Letters from Home...

The other day I received a couple of emails that really got my attention. The first was a heads-up informing me that I have a cousin over here with me. Apparently he joined the Navy (go figure) in 05 and became a Naval Corpsman (Medic) who deployed with a Marine Division, as all "Docs" are apt to do, for a 7 month stint west of Baghdad. Unlike me, he and his Marines are mainly in the field and drive patrols in HumVees. Instead of wet trailers like the ones I have, they live in true hooches, essentially a little hut-like building. As a Corpsman supporting his Marines he is at times under enemy fire and so far he's already had his first "bad-day" suffering a concussion and winning a trip to the hospital after the HumVee he was in ran over a mine. His Sergeant was badly injured and the driver, who also suffered a concussion, just recently returned to their unit.

This email is very significant - It affects me. The work I do has its "challenges," but nothing in comparison to his duty. Things at this high a level of command structure can sometimes get lost in statistics and percentages and I think I lose touch with reality. This email is a reminder that I must take every opportunity to resolve issues at my level as they eventually trickle down to the folks in the field and directly affect those Marines and their Corpsman on the ground. His appearance suddenly makes my job here extremely personal.

The second email is from a dear friend from high-school. We went to college together and she informed me of the happenings of several of our classmates that I haven’t heard from in, well many years - trust me. Where has the time gone? This makes me smile. She then went on to inform me that one of these friends is now battling brain cancer. On all accounts I suddenly feel melancholy and isolated. I have traveled so far since our college days and obviously now I feel even farther away still. I want to reach out and give comfort but there is not much I can do from here. All I can do is send my love and say a prayer for her speedy recovery. These emotions are not a negative thing. Life here in the IZ is "challenging" on so many levels that I can't go into at the moment. Sometimes you need a good dose of reality to make you feel again and bring you back from the turmoil.