TGIF

Navigating a deployment means having small victories to look forward to. Fridays for me are a small victory. Programmed into every Friday are weekly events I enjoy. For me those little things are steak night at the DFAC followed by cigars at the old Russian Tower. They are constants in my otherwise mundane week that stand out. Sometimes the steaks even taste reasonable. Once in a blue moon there is also lobster to accompany the steaks. It’s also comforting to know that breaking a 365 day deployment into weeks makes the count only 52 to count down from. Every Friday night I can check the counter down another week. So far I’ve been here for 27 weeks. That leaves 25 to go. That would mean 25 more steak nights followed by cigars in the Russian Tower remain.

The past few days have been a flurry of activity. We still haven’t completely figured out what Bagram’s “Resolute Support Mission” is supposed to look like but we continue to work towards that moving target. I did get to take my Commanding General on a tour around the base. It wasn’t the normal ride. He is an enthusiastic, hands-on person who wanted to stop at various guard towers, C-RAM positions, billets, and just about every other facility where he could find Soldiers to talk to. It was an enlightening trip around the base and the weather was spectacular that day. The view of the mountains that surround the base was stunning and even better so when seen from atop guard towers. The highlight of the trip came at the end. Our last stop was Maholic Range, which is a small weapons qualification range my garrison runs. There was a unit conducting ALT-C M16 qualification on the 25-meter range so we watched for awhile. Next door at the 100-meter range some Special Forces guys were conducting M4 reflexive fire and 9mm competition shooting. The General ran to the sound of the guns. Next thing you know, the General and I were both shooting reflexive fire with SF M4’s. Then we both pulled out our 9mm pistols and blazed away at the competitive targets. It was a blast! Sometimes it really helps morale to just be a Soldier again for a few minutes. The General was all smiles at the conclusion. I was too.

There are seven more days to go until my next Friday. Then the count will be 24 weeks to go. I am definitely going to stop by the range again soon. I won’t be surprised if the General joins me again for that.