Going to the desert (again)

Tomorrow, I'll be reporting on base at 5:30pm to check in for our squadron's flight to Qatar. I'll be there for 6 weeks (the squadron's going to be gone for 4 months--I'm coming back early for special ops training) and am looking forward to flying combat missions again. I haven't been "over there" since January.

As I was on my way to work this morning to tie up some loose ends before I go, I saw the guy that sells newspapers almost literally in the middle of a busy intersection in North Charleston. He stands with a shopping cart full of papers, in a space of road between the left turn lane and the straight lanes.

This was nothing new...the guy is there every morning. This time, though, was different. He came over to my window. I was a little surprised that he was being so aggressive selling his papers today; I had never had a problem with him before. He usually allows you to flag him down if you want a paper, without coming directly up to you to get you to buy one.

He yelled something at me that I couldn't understand. As I rolled down the window, I realized he wasn't selling me a paper but thanking me. He had seen me in my flight suit. He said, "Y'all are doing a great job. A great job. Tell everyone that the paper guy at the corner of Ashley Phosphate and Dorchester thinks y'all are doing a hell of a job." I couldn't do anything but thank him. I almost felt like I should buy a paper, just out of appreciation, but I didn't want to cheapen it.



I can tell you from experience that things like this mean a lot to people in the military. A lot. I won't forget that. If you see someone you know in the military, thank them (no I'm not talking about me). This war isn't the most popular thing, and it's hard to keep focused on what we're doing sometimes, especially when we're so removed from it over here. As I get ready to go back into it, this was a great reminder of why I do what I do. We fly as much cargo and as many troops into Iraq and Afghanistan as we possibly can, to keep convoys off the road and to keep our troops on the ground safe. We fly injured troops, sometimes in critical condition, out of combat and into more advanced hospitals in Germany, and sometimes, all the way to the U.S. We literally save lives. I'm ready to get over there. I'm incredibly blessed to be able to do what I do.

I love my job.