What's Important

We got a visit from Chaplain Owens. He’s an extremely charismatic and enthusiastic Air Force chaplain from Michigan who somehow got himself mixed up with us prior to our departure from home. He’s the kind of guy who just lights up an area the minute he gets near it. At first, he wasn’t going to deploy at all, although he wanted to. Then he got sent to Al Udeid. Then all of a sudden, he shows up here... the night of “the incident”

So anyway, before any of us even knew he was here, Laurie was walking down the road when she passed him. She said “hello,” bubbly as usual, and he stopped to tell her: “Laurie, you’re the kind of person who, no matter where they’re planted, just blooms!”

I can’t think of a better way to describe Laurie and her invaluable contribution to any situation in which she finds herself. I work with her occasionally back at Camp Perry, but it’s been constant here and I don’t know if I could have tolerated anyone else, or if anyone else could have tolerated me the way she has. Our work is boring and, for the most part, thankless, and dogging each other or cheering each other up is the only way we survive.

Chaplain Owens couldn’t have come to remind us of that at a better time. Laurie’s endurance while carrying this load was beginning to wane. Our reliance on her - taking advantage of her good nature, counting on her to stay cheery - was exceeding the quota. The chaplain’s words reminded me that I’m here with great people. I promised to tell you about them, but I probably can’t do most of them justice. Laurie is one. She does what’s right even when no one’s looking. In fact, it’s especially when no one’s looking that she worries the most about making those around her happy - often at her own mental expense. She’s one of many who contributes in ways that she isn’t even aware of and who never gives herself credit for her contributions.

It shouldn’t have taken Chaplain Owens to remind all of us how much we take from each other or to remind us that we should try to give a little too. When it comes down to it, RED HORSE is a family and we DO take care of each other, but it seems like we’re all waiting for some big defining moment to do the right thing when instead, we should just concentrate on doing it in the moment, in the routine and mundane activities every day.

Over the past 18 years my travels with the guard have always reminded me of what I take for granted back home. Especially when we deploy to less than ideal locations, I’m reminded of what’s really important, worthy of worrying about, and what I just thought was important. I think about spending more time playing with my kids, sending the kids to grandma’s and going on more dates with my wife, and generally being nicer to the people who make it possible for me to serve, and taking advantage of the time I have with those people rather than the people. If everything happens for a reason, then I’m here to be reminded of that. Emails from back home suggest that my wife is reminded of some of those things when I’m gone too. I really can’t wait to get home.

But the length of this trip reminds me that some of the people who have helped me serve as long as I have are right here with me. Just as we come to rely on the folks back home, taking them for granted, we do it to each other here as well. Part of the reason for this is self preservation. We’re all trying to figure out what we’re supposed to be doing, how to do it under the circumstances, and how to take care of ourselves in the meantime. It always takes a while to settle in on a deployment, but the three months of moving around from one temporary home to the next put everybody on a sharper edge than usual. By the time we finally got here, no one knew what the hell was going on so defensive mode was in overdrive.

Now that we’ve settled in a little, we’re starting to remember who we are, why we were chosen for this particularly difficult challenge, and just what we’re capable of when we work together. If things progress the way they usually do, we’ll be bored soon ‘cuz we’ll have begun to function smoothly and have nothing left to worry about except counting down the days.

Laurie and the Chaplain reminded me of that the other day. I hope I don’t forget it as quickly this time.

Type at ya later,
Luth

(There are supposed to be pictures with this - to lighten the mood a little, but the %&#$ picture site won't listen to me)