Monday, December 13, 2010

Farewells

Saying goodbye sucks.  Goodbye to my family at the airport was terrible at the start of my tour.  I did not expect saying goodbye at the end of my tour would be an event.  But as it happens, I really hated telling my friends goodbye.

My predecessor did not have a very close office group.  Each person did their own thing in the office and in their personal time, for the most part, and interacted with each other minimally.  Our office is (I guess "was" is appropriate now, since I'm leaving) the polar opposite.  We've done everything together, and had a darn good time doing it.  I have made friends here that I will keep for my lifetime, even though we may not get to see each other for five years at a stretch.  And after six months of seven day work weeks, long hours, hilarious shenanigans, and even some thrilling heroics, it's hard to imagine going through a day without these guys being around.

My farewell day started with lots of errands.  There's always loose ends to tie up when moving from one place to another, whether it's switching jobs or moving houses.  Re-deploying is no exception, and has the added layer of paperwork.  Checking out of my room, turning in my cell phone and laundry bag, and suspending my e-mail accounts were all required.  I also had to finish packing all of my acquired stuff into my limited bag space for the trip home.  I mailed 59 lbs of stuff yesterday, and I still had more to carry.  I was only here 6 months, how did I acquire so much crap?

After the mundane came the more fun sections.  MG Beare, the two star Canadian general for whom I have done most of my work, dropped by our office to say thank you to myself and to Heather, who is also leaving in a few days.  He gave us a nice send off, formally recognizing our efforts in front of our boss and our peers.  I learned that some of the work I had done in the past was being used to motivate the Afghan Minister of the Interior to affect change in a particularly troubled segment of the police, and it's working.  Noticeable changes have been seen since the information I produced was delivered to Afghan leadership.  Having this kind of effect on things is the largest part of what makes (made...sigh, I'll get used to it soon, bear with me) this job so great.  Impactful changes can be brought about on a timeline that allows me to see them.  Having MG Beare illustrate to me just how much change I've been able to affect on Afghanistan was extremely satisfying.

After this was the formal CJ7 Hail and Farewell send off.  My replacement was being welcomed as one of the new hails, and Heather and I were being farewelled (that is now a word).  Since I'm leaving, this was the last opportunity to share with the organization about my exploits.  And what fun would it be if all we talked about was work?  Here is what my buddies came up with to be read aloud by my boss to the 60 or so people in attendance, in no particular order, with a little explanation about each one:

- Apache knife fighter
Ok, so I ended up being pretty decent at racking up kills with a knife in some of the video games we played extensively.  I earned the nickname one night when we brought the PS3 to the conference room and played on the 60" plasma.  I think I knifed Steve 7 times in a row on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, bringing much amusement to the crowd of on-lookers.

- Five Star Foxhole blogger
This one should be self explanatory for this audience.

- Resident hippie/20-something
I spent most of my deployment wearing my hair long, with my customary goatee.  Decidedly un-military like, and definitely noticeable amongst the workforce.  I had people in other offices convinced I was a surfer, and had several people not recognize me after I cut it all off a couple weeks ago.  I was also the youngest member of the office, and helped bring the old farts I worked with into the 21st century by teaching them about Facebook and texting.

- Would have made it home 4 months ago if he'd found the trail of Reese's Pieces leading there.
So, I really like Reese's Pieces.  Like, a lot.  And they were the perfect snack for Afghanistan.  Small handfuls of sweetness and peanut butter that survive shipping well.  I had my wife send around 10 lbs of them during my tour.  I shared with the office, but I ate more than my fair share.

- Haiku Artist
Every week we were required to turn in "3 liners", detailing each project worked that week in three lines or less.  These are compiled and delivered to several people interested in what the ORSAs are doing.  Well, one week, I submitted mine in haiku just for fun.  The colonel posted my e-mail on his door, has them memorized, and frequently has a good chuckle over them even three months later.

And last, famous quotes, attributed to me:
"Hey, can I hold your gun?" - I was the only one in the office without a weapon and I was trying to learn.  Apparently it was funny.

"You are evil...take those truffles away from me!" - Yeah...someone shipped us Lindor truffles.  Bad news, man, bad news.

"Where is Steve?  Is he playing Black Ops without me?!" - One of the video games we play.  I was jealous of my controller time.

"There comes a point in each day when you know you're not going to get anything else done.  Well, I hit that point in my deployment about five days ago.  Thankfully, I can teach the new guy to do stuff for me."

Needless to say, much laughter was had.

After the ceremony and the medal presenting, we ate pizza in the one restaurant on camp, smoked a final cigar, watched Christmas Vacation, and made the rounds to say goodbye to people outside the office.  It felt like just another night of fun.  Unfortunately, it will be my last one with these guys.  And that just really, really sucks.  I'm very excited to go home, and I can't wait to see my family.  I just wish there was some way to transport my entire office back to Ft. Leavenworth so I could keep my friends.  Work won't be as fun without them.

We're already discussing annual road trips to meet up with one another.  Steve suggested coming up to Ft. Lewis where he's currently stationed to go salmon fishing.  John, Heather and the Anonymous One both live on the East Coast, meaning we could easily find something to do out there.  I live in the middle of the country, where the travel would be equal for everyone.  But we also all have children, and jobs, and budgets, and we know that it could be nearly impossible to coordinate something between all of us.  I really hope we are able to get it figured out.  I'd hate to think that the last time we'll all see each other is today.

I've got to be up in 4 hours to head to my MRAP convoy.  My friends are waking up two hours earlier than normal to see me off.  My journey home is about to begin.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Out here.

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