To Make a Long Story Even Longer

The Army doesn't do anything the easy way. I have very seldom looked at the path ahead and thought, "Yeah, that makes sense." Flexibility, I have learned, is key. For a girl who likes plans and calendars, that is a challenge. The timeline for training and deployment has always been a bit sketchy, but here is the latest: Marc will finish Blackhawk AQC (flight school) on Friday and probably be home by dinner! At the behest of the military (and in order to avoid any health complications in Iraq), Marc needs to have his wisdom teeth removed before he can deploy. Strange, I know. Because of this, we were pretty sure that he would be back in Nashville before the final departure to Iraq. However, he has missed some kind of deadline to meet up with the rest of his unit, who are currently in Ft. Sill, OK. So, after his visit to the oral surgeon, he will have to wait until his unit is in Iraq and go instead to Ft. Bragg, NC, where he will receive mobilization training. It looks like the earliest this will happen is the first week in June, so his stay in N'ville will be longer than we anticipated, which is FABULOUS. After two weeks of training at Bragg, he will meet the unit in Iraq, most likely before the end of June. The important question: does this mean he will be gone longer? Nope! The deployment is for 12 months (give or take...remember, flexibility?) from the date his unit was mobilized, which was March 31st. We are still expecting that he will be back home sometime early in April 2010.

Officially a Blackhawk pilot.

Killing stuff is OUT. Picking stuff up and moving it around is IN. Woot.

As of Monday, I am officially a qualified UH-60 Blackhawk pilot. We took our checkrides, and my stick buddy and I passed with fairly flying colors. I have mixed feelings about leaving Apaches. I would have liked to have gotten deployed at least once with that airframe, but there are things I definitely like about being a lift puke. Basically, the Blackhawk's job is to move stuff around. Whether it be people, supplies, parts, etc, I am basically now a glorified UPS driver with a little bit of taxi cab driver mixed in. Here's what I like about it:

1. The Blackhawk has a much more varied mission. This helicopter was made to be versatile. The Apache was made for one reason: to blow stuff up. Not that there's anything wrong with that.


2. I can actually perform the mission without getting deployed. Being in an Apache unit for almost 9 years and never having been deployed feels a little bit like being on a baseball team and only practicing. Basically I've been sitting on the bench for the last 9 years and never got in the game. With 60's, I will be able to play more.


3. One word: crew. Apaches have only 2 seats, and they're both occupied by pilots. That means it's only me and one other dude. In the Blackhawk, including the other pilot, the crew chief, and the 11 combat troops I can carry, that's 13 other guys that can find out how good of a helicopter pilot I am at one time! :)

I will miss flying guns. But here's to getting in the game.

Daddy Pillows

My friend Kristen just went through a deployment last year with her husband and their two girls. For this and so many other reasons, she is a wealth of information for me! While Jerry was gone, Sarah had something called a Daddy Doll (aka: Hug-a-Hero). Although Marc is somewhat disturbed by the idea of his picture being mounted to a pillow, I thought the kids would really like them, and I was right! Catelynn calls hers "my Daddy piwoow." I wanted to take a picture of the kids with the pillows, and I can't resist posting several attempts...

No? Okay then, maybe another day.

I believe my instruction in this shot was "Open your eyes!"

Sir Ham-a-lotSeriously, this is the best one I could get.
Perhaps justification for Marc's being disturbed
And, she's out! That's a wrap.

Get Out the Map

Get out the map get out the map and lay your finger anywhere down.

We'll leave the figuring to those we pass on our way out of town.

Don't drink the water; there seems to be something ailing everyone.

I'm gonna clear my head.

I'm gonna drink that sun.

I'm gonna love you good and strong while our love is good and young.

--Indigo Girls

I made this a few years ago (and by made, I mean with scissors and lacquer). It is by far my most creative venture. It even required a trip to Hobby Lobby or some such place. For some reason, we had yet to hang it in the "new" house (where we have lived for 2.5 years), but with Wesley asking about the exact location of where Daddy would be, I thought it was time to dig it out. We put a sticker on Nashville and a sticker on Iraq. If only they were as close as the map makes them look.