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26 Jul 2009
R&R Advice
I talked to a lot of smart people both before deploying and in the early part of this Iraqi tour. I asked for their recommendations on mid-tour leave, also called Environmental Leave (EML, which does not stand for Emergency Leave!), or Rest & Recouperation (R&R). With the caveat that everyone's experience is different, I will share some truisms that I found useful.

  • Try to schedule your leave for the downslope: that is, after your tour midpoint. As much as you might want to avoid the military, the MWR and AFRC have some great destinations, pricing and priority for deployed families.

  • If you can, meet your family someplace away from home. The "distractions" of your home and hometown can not only interfere with reconnecting to your family, but also makes it so much harder to return to duty.

  • At the pre-leave briefings from the chaplain and mayor team, pay attention! This isn't just "check the block" training, it's real lessons-learned. There's some good advice about avoiding excess, taking it very easy with your family, recognizing that everyone has been changed by this experience, and that your family has adapted with new routines and discipline that you won't just pick up again. Make a real effort to be a "guest in your own house."

  • Plan one-on-one time with each family member, doing something special, just with them. Eric asked that we work out in the gym together. Ethan and I played at the arcade together. Plus lots of other small moments.

  • Make no mistake: going back to duty is HARD to do. Be prepared. Stay in touch with your family sharing & reliving the moments.

  • Start making plans for the end of tour redeployment. How will we reconnect at the end of the tour? Not just as a family, but with work, church, organizations, friends and extended family? This kind of planning is also a welcome distraction from being back in the war!

 
Army Deployment , Family , General
posted by  henry at  04:42 | permalink | trackbacks [632]



15 Jul 2009
R&R Adventures!
Our time in Garmisch was nothing short of AWESOME! For a quick overview, see this little music video.


For more, I've uploaded a collection of over 340 photos to Picasa. I'll try to put a caption on each!
Garmisch Edelweiss
 
Army Deployment , Family , General
posted by  henry at  15:07 | permalink | trackbacks [532]



27 Jun 2009
Mid Tour Leave
The Army will fly a deployed soldier anywhere in the world for 15 days of Rest & Relaxation. They try to make about the middle of the tour, and it’s definitely something I’m looking forward to. My midpoint was early last month, so my leave is coming up soon. We’ve decided to meet in Germany, at the Army's recreation hotel, the Edelweiss . It is in Garmisch, where Lisa and I visited several times back in the early 90’s as a young lieutenant. Almost 20 years later, we’ll get to show it to our children! Ethan was so nice about it, too: “Dad, it’s OK if we go to some museums and stuff. I’ll still have fun.” As it turns out, there’s nary a museum in our plan. I’m thinking along the lines of whitewater rafting, mountain climbing, seeing the famous Neuschwanstein castle, and going to the pool a lot!
 
Army Deployment , Family , General
posted by  henry at  12:49 | permalink | trackbacks [375]



24 Jun 2009
Jim Reis
Jim and I are both assigned to liaise with the 34th Infantry Division (Liaison Officers). We work together in the G4 section. He’s a great guy with a background in social work and helping older youth. He's part of the core 287th Sustainment Brigade from Kansas, although he lives in a little town in Colorado. He knows the Division operations extremely well, and with my knowledge of convoy operations and Basra experience, we make an excellent team. We recently grabbed this photo: a real pair of mean looking warriors, huh?

Typically, I'll work the early shift, from about 6:30 am to 7:00 PM (1900 HRS!). Jim works about 10:30 am to 11:00 PM (2300 HRS!!). That way, we've got good coverage for all the little things, and big things, that pop up, plus we're double-teamed in the busier part of the day, with either meetings or various projects. That works well.
 
Army Deployment , General
posted by  henry at  13:12 | permalink | trackbacks [165]



21 Jun 2009
A Walk Around COB Basra
The Mayor of our little COB, LTC Steve Hanson, takes us on a guided tour of the Basra Coalition Operating Base (COB). There are lots of improvements ongoing, and even though this was just filmed last month, lots has changed since then. Also there are some intentional inaccuracies so that this can't be used by the wrong people.

 
Army Deployment , Family , General
posted by  henry at  12:11 | permalink | trackbacks [442]





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