Hello friends,

Well, it’s Labor Day weekend. Summer is (un)officially over, football season is about to begin and I’ve been over here for 50 days (as of Sep 6). Everything is heading in the right direction. As much as I would like to be nursing a beer by my pool watching Craig and his friends swim while Karen slaves over the grill, I will be, well, laboring tomorrow. No rest for the weary; we’re working tomorrow as if it is any other Monday. We did have a cook-out tonight, however. Someone organized it and got rolling around 5:00. We decided to call it a day at 5:30 (I called home, so I was in the office until around 6:00) and join the party. Strange having a picnic without any beer in sight, but everyone seemed to have a good time anyway. At one point while standing in line, I overheard a young Army soldier asked “What’s the occasion?” One of his more astute friends replied, “Duh, dude, tomorrow’s Labor Day!” (Far more explicit language was used, but I try to keep this blog at least PG-13). First soldier says “Really!? Wow, I am completely out of sink.” (I know it is “synch”, but I am sure he would have spelled it that way.) So there you have it, another example of how this deployment is like that movie “Groundhog Day”.
Picture is of (L to R) me, Chief Larry Alt and Lt DeJaun Saunders. LtCol Todd Hirneisen took the picture. You can see the smoke from the grills in the background. (No, that is not Tinkerbell on my shirt. Our PT shirts and shorts have reflective decals so we can be seen in the dark. Good thing the Taliban don't carry flashlights.)

I hope everyone enjoyed their summer. Thanks again for all the kind thoughts and, more importantly, all the support. It makes the time away from home bearable.

Until next time,

-Dave