ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Willy Nelson once wrote " it's good to get on the road again." After months of training my unit held a "casing of the colors" ceremony to represent our relocation to Southwest Asia. That's me in the first photo praying for our safe departure and return, a successful mission, and all through the providence of a loving God.

The event represents a lot of hard work and consists of months of physical, mental , emotional and, for some, spiritual training. Most think of deployments overseas in terms of 12 months. In reality, with the pre and post requirements, you are more realistically looking at 24-30 months of committment.

We said goodbye to our advance party with a mixture of smiles and tears. For many of these couples this could be the second, or even third time of separation for them in their young marriages. It's hardest on the Soldiers with children, but military families are amazingly resilient and adaptable to the rapid changes associated with Army life