A Long January, Longer February

Well, I have been back about two weeks now and finally getting back into the swing of things. So many things happened while I was gone. The large amount of snow to hit Clarksville and Fort Campbell was one thing I really wished I would have been here for. But it has snowed plenty since with more to come this weekend. While I was in JRTC I kept notes on things to comment about in case there is some one there that is headed to training there and would like to know what to expect. Remember though, I am in a battalion S-1, not a ground pounder.

The day that we left it was cold and snowing. When I say cold, I mean single digits. All I could think about was that I am in the Bastogne Brigade and here we are standing outside in the freezing weather and remember the guy in WWII that were actually in Bastogne. We were outside for a few hours and those guys were out in it for days without the comfort of heat. At the moment of realization, I was thankful for those heroes!!

After freezing every inch of our body, we were piled into some tour buses to enjoy a 14+ luxury ride to Louisiana. Well, as luxurious as a bus can be. It was not too bad of a ride though. We stopped every couple of hours to stretch our legs so it was not too bad.

The food was typical field chow. Cold and nasty. There was only a couple times that the food was pretty good. We had "hot" cold breakfast and dinner each day with MRE for lunch.

Well, I was going to write a lot more about being there, but I will say that the training was great. I learned a lot, especially seeing that I got to the unit on Monday and left for Louisiana on Thur in the same week.

There was a small PX, that was actually a 40ft trailer. It had the essentials and not much else. There were chips and a few other things. Not soft drinks though. That was killing people. We dealt with it though. It was a good thing on the limited food and drinks for me though. I was able to lose about 18 pounds in the month I was there. Actually only 3 weeks. I was very excited when I got home and stepped on a scale and saw that I lost that much. I have to keep working on it and losing as much as I can.

Well, here it is Feb and now I am packing for the long trip over the ocean. I am not leaving for a few months, but that does not mean there is not a lot of work to be done. We are packing our containers that are leaving soon for Afghan. That means we have had and will have long work days getting that piece complete. Once that is done, there will be something else that needs to get done. It is a never ending cycle.

I am making arrangements for my house while I am gone and I am hoping that my friend is still willing to live here while I am gone. I am counting on her to take care of things for me. I have not a decision on whether Buck will stay here with her or if he will go back to parents house to be with the other dogs. So much to think about and so much to do.

This is a long weekend for us with President's Day on Mon and I should have went to OH to see my grandma who is still kicking, but I have too much to do to go anywhere. Looks like I will be working on my time on Mon or Tue so that I will not have to work late every night this week. And hopefully my soldiers will not screw up so I will not have to work late either. Well, just one of them. That's a long story for another blog.

On another note and some great news, my new parenting plan has been filed in court and that means that I am getting more time with Courtney and pretty much got what I wanted. I am very excited that now I get to see more of her. I know that she is happy too. When I explained it all to her, she was very excited. This last weekend when I went home and saw her, she would not let go of me. She missed me so much that she clung to me like it had been a lot longer since she saw me. It really made feel great.

Found out this morning that the wonderful Tessa (hint of sarcasm there, well a lot of sarcasm) is now married again. 3 marriages in 2.5 years. Its only been 9 months since she left me and 7 since our divorce. Not sure how some one can do that. I guess you really have to be without a heart and soul to move around like that. From my understanding, she is still in TX and hope she never comes back this way. OK, enough of that.

Well, life is still treating me good. Although I am still alone, and lonely most of the time, life is good. Actually debating if I am going out to have a few drinks tonight. Need to save the money, but get bored sitting around all the time.

Until next time.....

SGT John Strader