailed my guys’  Christmas gifts. Why so early? No, it shouldn’t take that long to reach Afghanistan. Probably about 10 days, maybe a bit longer. But who knows? Things happen to delay mail sometimes. Meanwhile, I am happily anticipating the unit’s “mail stop” date to be announced shortly because they are nearing the end of this deployment.

I write fiction for a living, so there’s a chance many of you think the above is made up. Me using literary license to entertain. It’s not. Every single item above is fact. It’s what I have to do, what I have to know, to write military romance.

What is that old saying? You can pick your friends, but you can’t pick your relatives? Very true sentiment. Since 2006, the times have been few and far between that I haven’t had at least one friend waking up in a war zone. There is currently a calendar app installed on my computer. I set it to count down to the date in the near future when finally all of my guys will be back on US soil. How long that will last before one or more deploys again, I don’t know, but still, that day when we all stand on the same continent will be a very good day.”