DEPLOYMENT THOUGHTS

Another rainy day in Ft. Hood, Texas. I have now been here a month, not sure how much longer I will be here.

I spent 20 lovely months in Iraq, and have many good memories both in country and at home. One of the biggest successes and life changers was my wonderful wife Robyn received her surgery February of 2009, it was a long journey for her as she went through many appointments and calls to finally get it set up. She has now lost over 140 pounds and is adjusting to her new life.

My daughters also reached milestones while I was gone. Rachel graduated from high school and has started college at Daytona Beach State College and is doing an outstanding job. Randi graduated from Paramedic School and is still working for EVAC as a Paramedic. She also is doing an outstanding job, getting many compliments from other Paramedics, nurses and hospital staff on her patient care, compassion and dedication. She worked full time nights as an EMT and attended Paramedic school during the day, this was very hard but paid off. RaDonna graduated from Nursing School and is working at Florida Hospital Flagler in the emergency department. She is also doing an outstanding job and getting many complements. She is currently pursuing her BSN which is great, I waited way too long to do that. I cannot express in words how proud I am of my family! They have done a great job in my absence. Maybe being so busy has helped them cope and not miss me so much.

Robyn’s mother Margaret moved in with us before I deployed. She has been a real blessing to Robyn and the girls while I have been gone. It has been a pleasure having her there.

My sister Susie has had an exciting time while I have been gone. Last year she had open heart surgery, and had 4 vessels replaced. She is doing well now, retired from KTA and adjusting to not working. I think as soon as her body adjusts to not working nights and crazy shifts she will do great.

I has been my honor and privilege to serve my country in Iraq. I have also been humbled by the dedication, commitment and sacrifice by the Soldiers, Marines and Sailors who go outside the wire everyday serving their country and fighting the insurgents. It has been quite an experience serving the sick and injured military, civilian contractors and local people. I have participated in making a difference in their lives and Soldiers home to their loved ones.

It was a valuable experience for me getting to work at three different bases. The time I spent in Mosul was the most dangerous for our hospital. COB Diamondback and COB Marez received rocket fire many times during our stay there. We had the one attack Christmas day 2008 where a rocket landed in our living area and killed one of our FST physicians and wounded two others. COB Speicher where I spent my time with the 47th CSH received rockets several times during my stay but it is so big they all landed in a open area until just before we left, and one hit next to the ladies shower and wounded three of our nurses. They were minor wounds, could have been much more deadly. Luckily they use old rockets and cannot aim them very well.

I made many friends during this time and I am sure our friendship will last a lifetime. Each hospital united a group of Soldiers into a unique bond. I will not try to name anyone because I will miss someone and do not want to upset someone. I don’t know if sometime down the road that we might have a reunion, many of these Soldiers are in Florida yet and many are spread over the country. For the 345th, we had Soldiers from 44 States filling our unit. With the 47th, we had nurses from all most all the major posts in the States and Germany.

I really planned on being home now, with my feet kicked up on leave, getting acquainted again with my family and getting ready to go back to work at the ED. But since I fell in December and hurt my shoulder, I am still at Ft. Hood awaiting paperwork assigning me to the CBWTU so I can go home and get my shoulder fixed and recover there. They are saying it will take four to six months for my should to heal and get released back to full duty. Since this happened in Iraq, in this program I will get fixed and recover on orders, getting paid by the Army.

It is difficult to be so close to home yet so far away. God gives us challenges for us to grow. Guess I am getting a class in patience. Couple things that help here and was such a blessing in Iraq is the internet and Skype. Being able to communicate with my family most everyday was instrumental in keeping in touch with my family and friends.

I will continue to attend mandatory briefings and appointments while waiting for acceptance into CBWTU, patiently, and look forward in getting home. I am thankful for the experiences I have had over the last 21 months and look forward in the future.

The prayers and support from family, friends, church and work have been and continue to be priceless. Thank you all so much!

Randy