A Little Update

Bear and his group made their way back to the base on the 22nd, and weren't sure if they would even return back to their missions in the field. There are some kind of elections going on for the locals, which has a history of causing terrible riots, and the Army doesn't want their Soldiers out in the middle of nowhere with that going on. So Bear was getting frustrated waiting to see if the post was going to get put on lock-down, or if he would be going out for one more mission before he starts his journey home. I don't know exactly when these elections are going to be held, but the Army apparently feels it is safe enough for them to make one more trip out to the field, so he headed out on the morning of the 24th. I had written in a previous posting that his host unit submitted paperwork for him to start the process to go home. Apparently they did that while the 1SG (high up enlisted guy in charge) was on leave, so he had no clue about it being done. He met up with Bear over this last trip to the base, and flexed his rank a little on Bear to let him know that he doesn't have to let him go because his orders say "120 days or until relief arrives". But after making it known that yes, he is in charge, he also told Bear that he had no intention of keeping him there any longer than need be, and that he would still try to get him out with the first rotation in February. Let's just pray that the 1SG keeps his head about him and doesn't decide to be a prick just because he can! At some point, Bear talked to some personnel guys who told him that his name is on the flight manifest to leave on 07 Feb!!! YEAH!!! It's hard to believe that he will be home in less than a month already! Hopefully the girls and I will be over our colds by then. But for now, he has made it back to his home out in the field, which means we're back to those darn satellite phones that lose reception completely if a cloud floats over his head. He will be returning back to the base on the 29th for good, and will be able to start outprocessing!!! Needless to say, we are so ready for him to come home! And soon after that, we can start making plans to all go home, away from the Army!